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.

NAIROBI......Party Like the Sun Don't Rise!

Jimzy In.......

Would it be fair if we, young energetic able bodied youth visited a new city and did not taste/tempt the party scene or did not write about it? I think not! So, what does Nairobi city look like when the shops close, bankers go home, and children are safely tucked in? A few members of the SE101 team (names witheld on request, and my writing this should/does not insinuate that I am the party animal of the team. It so happens that tonight the blogging duties fall to me) will take you on a tour of the Nairobi party scene.
TACOS: Location-CITY CENTRE. The music is great, some of the tracks were similar to those played in Canada and I clearly recall two memebers of the team singing along to some of the songs being played. This is where Alvina, Kevin and Steven took to the dance floor-details of which may be found in an earlier blog.
PAVEMENT: Location-WESTLANDS. An extremely great and a must go-to club in my opinion. Had what it takes to make a great club scene. Nice music, perfect ambience, crowd that seemed to be made up of passionate club goers and party people. I noticed the crowd was mixed (not unlike a Vancouver club scene) and was clearly a favorite for tourists/foreigners/expatriates or it was probably the theme night that seemed to attract everyone. It was a 2 in 1 club. With one section of the club playing main stream hip hop music and the other playing techno/garage sounds. The only hustle was getting into the club and the line up stretched about a block. Club cover was about 400Kes, beers 120Kes, a gin shot 300Kes.
QUEUES: Location-WESTLANDS. Also a 2 in 1 club establishment. Despite the flight of steps one has to climb to get to either, it is a fairly descent party place. Both clubs play similar genre of music but are manned by different D.J's. The top floor is an open air club/bar/pub allowing you to party alfresco. With the another club on the 2nd floor where you could relocate if you wished for warmer temperatures.
REZEROUS(not too sure of the spelling): Location-WESTLANDS. A 3 minute walk from QUEUES. Extremely jam packed on all occasions one of the team went there. A wide range of music, pocket friendly prices and great crowd. Other than the line up to get into the club, all is well at this location.
CARNIVORE: Location-CLOSE TO NAIROBI NATIONAL PARK. Yet to be tasted/tested.Though it is well known for its theme nights.
K1: Location- WESTLANDS. Excellent ambience and decor. Wood and grass thatch is the predominant architectural design theme. In essence there are close to three different pubs at this location. Fortunately, there is nyama choma and othe fast food should belly make demands for food. Beer and nyama choma is definitely big in Nairobi and a great combination too experience has proven. Highly recommended you carry along a sweater or jacket. Also a great spot on Tuesdays for Karoke lovers.
And that is it for now. Please note more venues may be added to this list in the near future. So incase you wish to stumble home at 5am the next time you are in Nairobi like........................ you know where the adventures lie.

.................Jimzy Out!

Doing Business in Kibera

Both Friday and today I had to journey through Kibera by foot in the hopes of helping to set up the business of one of our participants from last year. Part of this experience has been really fun. Today, while walking along one of the streets, I was stopped by three people, all of whom called me by name. Felix, who works at my hotel; Lawrence, who owns the matatu we used last year to get back and forth from Kibera; and Cartoon, one of last year's participants. On Friday, I ran into two of the other participants from last year. They all give huge smiles and loud, friendly greetings and handshakes. Kibera houses nearly a million people. I can't think of a time I encountered three people I knew on the same day while walking a street in Vancouver. There are not that many white people who pass through in the course of the day, so I'm easily recognized.

However, trying to set up a business here is not an easy task. In this situation, our team is trying to fund Patrick, who wants to start Nimitz Kerosene, which will sell small quantities of kerosene to individuals who can only afford to buy enough to cook one meal at a time. He is the only participant from last year who mostly completed a business plan, and one that showed that a profit was fairly easy to attain. We are committed to trying to set up a successful business so that we can show that our training can make a difference.

It is difficult to know how much of what feels like an almost impossible challenge is due to simple (!) cultural differences, and how much arises due to the unwillingness to just hand out money to a person starting a business. Our concern is that we really want Patrick's business to start--we don't want him to just take our money and use it for other purposes. The amount of money we're talking about is roughly $160 (10,000 Kenyan shillings.)

Trying to convince Patrick that he really does need to show us the receipt for the rent he paid (and trying to convince the purported landlord of the same) took about an hour. We didn't get a receipt at the end of that conversation. Henry, a Kenyan partner who is trying to help our team launch a successful business, interrogated them both, after I'd already done so before he arrived. I encouraged him to do it in Swahili, even though it would mean that I didn't understand the conversation. I figured he could assess honesty in "native" language better than I could do so in English. In the end, we agreed that the rent receipt must be produced at our next meeting.

Then we were off to buy 100 liters of kerosene, a tank to hold it, and small polyethelene bags (think baggies with twist ties!) Nothing is ever easy, though. The woman we'd met on Friday who is to sell us the kerosene wasn't around. One of her employees was. Should we buy from him or wait for her (because we need her to guarantee that if for some reason Patrick doesn't actually accept delivery of the kerosene, but wants the money instead, the money has to come back to us.) We'd also like to ask her to mentor him, so that each day, he deposits with her the cost of the kerosene he's sold that day (keeping the profits himself), so that by the time the first tank of kerosene is sold, he's put on deposit all the money needed to buy the next one.

