Reflections

Well blog buddies, I have failed miserably at updating the blog weekly. But I'm going to give you a brief overview what happened the past three weeks.

Our final week in Belize was spent finishing up our surveys, working on the final presentation, and our three service projects (building a chicken coup, a fast food hut, and a business renovation). After a few days of consistent work, then polishing through the night, we presented the final presentation to B.E.S.T. Among other recommendations, we suggested they seek partnerships with leading MFI's or seek capital from outside sources, like ACCION International. We concluded, with the help of our professor, that B.E.S.T. was financially unsustainable and, should they not reevaluate their methods for acquiring capital, and improving their repayment rate, they will most likely be out of business within 2 years. One of our initial objectives was to develop an impact assessment tool, which we did using industry best practices, but when we were supposed to start using it in the field, best deemed it unsuitable, and instead provided us with their own survey, which at best gave a coarse overview of their performance, NOT impact. The main challenge when analyzing the data, was trying to extract pertinent data from an amateur survey that measure something else. After many frustrating hours of analyzing, we were able to extract a few correlations. On a separate observation based analysis, we concluded that best was trying to act as a bank, but the people running it weren't bankers. So while they are well intentioned, they're practices are not that of a microfinance institution truly dedicated to the mission of poverty elimination.

The following Sunday we flew to the much cooler Dominican Republic. After a mere 4.5 hours of sleep we were up again off to INTEC our partner university in the DR. After a brief introduction, and a quick lecture, we separated into groups. With the help of Esperanz's director of impact measurement. We tweaked our survey for Esperanza to fit their specific needs. In the DR our objective was to measure the effectiveness of Esperanza's business training model, and recommend improvements we felt could be easily implemented and would be effective over the short, and long term. Over the course of our 8 days in the field we were able to perform 208 valid surveys, surpassing the number of surveys last year's group did in 3 weeks! How did we accomplish such a feat? We worked from 6:30am until 7:30pm, everyday. A major problem with the Belize program was communication between the program organizers and the students, and people feeling as if the biweekly "reflections" were ineffective, and a total waste of time seeing as they inevitable became a 2 hour long complaining/venting session. In the DR, our professor eliminated the reflection sessions, dumped the "team leaders" and instead held daily guided reflection sessions pertaining to what happened in the field, and how that proved, disproved, or made a certain point apparent. While we usually returned to the hotel around 9pm the extra time spent with the professor was surely worth the lack of sleep and ensuing fatigue.

In belize, because there wasn't much time in the end to do the presentation, a small group put the entire project together, while the rest worked on service projects, excluding people who wanted to participate, creating a fissure within the group (thankfully we had a day and a half a beach resort to reset before DR !). In the DR our professor made it explicitly clear that he wanted this presentation to be representative of the work of the group, and that everyone needed to participate in some fashion. That being said he made it clear that nobody was to be working on every single part. He told us that we had to divide the work up among the group and trust that everyone pulled their own weight to create a cohesive and effective presentation. I decided to research industry best practices on innovative training methods that were adaptive to the demographic they were training. I found that Fonkozé's, Haiti's largest MFI, tiered training model most effective. In the Fonkozé model, borrowers are divided into groups first by literacy, then by whether or not they were in a rural or urban area. Illiterate and enumerate borrowers were taught the basics of reading and writing through games, songs, and other interactive techniques. Once a borrower graduates to the next level, they are taught the essential business concepts and practices, like profit vs. revenue, how to price their products, and the importance of record keeping. The most distinguishable feature of Fonkozé's training model is it is usually taught by successful borrowers, a sort of peer-to-peer model, eliminating the hierarchy between "stupid" adult students, and "smart, elitist" teachers, that oftentimes inhibits the effectiveness of the training session.
This presentation was extremely successful making it obvious how consistent and methodical planning, can turn a large disorganized clash of opinions into a high performing team working in seamless harmony toward a common goal.

The program is officially over, and as I draft this post by the seaside, waiting for my ride to take to me to the airport to arrive, I can only think of just how privileged I am, and the importance of people like me, who did nothing special to deserve all of the opportunities they have been given, to remember that they have a social responsibility to those who were simply unlucky.

