This is the day we have been dreaming of, planning for, and waiting for…….and it’s here. It’s time for us to meet with the women entrepreneurs of CAMFED! So very exciting……….

We started the day with a fabulous breakfast at the hotel (see photos of my favorites – chocolate croissants and latte!!!!! Awesome!!!! Gotta say it…….even better than what we get in Quebec, yes sirrreee!!!!) I, personally, had a GREAT sleep last night – the jet lag can really be a challenge, but an even bigger challenge for many of my colleagues is that their luggage didn’t arrive! Arrrggghhhh! They handled it like troopers though – it really does suck though when your luggage doesn’t show up when/where you are after a long flight like that! Good thing we all know and love each other…….it was all about sharing deodorant and other important things, LOL!! Hey, that’s life……… and it’s the little things, right? (which sometimes can become big things………..but we got perspective on that throughout the rest of our day)

Breakfast was over and time to hop in the van and headed over to the Sheraton Hotel and the meeting room where we would be spending the day – teaching, learning, mentoring, coaching, laughing, crying…….and creating legacies. Powerful, powerful day. I was honored and thrilled and humbled to be part of this incredible experience.

The ladies were there, ready and waiting for us. They showed up ‘dressed to the nine’s” (and old expression, I know) – they looked amazing and we know what it took for that to happen for them. Impressive! The smiles on their faces and their enthusiastic welcome blew us away – and that was just the beginning. As you can see from the photos, parts of the day were spent facilitating information – about marketing, vision, money, etc. – and hey, these women KNEW THEIR NUMBERS! Needless to say, our coach, Suzanne was ‘over the moon’ impressed with that! (if they only knew!) We had small group discussions and that was an eye-opening experience. One of the most powerful moments was when the women stood and shared one thing they were most proud of………(to which we replied, to each one of them – ‘and we ARE PROUD of you!!!”) Their comments were fascinating – they were proud of their education, of the transformation they had experienced, of making enough money to send siblings/spouses/family members to school and so much more. What a great exercise. It is not common, in this culture, to speak so highly of yourself – or to get positive feedback from anyone. This exercise had IMPACT! – on all of us. Wow!

We enjoyed lunch together and great conversation. English is common here but, for many, particularly from the rural areas, not an everyday conversational opportunity. These ladies gave it their best. It was a pleasure to get to know them.

One of the questions we asked each lady in our respective small groups was what one thing did they need to grow/develop their business immediately……… and the interesting part to all of us is just how much we are ‘more alike than different’ – I shared that observation with them at the beginning of the day in my own introduction, based on my own world travels – that message was really strengthened as the day went on. These ladies talked about their challenges in their business – resources/money/products/materials – family support – communication – networking – coaching/mentoring. This is not new information to many of us who are coaches – we hear it from our own clients all the time!!!!!! But, coming from these women, with their circumstances, let me just say that I have a new perspective when it comes to ‘challenges’ – WE are so very spoiled in North America – we take so much for granted. These women have created/grown businesses starting with NOTHING – and I mean, nothing! So, what many of them needed was financial support, for certain, because I was told that a woman in the rural areas would NEVER be eligible for a business loan – NEVER! And so much more that they shared that really gave us all insight as to what we have, what we deal with and our excuses, quite frankly.

What put me over the edge, was the financial commitment that we made to these young women…….and the ones to come after them – a loan of $1,000 to each of them! The details are not worked out yet, of course – but the vision and commitment from Suzanne, Melonie and CAMFED really drove me to tears – and for each of us to participate in this legacy! This is so in alignment with my own vision and mission for my business – and to be part of this ground-breaking opportunity is a blessing. Stay tuned for more details!!!!!

And so the day ended with our own round-table discussion about what we took away from the day – in a meeting with the representative of CAMFED, Faith. It was emotionally and intellectually exhausting – in the best way ever!!!!

And then, back to the hotel – time for a quick change – and off to another amazing event – dinner hosted by Sandy Salle’s sister and brother-in-law who live in Harare. So, we got to schmooze and dine with ‘a local family’. I LOVE that!!!! Sandy’s family was incredible – friendly, generous, welcoming…….and the food was outstanding. A fabulous curry meal – chicken, beef, salads, desserts…….wine, etc. Such a lovely gesture and such a wonderful way to end a meaningful day!

We got our tired butts back to the hotel and I have no doubt that there were pleasant dreams all around (except that we knew we were getting up at 4 a.m. for a very early flight to Victoria Falls – where I am now, writing this for you. Today was superb, too – and I can hardly wait to share that with you tomorrow…..! Because, right now…..for me…..it’s time for bed!)

‘Nite all!

Happy Pat

P.S. You can find more pictures here: http://www.travelblog.org/Africa/Zimbabwe/Harare/blog-726458.html