Stymied on that front, we try to do something else--purchase the polyethelene bags that will hold the small quantities of kerosene. An old, rugged looking guy arrives at the kerosene depot after a five minute wait, carrying a very heavy bag filled with packets of baggies in a variety of sizes. Bargaining begins, all in Swahili. I can tell that the bargaining is not going well, at least for my side. The seller seems to think he has the edge. I whisper to Henry, "it's because I'm standing here," which he acknowledges. White people can afford to pay much higher prices, or at least that's what the seller is using as his bargaining strategy. He accurately assumes that I must be involved somehow, or I wouldn't be standing there. Henry tries to explain to him that the bags are not for me, but for Patrick. Somehow a price is arrived at that Henry deems fair, and then of course, I shell out the money ($3.87), living up to the stereotype: white people have the money.

We learn of a good price on the kerosene tank (1000 Kenyan shillings, or about $16), though it's sold at a shop near Bahati, our other teaching site. I decide that we can probably get our cab driver to pick it up for us during one of our daily trips. Then Patrick claims that he's already ordered the tank from elsewhere (meaning we're supposed to give him the money for it.) This was not in our plan (which was mainly to purchase his supplies, not give him any cash). So, we finally decide to give him the money for the tank, but not the money for his sign, and a few other things (all of these other things came to an amount equivalent to the cost of the tank). Instead, he'll have to produce the tank and the receipt before we go any further along in this business venture.

Before finishing for the day, we make Patrick sign a document acknowledging receipt of the money, and acknowledging that it's a loan which he must start paying off within a week, at $1.60 a week. At first he tries to beg that we give him a three-month grace period before he begins to repay the loan, but we do not budge. There is no interest charged. We tell him that if he misses any payments we will liquidate his assets to get our loan repaid. This is a high finance operation, afterall.

As I write this, I consider that maybe we should have just given the entire $160 away. Henry is a business consultant here in Nairobi, and I have a good salary in Canada. We have now spent 12 hours collectively trying to make sure we don't lose $160. And we're not even done. And, if I want to collect on the default, I may need to add on the cost of an airplane ticket to Nairobi. Or send Henry.

Mentoring entrepreneurs is hard work!

We know Kung Fu

Two weeks of teaching has passed and I had a chance to teach a full day class - Financial Plan. Teaching is not as easy as I thought, it sure need lots of preparation and high level of concentration as students might as you many challenging questions. However, the hardest part is to teach basic accounting in only 1.5 hours. At the end of the class, they were supposed to know how to prepare the whole financial statement. Students in our class have different education background, some of them understand the concept right away, but some of them need more time to digest the information; it was not easy to make sure everyone understand within the tight timeframe. Another challenge for the students is to apply the financial plan to their own business. Preparing financial forecasts is one major component in our course. Our students are very hard working, they collected information from suppliers and competitors within few days. However, in Canada, market information is easily accessible by internet and databases. In Kenya, market information do not get centralized; therefore, it is very difficult for our students to estimate revenue. Also, almost everything is negotiable, and this makes revenue projection even harder as prices are different for each customers. Adding more time in lecturing financial plan would be necessary in the future.

Speaking of negotiation, I am becoming an expert through practice. We negotiate everyday. From cab fare to a bottle of water. I was shopping in Maasai Market - a market that only opens on Tuesdays and Saturdays and sells jewellery, crafts, arts, souveniors, etc.- for about 5 hours and almost 2 hours was spent on negotiating prices. I learned that if I am not sure to buy, I should not ask for the price. Once price is asked, the seller will follow and pursuade you until you make the purchase. Since I am obviously a tourist, they normally start the price ridiculously high. I was looking at a necklace and asked the price and the vendor listed 2750 shillings ( ~$45), i made an offer for 500 shillings ( ~$8) but he rejected. I left the kiosk and kept shopping. 15 minutes later, the vendor showed up again and I found out that he has been following us. We end up agreed the price at 700 shillings (~$12) after another 15 minutes negotiation. I learned the the trick to get lower price is to pretend walking away. When I was leaving the market, a local lady showed a Kung Fu pose to me. This remind me that Alvina was once asked in a local disco whether she knew Kung Fu and the kenyan wanted to learn from Alvina. Thanks to the movies, we individuals of Chinese descent were viewed as Kung Fu experts that can jump from wall to wall and roof to roof. One of my students in class even asked me if Kung Fu is in the curriculum in school as required subject to learn. Since it would be to my advantage, I did not deny that I don't know Kung Fu (in fact, I learned Tae Kwon Do).