Thank you so much for supporting me, financially or not, for this experience has been influential in ways words cannot express, and has reaffirmed my mission to help eradicate the most widespread violation of human rights from the earth.

-Jahan

Belize Post 1!!!

Belize Blog Update 1

Hey Blog Buddies, I am blogging from the jungles of Belize right now !!!!!! Sorry, for not updating earlier, but I've been rocking 12-14 hour days and I've been falling asleep with my computer on my lap.

We're staying at an eco lodge outside of San Ignacio, Belize. Seeing as this is my first post from the experience itself I shall recount the story from its debut.

Last Thursday, May 20th, I flew from Grenoble, France to New Jersey via Frankfurt Germany. I arrived in Newark around 4pm with all of my belongings, including 5 bottles of wine, in tact. Long story short, got home around 5:30 drank tea, went out for a steak, drank tea again, unpacked, repacked, drank tea again, slept 4 hours, drank tea, and headed back to the airport to catch my flight to Belize.

I spent Friday from 6:45am to 4:30pm EST traveling to Belize. The NEU group flight landed in Belize about 20 minutes after mine. I hooked up with them, and we started our three hour drive to San Ignacio. Something important to note is had the roads not been horrible, and had there not been speed bumps (the 3rd world's version of speed limits because the police don't patrol the roads for speeders) every 100 meters the trip would have taken about 40 mins seeing as the country is about the size of Massachusetts, but it's not so c'est la vie. We made a stop at the local supermarket (all owned by Chinese immigrants), and around 7:30pm Belize time (-2 hrs so 9:30 pm EST), in total darkness we arrive at our jungle lodge, and after some room confusion and dinner, we finally settle into our rooms around 9pm. I shower, then die.

As we get university credit for this program, we are assigned readings and outside work to do. One of the books we had to read, "The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw" (amazing and I highly recommend it regardless of your interests) chronicles the struggle of the "Zoo Lady," Sharon Matola, efforts to stop the building of an unnecessary dam at Chalilo on the Macal River. The dam's building would lead to the extinction of the Belizean Scarlet Macaw by flooding their only remaining nesting sites. The dam would obviously interrupt the river's natural flow, which is the essential component in maintaining the happy balance that ecosystem enjoyed.

Unfortunately, on Saturday we went and visited the dam. The devastation is total. No life remains on either side. Some ecologists believed that some of the animals that previous inhabited the area would be able to adapt to the new environment, but the impact was much more far-reaching than initially anticipated. Not only have the Belizean Scarlet Macaws gone extinct, but Jaguars and Tapirs, Belize's national animal also known as the mountain cow, have moved out of the area, fish specific to this river have gone extinct, plant species that have adapted to the seasonal floods have gone extinct. The dam has even had an impact on the migration patterns of birds heading south for the winter. These are only some of the tangible effects of the dam, the real, long-term, implications have yet to be realized.

The dam at Chalilo is only one example of how the decisions of a few corrupt officials can forever impact the world. The Belizean government promised that the Chalilo dam, owned by Fortis Energy based in New Foundland, Canada, would lower energy costs by reducing their reliance on Mexico's energy. Energy costs in Belize have risen because the dam was so wildly over-budget, and according to the contract, as explained by the book, the government, meaning Belize's 75,000 taxpayers, would pay if the dam went over-budget, for any of Fortis' lawyer fees, and the most shocking and infuriating of all, THEY WOULD GUARANTEE $9.2 MILLION PER YEAR TO FORTIS REGARDLESS IF THE DAM EVER PRODUCED ONE MEGAWATT OF POWER ! Meanwhile an expected $80 million was pocketed by all of the Belizean ministers involved in the project.

What's more is that the dam is built on sedimentary rock, not granite as Fortis claims, and a mere 550 meters from Central America's most active fault line. If the dam breaks everything downstream would be obliterated, even the place where I am blogging from now.

Chalilo Dam and the Macal River today. The day we went the river was the width of just the blue house on the left.

I highly recommend you read the book for yourself, "The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw" by Bruce Barcott, it is brilliantly written and it really gives you an intimate look into the extent people are willing to go to make a buck.

