SE101~ IN RETROSPECT...

I am back in Vancouver, having spent atleast a month of my 2007 summer in Nairobi participating in the Sauder SE101 project. SE101, a great project through which I met many new fantastic people and learnt alot; about myself and certain aspects of life and society. Alot can be said of the project and Kenya in general. The project is a great opportunity for all participants offering alot of learning experiences with potential for more growth in terms of ideas and delivery.

Fortunately, this year we had two sites that we facilitated and I would not be wrong to conclude that these two different groups of people had had different experiences and challenges. The background information, we (Bahati team) received from KIC-our facilitators on the ground, about our (Bahati) participants was immensely helpful. It also provided the Bahati participants a chance to reflect and comprehend the task that lay ahead of them for the next three weeks. Our participants as already mentioned were really great students who actively participated in the activities we prepared for them. However, I feel a greater emphasis needs to be made to enable participants understand their responsibilities as students. Ofcourse, this being a voluntary project that might be hard to enforce!

All participants, more so those from Canada will/would benefit from fully understanding all cultural issues, interactions and differences. Above all, facilitators need to try and grasp the problems and challenges of the participants to make the lessons more meaningful and effective. For, how can one provide a 'solution' to a problem one does not fully comprehend! Above all, this aids and minimises misunderstanding which can greatly affect efficient project delivery. We carried out a class survey midway through the project and I am sure these will be beneficial to future participants. I also feel this project would benefit magnanimously by having a reliable partner on the ground. This partner would play role similar to that played by KIC or Henry i.e follow up, initiation and coordination of the project before and after facilitators arrive and leave.
More sponsorship and support from student associations(e.g CUS, AUC, AMS, SUC, African Awareness etc) Sauder, UBC, family and friends will/would be a big boost to preparations for a succesful implementation of the project.

It was great being part of the second SE101 team to Nairobi and I look forward to contributing my humble two cents to the project. Business, in my opinion is a great self-empowering activity that has great positive externalities and spill over effects. It is my hope that this project rolls outs to different countries and regions and that Sauder continues to facilitate similar projects.

Car troubles

I am back in Vancouver, but I thought I should update the last day or two in Kenya while I can still remember. Friday was graduation day for the participants, which meant they received their certificates from us. The day began as usual with Fred, our taxi driver, arriving on time. Then his car wouldn’t start, and Jim and Jessie pushed him down the parking lot so he could start it in first gear. We were about halfway to the Church (our destination, and homebase for teaching at the Bahati site), when the car stopped again. This time, Fred quickly commented that it was “dead”.

So, without a second thought, Jim, Jessie, and I exited the gravesite that was his car, and pushed it down a busy street, in rush hour, to the side of the road. This must have been a sight for the locals! Upon entering the car again, I noticed Fred rolling up the windows, at least partially due to the pollution. This prompted an inquiry into the safety of our current location. Fred assured us that it was not safe where our car had decided to stall, and that we should exercise caution. The police soon came and told us we had ten minutes to get off of the side of the road. Not sure how we were going to meet this deadline, Fred phoned his brother to aid in solving our problem, which had now been diagnosed as a battery issue. Long story short, people were offering us knock off clothes, wares, and snacks while we sat in our dead car. When Fred’s brother arrived, he hot-swapped out the battery out from his car (yes, I mean while it was still running), and placed it in ours. We managed to arrive at graduation a bit tardy, but it was fine in the end.

One of the big picture points for the trip for me was how much people want education, but lack the access. This begins at a young age. While technically primary school education is free, there are charges for the mandatory uniform and books. As you might imagine, this makes school prohibitive for the poorest families, and arguably those who would benefit the most. Secondary school requires money, and university even more still.

Another point is how much the Church is intertwined in the entire culture. We prayed to begin and end classes, and if one were to mention that he or she was an atheist, I speculate such an individual would be met with a blank stare or look of bewilderment on the part of the African. It was not uncommon to see business names that incorporated Biblical characters or sayings, such as “Jesus Saves Bakery”, or “God is Good Cleaners”, to paraphrase some signage we saw. I heard one African say that people in North America have it too good to think they need God. A sharp contrast with secular Vancouver.

I will leave some finer details to the others, whose memories are sharper than mine, but it was an honor and great experience to be a part of this trip. I met many new friends, both among the Kenyan participants and the group of us who lived together for 3+ weeks. I thank you all for the opportunity to experience this alongside yourselves.

Ninitz Kerosene Is Launched

Today we managed to clear all of the hurdles to launch Patrick's business, Ninitz Kerosene. For the record, this business was started for 7525 Ksh ($119). Before we distributed the rest of the money, we wanted to see Patrick's receipts for the rent and the tank, as well as get Mma Agnes, owner of Kibera Kerosene, from whom we'd purchase 100 liters of kerosene, to agree to mentor Patrick. The photo shows, from left to right, Patrick, Agnes, an employee filling Patrick's tank, and Henry.

I explained to Agnes how those of us who had been here last year really wanted to help him start his business, but that we were also concerned that he didn't really know how to run a business. Henry explained to her that we wanted Patrick to deposit with her on a daily basis an amount equivalent to the cost of what he'd sold for the day. This would insure that when his tank emptied, he'd already have the money on deposit for his next tank of kerosene. She agreed to do so, offering to write up receipts and keep a book for him to keep him going. I was overjoyed.

Once the deals were completed, we had a wonderful conversation with Agnes about her business. She's been in business for about four years, and is one of the three large suppliers of kerosene in Kibera (otherwise one has to go into town for large amounts). She said that Patrick was lucky because she'd started with a loan that she was still repaying (that said, I think she's actually doing reasonably well--interest can be from 12-18%, which is likely why her loan continues.) She is mainly a wholesaler, and it turned out that she'd actually given us her wholesale price, because that’s how her tanks are set for dispensing kerosene. This was really kind on her part.

Agnes discussed how difficult it had been to start her business. Initially friends had promised to support her, but when she actually went to them, no one would help her. She eventually managed to scrape together what she needed. Once she started making some money, though, her friends started coming to her for money. She said the whole thing taught her a lesson about who you can trust and who your friends are. She also said that the only one you can really talk to about your problems is God, and although he doesn't send an obvious answer, he will listen. It was really interesting to hear her talk like this.

Agnes also said that she was always very careful with her business, mainly reinvesting in the business, rather than taking out money for herself. I kept looking at Patrick, trying to make sure that he was hearing her messages (because they were definitely better coming from her than from me). We asked her whether Patrick's business could be successful, and she assured us that he should have no problem, as long as he reinvested his earnings, rather than simply spent them. She also said it should be pretty easy for him to grow. We closed on an upbeat note--Agnes asked when we would be back next year, and she predicted that we could have a party to celebrate Patrick's success, and that she wanted to be at that party.

I do hope she'll mentor him during this difficult time. Running a business is not easy, and it requires discipline. I've actually put in more effort than Patrick this week to get his business off the ground, as did Henry. I wonder if he knows that. We should all hope for the best.