I finally had a chance to visit Kibera on Friday. My first impression was that there were many people on the street. There is about 1 million people living in Kibera. We walked for about 30 minutes and were being stared by many people. I remembered that a website describe Kibera as a place a tourist should never go because you would be lucky if you come out in underwear. We were very cautious in Kibera, there was a local lady following us and asking for money, and many kids come up and ask for money as well. Kids were friendly, many would ask you "how are you?". Brent were approached by a little boy, he has some bottle caps in hand and we thought he was offering that to Brent as a gift. In fact, he was just pointing at Brent's camera and he wanted that. In Kibera, many people were struggling for money, even for kids. Kids can only see money in their eyes; they are like bamboon that live in Lake Nakuru, who look cute but have to be agressive in order to survive in this tough environment. Hopefully in the future life in Kibera can change and kids can get out from this poverty. SE101 would be a small step in helping this community to create more employment for better lives. When leaving Kibera, I saw one Asian lady walking by herself in Kibera, many of us was shocked but I guessed she will be fine since we Chinese know Kung Fu.

Use only as directed by a physician

This week marked my inaugural visit to a hospital in Africa. I have had the misfortune of being sick in various locales, on a few continents. While such a statement may imply an inadequate immune system on my part, the fact of the matter is that I am rarely ill, and for that I am thankful.

I came down with what I self-diagnosed as a fever earlier in the week. While the team has occasionally wrestled with bouts of the sniffles, when I was in 4 blankets, a fleece, socks, and awake and freezing at 4:00 am, I decided I would get acquainted with the local medical facilities.

The first step in this process was deciding which clinic, hospital, or practitioner to visit. Luckily, a phone call to our gracious hosts from earlier in the visit (the Khan’s) reminded me that Qaisara’s father worked in administration at the Aga Khan University Hospital. It was suggested that I visit there. It turns out that the Aga Khan is the best (or second best, depending on whose views are sought) health care facility in Nairobi.

A short cab ride later, and I met Mickey (Qaisara's father), who led me through both the paperwork (surprisingly little) and the hospital (surprisingly large). I paid my consulting fee to see the physician (about $10), and about 20 minutes later I met Dr. Thorpe. She is an expat Brit who grew up with her time divided between Kenya and the UK, the latter of which was homebase for her medical education. No nurse, straight to the physician. This reminded me of my surgery in Mexico a number of years ago, where my surgery was performed by 3 physicians, no nurses, and I had outpatient care every second day after the surgery by, you guessed it, a physician. Try getting a doctor in North America to re-assess your wound after surgery every 48 hours for a week. But I digress.

Dr. Thorpe indicated that I did have a fever, red throat, and elevated heart rate, and prescribed me some basic painkillers, an anti-inflammatory, and some throat lozenges. She also ordered a blood test to rule out malaria, which is rare in urban areas. Total bill for all of the pills, about $4, for the blood test, about $9.

The blood test indicated that I had some bacteria or virus; I am sure it was more esoteric sounding, but the gist was that it wasn’t all that serious, and if I took my 17 pills a day (I am not exaggerating, but again I fear this makes it sound more serious than the situation warranted) I would be just fine. This total included an additional antibiotic that came in at a surprisingly high $18. Still not sure the deal there, but when all was said and done, I was $41 poorer for the best care (as defined by price), from a western-trained doctor (we’ll leave the debate as to how much this makes a difference, if any, for those more versed in public health than I) that Kenya had to offer. A side bar about the physician, though: if I paid $10 to the hospital to see her (and almost double for antibiotics), what was her cut? I am pretty sure it is clear that she is not in Kenya for the money…

There is also a medical facility near where I teach in Bahati. The building stands in sharp contrast to the Aga Khan. Its tin roof and benches give the impression that the building could house just about anything. I queried one of our students, who informed me that medical care there costs 20 shillings, or about 33 cents. I asked if he had ever visited, and he quickly said “no”. When pressed for a reason, he said (and I am paraphrasing) that medical care shouldn’t cost 20 shillings. He said he pays a figure close to what I paid to visit a doctor. However, every day when I pass, there is a small gathering in and around the clinic. Apparently there is sufficient demand. There is also a free public hospital in town, but the guidebook advises not to go there, as “you may leave with something worse than you came with”. When I think of the debate over two-tiered health care in Canada, the controversy seems so trivial when on the ground here, given that the resulting “tiers” would almost certainly never be as disparate as they are here. That being said, is a gap in quality or “levels” of public health ever acceptable when we are talking about human life? If you think that I am advocating or endorsing a particular ideology or trying to make a meaningful contribution to a philosophic debate (as I fear I am starting to sound like a bad op-ed piece), I assure you I am not and apologize for my miscommunication (or your misreading). It is just a blog.

Yesterday, I noticed that parts of my body were beginning to become quite itchy and red (I know, I am clearly the weak link on this trip). I consulted some of the other team members, who diagnosed the situation and recommended various remedies, one of which was a topical ointment that was great for these types of things. The only catch (well actually there were two): no one had any, and you needed a prescription. I embarked on a trip downtown in search of this elusive ointment. I did have a feeling that I could get some from a pharmacy, if I could find one stocking the goo. The first pharmacy had some, and like most medication here, it was over-the-counter. Same solution as Canada, but no prescription needed. As I applied the ointment to the affected area (which the pharmacist indicated was likely the result of an allergic reaction to one of the pills I was taking), I noticed the box: use only as directed by a physician….