Sorry about that being a little lengthy, but I had to get it out :)

On Sunday, we rose again at the crack of dawn to go to Tikal, the Mayan ruins in Guatemala. Hands down, one of the top 5 coolest things I've ever seen in my life. In order to save you from reading another novel, I'm just going to say that the Mayans were pretty incredible at everything, but I still don't think the world is going to end December 21, 2010. However, that day signifies that we move from the era of Aquarius to the era of Pices. If you're ever in the area, it's definitely worth paying a visit, and hey you may even see a jaguar ! Probably not, but they'll most likely see you.

On Monday we visited Kings Children's Home, a sort of refuge for orphans, children who have been abandoned, abused, or anything else for that matter. There we took them out for lunch, and a little 14 year old boy named Oscar sat himself down next to me. He looked to be about 10 years old, but he acted like a 20 year old, and fondly referred to the other 47 children he lived with as his brothers and sisters, and that he was quite happy in his enormous family, and really loved that they were able to find happiness out of a seemingly dire situation. After lunch, we went to the Belize Zoo, founded by none other than Sharon Matola, the Zoo Lady. There we saw some beautiful scarlet macaws, jaguars, a puma, spider and howler monkeys, and even a few mountain cows! Oscar, Lia, and I held a boa constrictor around our necks, and I misidentified a grotesquely huge squirrel for a wild monkey...Oscar got a good laugh out of my excitement and ensuing disappointment (nothing against squirrels I think they are marvelous creatures). Although it was interesting to see, for the first time, white tailed deer and turkeys in the zoo. Some of the younger kids couldn't believe that we "at that giant bird all in one day...No wonder gringos are so fat !" Oh the oversimplifications of an overweight 7 year old.

Today, Tuesday, was our first day of class. They were mostly introductory and served to help orient us on Belizean culture and history, and our parters at Galen University on what the goals of our mission here are. We went out to dinner where we were supposed to mingle and get to know the Belizean students and, BEST (our microfinance affiliate). However, only one Belizean student came because, the others either had more classes, or had to catch the bus back home by a certain time. I spent the time with Professor Shaughnessy and my roommate Uli about the history of this program, his business life, and other things. It was a very beneficial 2 hours, and I learned A LOT!

I have to say, even though I haven't experienced this kind of intensity since teaching English in China a few years ago,at the end of the day, with barely enough energy to make it though dinner, reflections, and my shower, it's a good tired that leaves me feeling accomplished and excited for what's to come.

Tomorrow we head to the field for the first time to interview recipients of micro-grants (a sum of money given to people to start businesses but fall too far below the poverty line and cant even qualify for a micro-loan. They don't have to repay it).

Thanks for hanging in there with this enormous post and remember to check back frequently to stay updated with whats going on here in Belize.

The photos are currently trapped on my camera, but as soon as find the cord I'll update this post with them.

Peace out !

Jahan

P.S. You can still donate !

Life in the Bateys- A Bittersweet Existence

A brief insight into the lives of the 500,000 to 1 million illegal Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic. These are the people with whom we will be working with.

Thank You ALL So Much

This will be my final blog post before going to Belize this Friday. Firstly, I want to apologize for temporarily abandoning the blog for a little over a month. I failed to prioritize to it and so it continued to be pushed further and further down my to-do list.

When I started fundraising for the program the goal of $8,738 seemed impossibly high. After almost 6 months of mostly steady fundraising efforts, I received over $1, 500 in personal donations exceeding my goal of $750. Supplemented by my personal funds and some school scholarships my grand total comes to $4,011.35. This enormous sum shattered the expectations I had six months ago, and courtesy of an apparent glitch in my school's financial aid program, I may be able to have my scholarship that wasn't applied to my study abroad semester applied to my summer semester, which would cover the final $4,800 thus achieving my goal!

I want to thank everyone who donated, and everyone who believed in the importance of investing in future leaders, and the improvement of our planet.

Just a reminder, my original Dominican Republic program on Microfinance was combined with the Belize Program on developing sustainable green business solutions to create the Latin America Field Study Program. To learn more about new program, and specifics about what we'll be doing in each, click on the link below.

Click here to learn more about the specific programs in Belize and The Dominican Republic

Thank you so, so, so much again, and be sure to check back often, as my next post will be from the Belizean rainforest ! (assuming I have internet of course).

Program Update!!!

