On our way

 We are 18 into our 22 hours of airplanes and airports, but I’m not complaining, for the last leg of this journey I have won the travelers jackpot.  It all started with my name.  As with many things in my life I blame my mother J  When I was but a wee babe she made the choice to call me by my middle name. Now as horrible mother stories go this may seem rather innocuous, but it has had lasting impact.  Take today for example... now I know that it is imperative that one checks over their ticket to ensure that it matches your passport exactly, and as someone who has traveled with a different name all of their lives I have no excuses however it would appear that I missed this extremely important step when I was getting organized for this particular trip.

 So it was with some dismay that I realized at our first check in that I was traveling under my middle name.  This is an absolute no-no for international travel  A game stopper.  But not to worry we were early and the agent at West Jet got on the phone and made the required changes.  Just make sure you check at British Airways before your nest flight.  Well long story short I’ve gone from Joan to Evelyn to Joan to Evelyn and back to Joan.  Now I am aware that I should not be traveling under Joan and they really shouldn’t be allowing me on the plane under Joan as it doesn’t match my passport but here I am.  Not only on the plane but UPGRADED…yes the traveler lottery.  Those lovely words that follow that stomach dropping sensation when your passport is scanned, the light flashed red and the buzzer rings out loudly for all to hear.  Upgraded to a seat with a reasonable amount of leg room, a menu and not just one but two mini bottles of red wine.  Yes life is good.  And I guess in all fairness I will have to credit my Mother.

I’ve spent that last hour reviewing some of the tools that CCA has developed for us to use in the field.  There are five key areas that CCA has advised are common focus areas, strategic planning, board and governance, capital management, savings mobilization, and lending.  I find myself comforted by the familiar language; this is the language of finance that we deal with on a day by day basis.  We may be traveling around the world to do this work but we are speaking a common language.  In four hours we will be landing in the capital of Ghana, Accra, going places we have never been and meeting people we will never see again.  But we will be doing it together as individuals who have come together to move forward as a team, to give back to our communities, not just locally but globally.  Our credit unions motto is that ‘together we are stronger’ and I have no doubt that this is true.