Starting Work

I received my assignment from the Catholic Diocese of Damongo 2 weeks ago and am gratified to report that it appears I will be kept quite busy during my tenure here. The Diocese has one stream of revenue and I have been given an important dual role to not only help in maintaining the current financial status but also to help to increase it. I have been named ‘overseer’ of the Unity Centre, which is the name of the jointly-run hospitality venues on the Secretariat property- the restaurant, bar and guesthouse (the current one and a brand new one opening soon). In addition to facilitate the actual operations of these 3 entities, I will also be in charge of maintenance.

I operated my own 3 restaurant/tavern over 20 plus years in the Cleveland, Ohio area until about 2014 when I began a contracting business. The biggest change facing me in Damongo will be having ‘bosses’, as I have been self employed for most of my life. My spirituality is very grounded in humility, so working with others will not be an issue and I am quickly getting used to the ‘checks and balances’ aspect of this assignment. From the day I touched down in Accra, I was impressed with the graciousness of the Ghanaian people, so working side by side with them in their hospitality industry is a natural fit.

My management style has always been to be very hands on, which so far here has meant washing dishes, and clearing tables in the restaurant in addition to watching how the food is prepared and how the money is handled. At this point, my staff are the experts. It is my job to watch, learn, and pitch in where I can. Damongo has a cuisine, like most places, that is unique to their culture. It is very starch based, which means most meals consist of chicken or fish and a rice dish or a local dough ball called banku, which is also served with a very tasty ground nut soup. My job is not to convert the people to McDonalds or Pizza Hut, but, after learning more, perhaps assimilating a few ideas into existing menu items to increase their appeal.

Similarly, my job as maintenance supervisor is to first assess issues as presented to me by current staff and not merely direct them to carry those tasks out, but instead, to do tasks with them and engender a spirit of shared purpose. I don’t mind being the guy who gets dirty. Materials are a challenge to me now, as we don’t have a Home Depot, nor a lot of money to work with. Where there’s a will there’s a way, I find. A sense of shared purpose cures a lot of other deficiencies. When you exhibit that, community follows and goals are accomplished.

The job of any good manager is to plant the seed of ‘ownership’ in those he works with. With ownership comes growth. I won’t be here forever. My goal is to leave a seamless transition in my wake, people who can not only perform my duties, but to do them even better and perhaps teach the next generation to perform theirs. I am a big believer not only in humility but also gratitude. I walk around with a lot of both of those gifts each day here. While I feel that my actual work is important on one level, my true purpose here is to participate in the cycle of God’s love and I can’t do that without inviting those around me to also participate, not through my words, but through my actions. 

One Month In

After my first month in Damongo, I feel pretty well settled in. I’m a big proponent of factoring what you are over where you are physically in life, as WHAT we are is an undeniable constant and places change. The transition from life in Cleveland, Ohio to Los Angeles at the LMH Mission House was very smooth and I’m finding that living in Damongo, Ghana is equally seamless. Sure, it’s very warm here (most days above 100F), there are language differences (though a majority of the people have some English), and we lack some of the US conveniences that most of us take for granted, I did not come here for a vacation, nor, truth be told, do I really miss any of those conveniences. I came here with a set of goals and useful skills to assimilate myself into this culture, share ideas and work, and, in the end, hopefully experience mutual learning and growth that results from a shared higher purpose.

One thing that is very different in Damongo is the pace of life. Things move very slow here. It very well may be because of the heat. After formation in LA, the long holiday break, the packing process and 22-hour trip over 2 days, I was raring to go. The diocese here looks at things a little differently. To their credit, they felt it is primary to meet me, let me learn a little about the people and culture, and match me to the correct position based upon my skills and their needs. At age 57, my work and life skills are as varied as the twists and turns of life. I went to school to be a teacher, ended up owning and managing bars and restaurants over 25 years, and most recently became a self-taught contractor and property manager.

While Damongo is a fairly rural area by American standards, it has a steadily growing population and 4 years ago was named the capital of the Savannah Region of Ghana. While the Catholic Church is one of the original stakeholders here, like any other institution they need to be sustainable on a number of levels, including finance and building maintenance, in order to remain viable and spread their message. The diocese recently completed building a modern guesthouse which is complimented by an existing restaurant/tavern which, I’m told, is in need of a ‘bar rescue’ to provide the diocese with much needed income. They are also in need of someone to maintain building infrastructure and/or provide oversight to various building projects. I jokingly told Bishop Peter Paul that they should have asked for two of me!

Whatever the decision does not matter so much to me. I am confident that I will be prepared sufficiently for whatever comes my way. I find that if you approach life with humility, openness and the ability to set clear goals, the rest of it tends to take care of itself. So, for right now, I am awaiting that direction with excitement tempered by realistic expectations. I feel quite convinced that God has placed me where I am supposed to be and have full faith that He will also have me do what it is I am supposed to do. 

AMDG

(Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam- For the Greater Glory of God)