Hey blog buddies, I hope everyone is doing well.

I've received a few emails lately expressing concerns about donating to a charity, and how in the past they've felt the money has not been put to the best use.

I want to use this post to reiterate the purpose of my blog. The money you donate is not for charity (although we will be doing community service while we are there), it is to help invest in the development of future leader in poverty elimination and human rights.

I am the product you are donating to, you will see the benefit of your donation in me.

I'm reposting some of my early posts to help reiterate my mission.

Also, to see earlier posts click on the link that says "older posts" toward the bottom right corner of the blog.

Thanks again

-Jahan

Fundraising Letter 3

Well...What would you say?

post your response in the comments below.

mine are

"We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope."

-Rev. Dr. MLK Jr.

Martin Luther King Day and Haiti Aftermath

Good afternoon to those on the East Coast, insert appropriate greeting for all other time zones here.

Yesterday afternoon, President Obama gave a swooping speech in the Vermont Avenue Baptist Church in Washington D.C. Of all of Obama's speeches, I think his most impressive is his speech on race during the campaign; today's speech, entitled "The Challenges of a New Age," ranks a close second. I don't want to influence its impression on you, but I highly suggest you read the transcript of the speech instead of watching him deliver it (its much more powerful). Also, after reading this speech, and definitely also his speech on race, I don't think you'll be surprised when I say, he is a serious contender for a second Nobel Prize, except this time for literature, when he writes his next book (note the when, and not if ;)).



Click Here to Read the Transcript

Watch and/or Read Obama's speech on Race entitled "A More Perfect Union."

In other news, the Haiti aftermath. The Economist published an article today reporting on the mounting death tole in Port-au-Prince due to the inability of aid to reach victims. I am not even going to attempt to summarize what the article said because it said it so succinctly, so instead...here the article. :)

http://www.economist.com/world/americas/displayStory.cfm?story_id=15320716&source=features_box_main

Once again, thank you so, so, so much to all who have donated. Hopefully, through education, persistence, and honesty (e.g. fewer corrupt officials), we can prevent future devastation.

Best, Jahan

Haiti

Good morning all, as you may or may not know, I am now in France, and I'll be here for the next 5 and a half months!

Sorry I've been MIA for the last few days but, I haven't had consistent internet until recently, but I do now so blog updates should be fairly regular.

Unless you have been living under a rock for the last week, you have undoubtedly heard of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Port au Prince, Haiti on January 12th. In light of the tragedy, I ask that instead of donating to me, donate what you would have donated to the desperate relief efforts in Haiti. Below is a link to the Google Haitian Disaster Support Page where you can donate to a few aid organizations, watch Michelle Obama's video on Haitian Relief, read the most recent news on the relief efforts and environment on the ground, and use Google Earth to see pre and post images of the affected areas. Google itself is donating $1 Million to the relief efforts.

Please keep all those affected, directly and indirectly, in your hearts and prayers, and hopefully peace and stability in the region will come shortly.

Thank you,

Jahan

GOOGLE HAITIAN RELIEF PAGE

NYT Columnist Nicholas Kristof compounds an Evidence Based Analysis of Microfinance

Does the aid world exaggerate the benefits of microloans? How much do they help? Here’s a thoughtful, evidence-based analysis by three economics professors: Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee and Esther Duflo of M.I.T, and Dean Karlan of Yale.

NYT-Kristof Column Dec. 28, 2009

Banker to the Poor-Mohammand Yunus

Mohammad Yunus, the pioneer of microfinance, explains the concepts of social collateral, lending groups, and how his frustration with traditional banks led to the establishment of Grameen Bank.

Grameen's 3 C's of Credit

Three C's of Credit

Character: means how a person has handled past debt obligations: From credit history and personal background, honesty and reliability of the borrower to pay credit debts is determined.

Capacity: means how much debt a borrower can comfortably handle. Income streams are analyzed and any legal obligations looked into, which could interfere in repayment.

Capital: means current available assets of the borrower, such as real estate , savings or investment that could be used to repay debt if income should be unavailable.

180 days remaining !!

Hey everyone, the program start date is only 6 months away from today, and we've already made some progress!

Just wanted to drop in and say Thanks for all you've done already :)

-Jahan