Accounting and Program Audit Team
Log # 6
By Sylvia Sam-Mensah
“…the most successful entrepreneurs were not necessarily
more confident, persistent or knowledgeable. The key differences
had more to do with the quality of their motivation.”
-David Bornstein, How to Change the World: Social Entrepreneurs and
the Power of New Ideas
From reading the above-mentioned book as part of our assigned
readings for the GLOBE class, I come to appreciate the value of
motivation and the importance of motivation as a driving force for
all the achievements of some very prominent Social Entrepreneurs
like Muhammad Yunus.
At one point in the GLOBE class, we had a discussion about poverty
in an attempt to define what it means to be poor. We talked about
all the negative things that come with being poor like the fact
that poverty seems cyclical, that people living in poverty have
limited resources and limited access to the necessary tools to meet
the basic human needs. More important though, was the eye opening
explanation that people living in poverty are motivated by their
circumstances to keep hope alive and to do as much as possible to
take their families out of this misfortune and to make sure that
their children and generations to come will not have to endure the
hardships that they have endured.
This makes the work of GLOBE even more pivotal because we are
serving the best entrepreneurs out there. They already possess the
‘motivation’ factor, which is a mark of successful entrepreneurs.
We are only giving the poor the necessary tools, through
microfinance, to bring themselves out of poverty and one day,
together with all the efforts made by microfinance institutions
around the world, we’ll achieve Muhammad Yunus’ dream as expressed
in this quote:
“Once poverty is gone, we'll need to build museums to display
its horrors to future generations. They'll wonder why poverty
continued so long in human society - how a few people could live in
luxury while billions dwelt in misery, deprivation and
despair.”
― Muhammad Yunus, Creating a World Without Poverty: Social Business
and the Future of Capitalism
Finance and Risk Assessment Team
Log # 6
By Gurjeet Kaur
How can you help those in poverty? Donating to a good cause,
volunteering time from your busy schedule, and raising money at a
fundraiser, all seem like viable answers. While we do everything in
our power to change the world, it still seems to be the same.
Speaking from experience, I have done a lot of donating to
non-profits but haven’t come close to realizing what poverty feels
like. One can only be in a state of poverty to really know how it
feels. As the weeks go by, GLOBE is becoming a learning experience
in how to fight poverty over the world.
One of the first things that became apparent to me was that in
order to eliminate some type of poverty, you have to obtain a
direct link to the underdeveloped countries. There are various
benefits related to this. On one hand, the donor knows exactly who
is receiving the donations and how they are used. It is definitely
helpful for the donor to be in the whereabouts in this type of
situation. On the other hand, there is no middleman to hinder the
giving and receiving of awards. As much as we rely on middlemen to
give away our donations, it is always better to have the upper
hand. I am not saying that non-profit organizations don’t
disseminate money to the right receivers; I am saying that if one
is really keen on reducing poverty, the latter way is better.
GLOBE is a non-profit organization committed to reducing poverty by
helping budding entrepreneurs get started on a better life. It is a
hands-on program for the students in the class. The students not
only manage the program but also ensure its longevity. Halfway
through the program, I can say I have gained an insight into the
world of poverty. The approval of five loans from the Congo gives
me a greater understanding of how important improvement is in one’s
life, no matter where you are. The entrepreneurs gain an advantage
in their region and are able to support a sufficient economy. With
that, I am more than satisfied to have joined a life-changing
class.
Marketing and Fundraising Team
Log # 6
By Douglas Harrison
When thinking about GLOBE, I think about the word
sustainability. I also think about how we as GLOBE members are
helping individuals gain a way to live a life sustained. This past
week, I was able to see a different side of sustainability in a
more technological sense.
As a class, we went to visit Dr. Carroll’s product management
class where we listened to a talk about Voltaic Systems given by
Jeff Crystal. In this talk, he gave a general overview of the
company and showed us some of his products. Voltaic Systems is a
company that makes products that can produce and store its own
energy to run electronics by using solar energy. While listening to
this talk I was able to make a connection between the lack of
energy and poverty.
For a person using electronics, the lack of power for the
equipment can equate to not having the things necessary at the
time. In poverty, a person doesn’t have the necessities. I thought
it was a great way to think about how a company such as Voltaic
could help alleviate the issues associated with powerless
electronics. GLOBE is doing the same with poverty and doing it
well. Alleviating poverty one loan at a time.
In recent events, the GLOBE Bake Sale was great! While I was
walking around in the Treat for Change cape, I was given the
opportunity to tell people about GLOBE and help raise money for
this great cause.
Technology and Communications Team
Log # 6
By Shana Barnes
The marketing team put on their first event of the semester.
Participating in Treat for Change was a great experience. I saw the
previous GLOBE classes take part in this event and the first thing
I thought was “Why are all these people walking around with capes
acting like superheroes?” That’s when I realized it was the perfect
way to catch the attention or even the eye of many. It allows for
not only stares, but also people to ask questions and find out
about the meaning behind the mission. I am usually a reserved type
of individual that does not like attention to be drawn to me, but
this event allowed me to socialize with people I have never met
before. My main motivation that kept me opened to the whole
experience was the picture of the borrower on the back of my cape.
It is amazing feelings to know that all the money GLOBE raises goes
straight to helping these individuals lift themselves out of
poverty by receiving a small loan.
The bake sale was great as well. Everyone did their part and we had
a large variety of baked goods to choose from. Working at the table
made me aware of how devoted some of the faculty, staff, and
administrators are to GLOBE. They were well aware of the power of
their donation and were very generous. The bake sale definitely
sparked the interest of some students I could personally see as
future GLOBE managers. For the bake sale, the IT team made it a
goal to increase GLOBE awareness through the use of social media.
We were successful and we were able to increase our twitter
followers, more specifically, St. John’s students.
I also enjoyed last week’s guest speaker series hosted by Dr.
Carroll. Jeff Crystal, from Voltaic System had a very interesting
take on solar panels. The fact that his next step in his business
is to expand to people in third-world countries where people have
no access to electricity intrigued me. I can also take everything
that he mentioned into account for my team’s business plan because
not having electricity was one of our obstacles. Based off his
reaction, I could tell he was interested in GLOBE and what we were
doing as a class. We are very thankful for the donation of one of
his latest solar products.