Cook at the lodge is determined to have me eat fish, despite her best efforts (see picture) I avoid any further fish dishes...

...When in Kabwe town, a Zambian man just sat down and began chatting. It turned out he would very much like a white wife. As I am not looking for a Zambian husband or a new 'friend', his efforts were wasted. This was not a quick process; it was a good 30-45 minutes before he left...


I have TV on in the background, whilst working in the lodge – I am becoming quite enthralled with Nigerian soaps and films – some seem quite homemade, with serious overacting but also quite addictive I think I will be tuning into Nollywood when I get back to the UK...

I've been on a field visit to a School having a Dance 4 Life event. Somewhere in Africa is a video tape of me dancing for life – whilst I gave it my all, and got a bit confused with the steps toward the end, I thought I did not too bad, the only comment given was that I did not 'shake' or 'roll' my booty enough – I can live with that kind of feedback.
On the drive back the vehicle broke down, we had lost a lot of water. In an effort to try and get the vehicle up and running everyone poured the water they were carrying into the engine. I'm not sure what part – it was the part that had hot steam blowing from it, you can probably tell engines are a bit on the technical side for me.
We were able to drive the vehicle far enough to be able to draw some water from an underground well. With the water and the use of a spanner the vehicle made it back to Kabwe...

I've been advised not to go into town on my own, certainly not after 6pm when it gets dark here. Both the Zambian air force and the national service are based in Kabwe, so there are a lot of soldiers – I am bemused that they have an air force but no airplanes or helicopters for them to fly in!...

How about this....you are having a quick Friday night post-work African beer and you just randomly bump into a former work colleague from Scotland in the middle of Uganda, who going rafting the same day as you! Bizarre experience but I randomly met Ricky Munday in Jinja on Friday. Turns out he is on secondment in Nairobi but came down to experience the rafting in Uganda. This was a good enough excuse to have a few post-rafting beers on Saturday!

Anyway, the rafting was amazing but unfortunately never flipped the boat in one of rapids. On the other hand its probably a good thing I didnt swallow much more of the River Nile water! It was a whole day event starting at breakfast, ending with dinner at night and a good 12km of rafting in between.

Works going well (the office is in the picture above) and I am in the middle of audit testing now. I wont bore you with details but we (SPW and I) have already discussed areas of potential improvements, firmly working together on it. Meetings with external auditors went well in Kampala (the capital and very busy place) and given my thoughts to SPW.

Anyway, life is grand out here and look forward to seeing you all again at some point soon!

Alan

Hello everyone, sorry for the delay, Uganda has power supply problems so its pretty hard get on the computer long enough to write this. You'll be glad to hear to I arrived safe and sound follow my long journey. Flight wasn't as bad as expected and the in flight entertainment system had the Big Lebowski on it - one of my fav films - so was well chuffed!

I arrived right at the end of SPW Uganda's annual review and nicely for me, coincided with a big party at the Country Director's (Robyn) place! A few beers were had and I experienced the 'dance for life' dancers performing their routine (technology allowing, there should be a photo). They go around schools performing the routine to Ugandan school kids. Very humbled by their dancing ability, i politely declined the opportunity to throw a few shapes myself. I did however perfect the Ugandan handshake by the end of the night, no mean feat after a few bottles of the local beveridge of choice 'Club'.

Also managed to sneak in a visit to the Bujagali Falls near the source of the Nile (picture is a view of the Nile). Really picturesque place and so took a boat ride around the river. Also sampled my first Jackfruit which was...different!

Work began on Monday, beginning with presenting to the office to assure them that internal auditors are nice people really. Fairly close to starting audit testing now, but first I am travelling to the capital Kampala tomorrow to assist SPW Uganda in chosing their new external auditors.

Anyway, hope you are all well.

Alan

Tomorrow sees me begin the Ugandan experience with a tough journey from Edinburgh to Jinja, which door to door will take around 20 hours. There are hurdles along the way, not least Heathrow terminal 5 - they can expect another 'Naomi Campbell moment' if my bag goes astray!

The purpose of my journey is to conduct an internal audit of the Non Governmental Organisation SPW Uganda, evaluating their internal controls' effectiveness in relation to their key risks (I apologise for the excessive auditor-lingo in that last sentence). The work is as planned as it can be now and the pressure is now on following the great success of Richard's Indian and Nepal effort. Im looking forward to finally meeting the team out at SPW Uganda after all the emailing back and forward. But in typical fashion my packing isn't even started so I better make this brief!

I'll be posting blogs of my progress complete with pictures as the adventure unfolds so check it out when you have a moment! Until then, wish me a safe journey!

Alan

Amanda Beveridge is flying off to Africa today for two weeks to complete an internal audit assignment with SPW in Zambia:

“I am excited at the prospect of having the opportunity to add value to a worthwhile cause by sharing my knowledge and understanding of risks and controls, which I have developed over the years with HBOS. I am hoping to make a tangible, long term difference to a worthwhile cause.”

Amanda is looking forward to using her coaching skills in audit techniques and best practice and learning from working in a very different environment.

Do keep in touch with Amanda by reading and commenting on her blog (internet connection in Zambia permitting.....)