Day's Diary

April 18, 2007 ~ Western Union

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Nothing is ever as easy as it seems it should be in Malawi. Everything has twists and turns of time that one cannot anticipate. That is even the case with something that seems should be simple, like sending money via Western Union.

Sue Makin and I had a wonderful taxi driver when we were at Victoria Fall, who went out of his way for us. We met him the first day we were there, when we were trying to figure out the money situation with zimdollars and US dollars and unrealistic exchange rates. Olive not only drove us to the bank and back to our hotel, but he offered his services to us for the time we were there, knowing that we did not have US dollars. He accepted the offer of later payment for services rendered then. He became our private tour guide for the four days we were there. He made our trip easy and pleasant, so we were eager to pay him as soon as we got home. We made arrangements to wire him the money through Western Union in Zambia, allowing him to get US dollars and a much better exchange rate than he could get in Zimbabwe. We arrived home on Wednesday. I had all the information to do the transaction and set about early on Thursday to take care of everything.

First I went to my bank and spoke to the foreign currency exchange officer. He explained that since my account is in kwacha, that is the only way to draw money out, but that the wire service could convert it to dollars when they send it. The problem was that my bank does not use Western Union, only Moneygram transfer. But he was helpful to tell me what the conversion rate was and where I could find Western Union in Zomba. This seemed simple enough. I withdrew the kwacha from my bank account and headed to Western Union, which was just across the street.

Once at Western Union, the complications began. The branch here in Zomba only receives money; it does not send. The only place that sends is the central branch in Blantyre. I would have to go there to do the transaction. That presented a delay, since I could no go on Friday because of the Presbytery meeting I had to attend and they were not open on Saturday. I emailed Oliver to explain the delay and give him the new timetable. He responded that was acceptable, but I felt badly due to the delay.

Monday morning, bright and early, I was ready to go. Silas was going with me and Margaret decided she wanted to go too, with the four grandchildren who were staying with them. This slowed things down a bit, but we finally got off about 9:15. I had a whole list of things I had to do in town, but Western Union was at the top of the list. Silas and I deposited Margaret and the children and headed to Western Union. There were three different signs for Western Union on Victoria Street, a main street in Blantyre. We went into the first one and the folks there explained that they only receive money. We would have to go to the main office in the next block to send anything. We continued to the next block. There the gentleman at the counter explained that they had already sent their allotment of money for the day and would not be able to do any more transfers out of the country until Tuesday. After some conversation, he revealed that there was another office further up the street that might be able to help us. Off we went to the next office.

This office was much smaller than the other two. Here we were greeted by two young ladies who said that they could send money. I breathed a sigh of relief and said that I wanted to send $200. No, they said, this could not be done. The largest amount that could be transferred was $70. That was the rule. This was the first I had heard of that, but they were emphatic - $70 only. Silas said that would be fine. We would each send $70 and send the rest later, after we had run the rest of the errands. No, they said: only one transaction a day per person, and only one transaction a day to a person. One of us could send $70 to Olive, but not both. Silas was persistent. Why couldn’t two people send to the same person? He pounded the question. Finally they relented and agreed to allow us both to send money, but only $70 each and only one transaction each. I could not come back later in the day. Reluctantly, we agreed. I knew this would mean another trip to Blantyre for me on Tuesday to complete the transaction. I was not happy, but at least they were going to allow Silas to transfer money for me. This was something. We filled out he forms, gave them the money and paid two transfer fees and headed off. After all the errands, collecting Margaret, depositing some of the children with other relatives, and lunch, we headed back to Zomba. I emailed Oliver about the latest delay and made plans to drive back to Blantyre on Tuesday, after the opening communion.

Tuesday morning I awoke dreading the idea of having to drive to Blantyre again, but it had to be done. I prayed for grace and a good attitude and headed off to lead communion. After the service, students gathered to greet the staff. They were happy to be back on campus. I explained to Bessie, my most enthusiastic student that I couldn’t stay for the conversations, since I had to get to Blantyre. After a few questions, she offered to ride along with me, to keep me company. I was thrilled at the suggestion. That would at least make the traveling more pleasant. When I picked her up 15 minutes later, her housemate was with her. They decided this would be an excursion for all of us, and it was. God had offered grace! We laughed and talked the whole way to Blantyre. The driving was fast and the company good. At Western Union, the girls were helpful and I was able to transfer the rest of the money without delay. After a short shopping side trip and lunch, we headed back to Zomba. I emailed Oliver that he could finally collect his well earned payment for the gracious tour guide he had been.

After everything was completed, I calculated the time and money of this transaction. This included two round trips to Blantyre, three transfer fees, and lunch in Blantyre twice, which amounted to over $250 to transfer $200 and it had taken six days from start to finish. So you understand why I say things are never as easy as one expects here in Malawi!