Third week - such an original title!

Its already the end of my third week of work and I cannot believe I am already half way through my time in Zambia.  It is going so quick!  Most of this week I have been involved in a lot of detail working costing the returns we are receiving back from department co-ordinators listing activities involved in their programmes, consumables and returns.  We are using these to produce expenditure listings for each department.  I have been working with Regina (assistant accountant) and department co-ordinators, and it has been very intense and involved.  Lists from department co-ordinators have sometimes been like a wish list of all the equipment they would like – new computers, 275 new bike - with lack of information in relation to quantity of items required or frequency of activities.  The skills I have developed as an auditor of always asking questions have come in useful.  These returns have often been from departments in the community clinic which has not been funded from international donors before and has never have a budget.  Others have been very detailed containing all relevant information.  I have found these have come from department co-ordinators whose programmes have been funded from international donors before so are used to the level of scrutiny which is applied as part of the grant application process.

I have found Regina has learnt very quickly, and I left her to complete the process whilst I was away on safari.

I have also been completing some excel training with Haxley (accounts clerk) who is very keen.  Thanks to the spread sheets Claire T sent me just before leaving I have developed an interactive excel training course which I am pretty proud of.  I have even mastered IF, SUMIF, COUNTIF formulas myself! 

So all in all a productive work week, but I am beginning to realise how much work is involved within producing the budget for the organisation and also setting up the processes for monitoring it.  Time is also starting to run out.  Fingers crossed I get to a stage in which the budget is in a state for Bwafwano to use.

I also thought I would let you know what a typical day is for me as a AFID volunteer. Here goes:

6am – normally wake up and make a cup of tea (not quite the same as tea back home because of long life milk and no Yorkshire teabags!) I normally wake up because of the heat.

6.30 – shower and dress

7am – make porridge from jungle oats, take malaria tablet and get my things ready for work

7.30 – walk to work

8am – start work.  For the first hour I tend to check emails, news etc.

9am – 4pm  - work on various projects with the rest of the accounts team. I normally have cup of Zambia tea at 11 (very milky and creamy), and take a walk in the market at lunchtime).  I also spend some time in the playground playing with the children.

4pm – leave work and walk home

4.30 – 5.30 – relax, have a cold drink, chat with Mrs Chikoti, her daughter and niece.

5.30 – 6.30 – go for a run resulting in a very sweaty red faced Catherine which is very amusing for local people

6.30 – 7.30 – make tea  and eat it– normally rice or noddle’s

 with veg. Sometimes with a beer or cheese if find like treating myself!

7.30 – 10 – watch DSTV, read, write emails or blog, finish some work or learnt some French!  I have got up to unit 5 which is ordering food and drink – wine and beer mainly which is very appropriate.