RPS in Mali, Senegal and Ivory Coast
31 May 2016 - RPS Partnership
We have had a busy month running training in West Africa in the Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal. Personal security awareness training as well as emergency first aid for difficult and hostile situations. Have a look at our gallery for more photos of our training. We make it as practical as we can, once we get to the training locations which are often in offices of our clients.
We have been practising what we teach.
Planning and preparation were key to all the trips. First of all we had to get visas. Mali was the most difficult and took 10 days to get. So the key to this travel was to have a second passport for business travel. Contact us on [email protected] for advice on how to do this. We needed a letter of invitation as well as a letter saying who was employing us. It takes time to get the visa and we find using a visa company cuts down on our time spent in planning.
Vaccinations were next. All our trainers had to have in date vaccinations for travel to West Africa. After a quick check that we were all in date, we ordered our malaria tablets online. Easy to do and fast and efficient. Ensure you use a reputable company.
We took our own personal equipment so that we could deal with anything that West Africa was going to throw at us. Power cuts were frequent and surge protectors vital to protect our computers. Torches helped when the power went off at Bamako (Mali) airport. You can get a full list when you attend our training courses; click here to see what our next course entails 5-7 July 2016.
Come and attend one of our courses and learn how to travel to challenging locations and for working in difficult and hostile regions. Our training courses will prepare you.
Here are some travel thoughts from our consultant who went to Mali to run training for an African bank.
"Well first time in Mali and hope it won’t be the last" one of our lead trainers said.
Our luggage appeared quicker than at it does sometimes at Heathrow, the power cuts plunging the carousels into darkness made the new arrivals scrabble into their bags for the obligatory torches. The Mali "old sweats" knew to stand still and hold their nerve and wait for the imaginary light switch to be flicked back on!
We couldn’t decide whether bag wrapping our luggage in plastic cling film was overkill or not, but when all the Africans picked up their plastic covered bags we knew we had made the right decision.
Top Travel Tip Bag wrap your bag as it increases the security of your bag and makes it more difficult to steal things from it.
The hotel sent a taxi to pick us up and the gentleman held up a sign with our company name typed on it, not our own names. An email to them requesting this worked a treat. Not always the case, but worth trying to do this and safer than taking a taxi at the airport.
Top Travel Tip Email your hotel and ask them to send a taxi to pick you up.
Mali was meant to be in the rainy season but it was hot, hot. Crazy motorcyclists took over the roads and you would never know that helmets are mandatory and it is illegal not to wear one.
Ladies in elaborate finery and regalia on their heads. Men riding in their flip-flops and shorts texting whilst trying to talk to their passengers. What did they have in common? No helmet! Crazy!!
Top Travel Tip Don’t take a motorbike taxi ride in Bamako!
Our hotel was great and we loved every minute of our stay there. It was small, quirky, great food, friendly helpful staff and best of all low profile with good security. It’s a tricky choice right now in Bamako as arguably no hotel is safe from an attack by terrorists. High profile or low profile is a difficult choice. The Radisson Blue is now protected and more secure than it was; X-ray machines, guns, police, Army. But it’s still a target.
Top Travel Tip If you can opt to, consider staying in a smaller hotel, and check the security at the front and rear. Are there guards, do they search you, are they switched on? Do they have radios? Are there grills on the doors? Check the fire escapes and we found ours was locked on the ground floor. Fire is always the biggest risk.
Questions answered about working in Mali
Can you go running? Yes, however the pollution is a problem so stick to the back streets.
What is the currency? West Africa CFA Franc. Same as used in the Ivory Coast. www.xe.com will give you the latest rates.
What language is most useful? English is rare. Learn French to get by. Tricky to get much done without it.
First Aid Kit. Good hospitals are difficult to find, so come prepared. Bring sterile needles, trauma packs and your pills and potions pack. Road traffic collisions are frequent and ambulances are not common. Ensure you have a travel insurance policy which covers you for the countries you are travelling to.
Contact us on [email protected] for travel to West Africa and other difficult regions. We are off to Tunisia and Burkina Faso in June, so will be bringing you news from these interesting countries.
Photos:
RPS Partnership Grand Bassam, Ivory Coast - scene of terrorist attack in March 2016
RPS Partnership crazy motorcylists in Bamako