Event Planning in Ghana

We successfully pulled off our big fundraiser for Chance for Children this weekend, and I'm so thankful it is over. We had no idea how much work went into planning something like this especially in such a short time and especially when the event is in Ghana. There was a lot of fretting on my part throughout because at one point it looked like we weren't going to be able to sell enough tickets, then it seemed that we couldn't afford the bands, then it seemed no companies would donate products we needed, and so on and so forth. Of course all of these things got resolved. We sold all 150 tickets, 2 bands donated their time, and companies donated money and supplies like ice and water. So we thought everything would be smooth sailing the day of the event because all the details had been attended to, and we had a great plan for how the set-up for the event would go. In the back of my head, I had a little voice telling me "this is Ghana...something big will go wrong" but I didn't want to believe it.

To give you an idea of how things work (or don't work) in Ghana, this is an example of what is commonplace. We arranged for the rental company to deliver 20 tables, 180 chairs, all the dishes, silverware, freezer for drinks, etc. at 10am on Saturday. The event was not to begin until 6pm so that should have been plenty of time. We arranged to arrive at 2pm at the house where the event was being held to help finalize set-up details. I arrived at 2 and there was not one table or chair or anything for that matter! The owners of the house who were also working on planning the fundraiser told me that the rental company had not yet arrived! She had been calling for the last few hours and they kept saying they were on their way...which means in Ghana language, they were no where near to arriving. So we called, and called, and called and they told us 4 times over a period of 2 hours that they'd be there in 10 minutes. No matter how furious you get on the phone or how much you threaten, it doesn't make a difference for the simple fact that they had no intention of arriving at 10am. For surely they had booked another event in the morning and couldn't get the supplies to us because they were in use already! We started to panic because not only would it take a lot of time to set up all the tables and chairs, but we didn't have a way to cool the beverages for 150 people! And it's not like anyone is going to want to drink warm beer when it is 100 degrees outside...at night! And to make matters worse, we realized that the rental company was already paid in full which definitely increased the likelihood that they would not show up at all. Meanwhile, we decided to do as much set up as possible without the rental equipment. Franetic does not even capture what we looked like. At 4, one of us decided to drive to their office and see what was going on since they stopped answering their phones. In my mind, I'm wondering how we will notify 150 people that we had to cancel the event. Meanwhile food for all these people is on its way...

At 4:30, the truck rolls up with the equipment. We're already all soaked in sweat from running around but we all just started throwing tables and chairs around the lawn and setting them up as quickly as possible. Then as the truck empties, we realize that they have not brought a refrigerator for the drinks but a big cooler. And then we see that there are many tables without chairs and as we counted them, 70 chairs were missing! Panic sets back in. We all started yelling at the delivery men and they said they'd have to return to their warehouse and get the rest but they didn't have a refrigerator so we demanded that they bring more ice. Now we had an hour until the doors open and the tables were still not set and the drinks were still warm. So we all started to throw the table cloths, chair covers, and plates on the tables only to realize that all the plates were still caked with food and dust coated all the glassware. It just went on like this...but we managed to get the tables set and meanwhile we all looked like a complete mess and still had not dressed for the event. The delivery guys came at 5:30 to bring the rest of the chairs and ice so finally we were set.


Our finished tables!

But, as we neared 6pm, the winds picked up, the sky darkened, and our worst nightmare was about to occur....a rain storm. It had not rained in days but of course, today of all days, it appeared that the skies would open. But then, just as it blew in, it blew out and the rain never came.

People started arriving, we all splashed water on our faces and put on our party dresses, and we made it out just in time to greet people, all of whom had no idea what the previous 4 hours had looked like. The caterer arrived with the food and then we realized that the rental company had not sent the 4 waiters we had reserved! What else could go wrong we wondered! But, just then, at 6:30, 3 boys wandered in still putting on their bow ties and white shirts and our waiters were there...well 3 at least!

So the party got into full swing. The bands started to play, the bar opened up, and the festivities were under way.

Alan demonstrating his technical skills with the powerpoint presentation.


One of our 3 musical groups, Miss Ofie, an amazing jazz singer.




Alan's boss, Rob and his wife, Julie.


The food was delicious, people clearly were enjoying themselves, and most of the rest of the evening went without a hitch, until about 10pm. One of the guests came to me and told me that her friend's iPhone was stolen off the table along with some cash. We immediately suspected the waiters since they were the ones cruising in and out of the tables. They were questioned but of course denied doing anything. It was shame because for this woman, the evening was quickly ruined. We figured it was a lost cause and carried on with the night dancing the hours away until 12:30am! It wasn't until the next day that I learned that the iPhone has a feature that if it is stolen, when the thief turns on the phone, it can send a locator message to another phone indicating it's whereabouts. Clearly the thief had no idea just how smart smart phones are! When he turned on the phone, the woman's husband got location details in a message and they went to the police who located the phone in the hands of one of the waiters from that evening.

Needless to say, when guests remarked to us that the tables looked so nice and who did we use for the rentals, we did not recommend this company! But the buzz around town for the few days afterwards was that the event was so much fun and was such a beautiful occasion. And even better than that is that we raised a grand total of around $2000. This money will go far towards the organization's work with street children and for that we are really proud and happy. However, I have learned that I have no desire to be an event planner in Ghana or anywhere else for that matter!