The pre-trial bureaucratic phase

Apologies for the lack of blog posts lately. There is a lot happening but, if I’m frank, a lot of it is not very exciting. We are in a necessary, but rather dull bureaucratic phase as we try to get the last bits and pieces in place to start the trial.

We have confirmation of our last bit ($1m) of funding but I’m not able to give out the details yet.

Because ColaLife is new we need the services of an ‘accountable body’ to ensure that the funding we receive is dispersed properly and the donors receive the proper financial reports that they can have confidence in. We are working to get this in place now and will report on the detail once this is all agreed.

As you can see from the chart it is very, very hot here, even by Zambian standards, as we all wait for the rains to start and give some relief from the heat.

But there have been highlights. Monday (24/10/11) was Independence Day here and there was a great atmosphere about the place. Even those who had to work had made an effort to wear the proper gear (see the photo).

We’ve also been able to catch up with key partners and old friends and make some new friends. Last week we met up again with our contact at the Ministry of Health who’d been in the UK. I asked him how his trip was. He said “Not too bad”. He was referring to the weather! Zambian’s seem to embark on a trip to the UK with some fear and trepidation and this is all down to what the weather will be like!

We also caught up with Hans at Mobile Transactions Zambia to update him on the new AidPod shape and the new name we are testing ‘Ka-Pakati’. When we met them last they’d just moved and their offices were in chaos. Not now! The sign is up, the offices all redecorated and locally made Mukwa desks in place.

We also caught up with the whole crew at MSL – Dirk, Chipopa and Ian – who, coincidentally, had also moved into new offices (and a new website) which must be such a moral boost for the staff. The ones they were in lacked windows to the outside world.

And finally, when I finish typing this we are off to the Airport to meet Rohit (Ramchandani) for the first time! And we are really looking forward to that. We’ve been working with Rohit for nearly two years now and feel we know him very well but, to date, the closest we’ve been is on each end of a video Skype call.

Rohit will be here for two and a bit weeks and will be working with our partners – particularly UNICEF – to finalise the Logical Framework for the project.