Technology and Communications
Team
Log # 9
By Binh Nguyen
“We provide you with the ladder, but the climbing, my friend, you
have to do it yourself.”
This quotation from the video “The Ladder to Prosperity” that we
watched last week. I wrote this sentence down since it reflects the
nature of microfinance and Jamii Bora itself as a MFI.
In addition to our initial knowledge about Jamii Bora two weeks
ago, the video “The Ladder to Prosperity” gave us a closer look at
the amazing impacts that Jamii Bora have done to people in Kenya.
Being a MFI for the local community and powered by the local
people, Ingrid Munro and those people sharing her passion have been
changing the face of poverty in the country radically. Indeed,
starting with borrowing and saving, the impoverished is climbing
the ladder out of poverty. Jamii Bora helps them along their way by
providing assistance with business planning, giving them necessary
guideline to begin their businesses. As a further development in
the organization’s services, Jamii Bora opened its own business
school to train their members in business area. As a result, the
members starting as beggars on the streets are giving opportunity
to actually become loan officers, managers or even higher positions
in the organization. Moreover, Jamii Bora also offers the ladder
with life insurance and disaster insurance so that its members are
ensured to go up to prosperity without worry about debt burden
after death or destruction by the natural disasters. Without a
doubt, Jamii Bora is an amazing example of a successful MFI which
has found every possible way to assist people passing the poverty
line. As a result, Jamii Bora members now can proudly say: “I know
to do something myself”.
Watching the video about Jamii Bora in class last week, I felt that
it was really interesting not only because of its inspiring content
but, also because Dr. Sama was actually visiting them in Kenya
around the same day. As this semesters GLOBE class, we were able to
actually experience the impact that an MFI can have on the world,
regardless of the fact that we do not have much time in the
program.
Indeed, I almost cannot believe that the semester is coming to an
end in only about three weeks. Although our GLOBE video did not win
in the “Capture the Storm” contest, the whole class did try our
best getting the video watched by as many people as we could. In
addition, I believe that GLOBE will be known over the campus after
our upcoming big event for the semester, the GLOBE Fair.
Marketing and Fundraising Team
Log # 9
By Amanda Leys
This week marks the final countdown to what is arguably our entire
semester's work. With the fair rapidly approaching there is much to
do. I feel that we are adequately prepared at this point, what it
really comes down to is the support of our other teams on the day
of the fair. My fingers are crossed that the weather is beautiful
and students are wandering around campus happily when they find
Marillac covered in blue. I am more convinced than ever that
choosing a student awareness event to gain exposure was absolutely
the right decision.
There needs to be a stronger connection between the St. John's
community and the communities which we aim to serve. I firmly
believe that our fair will reconnect the two and gain massive
student interest.
After the fair, we must jump immediately into preparing our final
presentation. I had hoped to conduct a small survey pre and post
fair to try and gage whether our event was as successful as we
hoped but there are only so many hours in a day! For the
presentation, the marketing team will have much to discuss. We have
continued to keep our database updates on our activities, we have
created a valuable pamphlet for semesters to come, and we will have
hopefully captured the attention of the student population.
There will also be MANY recommendations for the future. It’s funny
that over the course of the semester GLOBE becomes your baby- and
it will be extremely hard to pass it on to the next group.
Today at our bake sale, a group of girls instantly recognized our
table and said how one of their friends had been in the program. It
reminded me again of the first day of class and the impact one
person could make. As the program continues and our web of students
past and present grows, one can only wonder how far across the
"GLOBE" we will reach.
Finance and Risk Assessment Team
Log # 9
By Amanda Pasciolla
I can honestly say that this past week has been one, if not the
most, exciting yet heartbreaking and challenging weeks of GLOBE as
a member of the Finance team. Upon receiving new loan
applications from Kenya, I am thrilled and very happy that we now
have our first set of candidates from a new country, and I am very
eager to approve a loan as soon as possible. However, I say
heartbreaking and challenging because I am finding it extremely
difficult to determine which applicant should be first
approved.
Out of the five applications that we received, each one tells a
story that is equally moving and touching. Microfinance
institutions and GLOBE are so willing to work with applicants to
ensure the loan does not increase stress, but that it supplies
opportunity more than anything else. Furthermore, it is
impossible to deny the strong sense of determination and desire
that one can feel upon reading each application, and it is this
that supplies me with great hope that success is very
possible.
I find these applications to be somewhat different from the ones we
previously reviewed because of their detail and the emotion and
compassion they evoke. These people work very hard and
they want to provide for their families, but in some cases no
matter how hard they work, there is little money to be made.
Plagued by sickness and disease with no help or support in which to
turn, it becomes impossible for one to work or provide the care
needed in order to escape poverty. Furthermore, the fact that
most of these applicants have an annual income of less than $100
even when healthy, with in some cases more than 10 children in
which to care, makes one realize how extremely difficult life
must be on a daily basis. I am reading these applications
knowing that on the other end of the process is the family, wife,
husband, or single mother that not too long ago sat and filled out
this application in hopes it would be approved; my heart
breaks.
Where else is a student able to connect and provide help to those
who are in such desperate need of support? Where else is a
student going to be able to personally review and read the stories
of individuals whose lives could be changed by a $70 loan?
GLOBE is hands on work involving real people who need support, and
I cannot imagine a better opportunity to help those who truly need
it most. This is the message fellow GLOBE members and I need
to be sharing in our classrooms and with friends who may not fully
understand the impact one can have as a member of
GLOBE.
Accounting and Program Audit
Team
Log # 9
By Christina Demos
We are boiling down to the last few classes of an exciting but
short lived semester. In the next two weeks we have our
presentations due as well as our group research paper. In addition
the entire class is taking on initiatives to help the marketing
team with awareness events such as the bake sale, the campus walk
threw, and the GLOBE Fair. Although there is a substantial amount
of pressure all at once, there is also a feeling of great
excitement and satisfaction as the class is coming to an end. The
accounting team is slowly able to recognize the outcomes of our
hard work as well as the knowledge we have gained from each class
lesson. Furthermore, we are eager to distribute questionnaires in
order to put together our evaluations of each team’s end of
semester performance.
During our last class and throughout the past week I have been
putting a lot of effort toward study and research for our term
paper. The theme of our term paper is to describe “the impact of a
social business in today’s economy”. Social businesses have a
significant impact on society both financially and socially. My
goal is to key point the effects of a social business, as its
objective is to pursue a specific social goal. If companies are
successful in reaching their goals, I will research to find if the
social change is a temporary change or a long term change. My
research is to discover the long term and future improvements that
a social business will create for society. In addition I will
research to find out how the social business will sustain itself in
a community, where individuals may be more egotistical or
greedy.
In my recent research, I discovered a case study done by a
Brazilian woman Reneta Arantes Villella, an Ashoka Fellow. Renata
opened a school for disabled children in rural Brazil. She also
created work-shops and radio broadcasts to educate families on
pre-natal care. The social business that Renata has created has
been successful in making a long term change for the families and
communities in Arantes Villella. Renata has formed an integration
of disabled individuals into society as productive and respected
members. Over time, the system creates a more enabling environment
by dissolving stereotypes, changing the mindset of communities, and
using disabled individuals for their skills to help society
grow. Reneta’s organization is a perfect example of a social
business that is successful at making long term social impacts.