Networking - African style

On the day I arrived into Malawi I was expecting to attend a black tie fundraiser for the hospital, an excellent opportunity to meet and greet the movers and shakers in the Malawian business community.

Unfortunately, there are few such people and when they move and shake they do so in a more relaxed unhurried style, and consequently just days before the event was due to be held it was postponed until Easter as a result of slow ticket sales. That’s not to say that the demand for such events isn’t there, however people tend to get round to doing things a little later than normal here.

The last time such an event was held 70 tickets had been sold by the Thursday preceding the event and by Saturday over 150 attended creating a logistical nightmare that the laid back Malawians are ill-equipped to deal with. It is spoken as fact here that the people of Blantyre have been recorded as the slowest walkers in the world, although personally I think this title could go to any one of the hundreds of elderly people who shop in Fenwicks on a Saturday.

In truth I was quite glad that the event didn’t go ahead as planned (habitual blog readers will remember that my arrival into Malawi was less than smooth and I arrived tired and ready for bed) however it initially left me short of networking opportunities. I have no such trouble on the social side as everyone here wants to be my friend. Everyone also wants me to buy them a coke, take them for something to eat or leave them my (borrowed) bike when I leave but I prefer to think that it is my magnetic personality that draws them to me…

My first attempt at networking was easy. One of the nurses at the hospital invited me to join a dinner party for a group of volunteers and so I found myself enjoying spaghetti bolognaise in the company of ten doctors and/or nurses. With conversation limited mainly to medical matters, my contributions were largely limited to whether the comedy Scrubs gives an accurate depiction of medical training and is Charlie Fairhead still in Casualty?

However, out of this evening came the invite to join the local ‘hash’, a self-styled “drinking club with a running problem�, that operates in all of the worlds major cities (and Middlesbrough) to provide an opportunity for people to meet, run and socialise. The mix of people in the Blantyre hash is eclectic, ranging from local volunteers, to professionals from all walks of live. There is a wide range of age and racial groups which all makes for interesting conversation. Normally, a hash consists of the runners chasing nominated ‘hares’ for 45 minutes before meeting up for a few drinks and a bite to eat. On this occasion however the hares took us through a local shanty town, in which we were mobbed by local children to the point were running was impossible and conversation difficult as literally hundreds of locals cheered our slow progress. 45 minutes quickly turned into 2 hours as we got ourselves hopelessly lost amidst the sprawling shanty town.

Having the opportunity to see people living in such conditions was a humbling and privileged opportunity and made for great conversation when we finally made it back to the starting point. Just by getting out and about and joining in with whatever event I happen to come across here provides the opportunity to share in unique experiences with someone that will typically lead to further conversation and the opportunity to get to know someone new on a personal level.
This was demonstrated once again when on the second Saturday of my time here I wandered into town and joined a group of people watching what appeared to be a sports day, against the backdrop of food, drink and music. It turned out to be a celebration of World Aids day (a huge event throughout the world and no less so in Africa where it has so much meaning). Purely as a result of showing an interest in what was happening I was invited to participate in events held by the Blantyre Water Board and the local Press Corp Association respectively, joining a game of football and enjoying some fine food and drinks.

Sport is definitely one of the best ways to meet people over here and following on from joining the match on World Aids day I made my Sunday league debut today for Old Mutual FC (a Malawian pension provider) in the local business league. Each weekend a number of local businesses get together to play football, volleyball and netball tournaments respectively and as a result of loitering nearby whenever they got a football out I was soon invited to play! On each occasion I have been the only non-Malawian playing and as a result everyone wants to say hello and ask why I am here - not only have I been able to make friends but I have been able to invite one of the pensions team to visit the hospital tomorrow to chat through some options that the hospital may find beneficial. Everyone’s a winner! (Although technically the game finished 1-1)

On another occasion one of the members of Water Wanderers FC (the Blantyre Water Board team) invited me to join him for a game of golf. Unfortunately I am useless at the sport and so he suggested I take lessons here. With lessons costing £3 per hour and figuring that a round of golf appears to be a good excuse for at least a few days out of the office under the pretext of business development I decided to give it a go.

My first lesson was driving from the tee and as my coach lined up 6 balls for me to begin with I was surprised to see that I was the only person on the course – this was most disappointing as my golf playing colleagues tell me that more deals are done on the golf course than anywhere else and thus I was hoping to pick up some tips for the Malawian stock exchange.

After a few false starts I finally got one down the middle of the course in time for my coach to inform me that having hit the 6 balls it was time to work on my short game… it turns out that the six balls I’d been driving with where the only 6 balls I would see all day and the most part of my lessons would involve looking for the balls I’d sliced and hooked all around the course. Two hours later I’d hit the ball perhaps 18 times making my £3 lesson one of the most expensive lessons imaginable. I no longer wonder why I was the only person on the course.

Outside of sport the alternative opportunities to meet like minded people are limited and require more effort and compromise. Consequently I will be attending a local gallery opening on Tuesday and I found myself spending Friday night attending a Christmas church fundraiser, an activity that is as far from my usual Friday nights as it is possible to get yet it is one of the most popular activities here.

With entertainment that included a song entitled “Miracle Baby�, three interpretations of bible stories by the Church dramatics society and a Christian faith/Christmas carol based quiz I had low expectations of meeting like minded people and enjoying myself.

However, I am happy to say that I was completely wrong and I had a very enjoyable evening. This was mainly due to the warm reception afforded me, the great food (everyone had brought their speciality dish, although I hadn’t brought mine – Tesco’s finest ready meals not being available here) and the fact that everyone was there simply to have fun.

What have I learned from all this? Well, it turns out that there is good fun and good company to be found in surprising places and it would appear that joining in an unusual activity, be it a running club, a golf lesson or a missionary fundraiser can lead to new opportunities, experiences and friendships. Where that activity is something personally enjoyed by others they will often be appreciative of the efforts you have made and respond in a hugely positive way and you never know you might, like I did, have a really enjoyable evening.

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