Allan Follett - Fall 2013

This week was the culmination of a lot of work and a fair amount of taxi rides.  It all started when we first came to the village of Akakom and announced that we would be holding a class for second time loan recipients.  Truthfully I doubt they were much surprised by our news as we visited each of the past loan recipients who successfully paid their loans off but even still they were plenty excited.  As part of our visit we made sure they knew when and where the classes were to be and sure enough when it came time for the first class they were all there.  Some were shy and some were bold but all had hope on their faces and ambition in their eyes.  It was a good sight.

At the beginning they were dismayed when we told them we were only going to teach them 2 lessons a week.  Before I got too misty-eyed about their hunger to learn, they explained that because its Cocoa-harvesting season very soon, they wanted to get the money from the 2^nd time loan as soon as possible so their businesses could receive money from the cocoa farmers.  Seeing as we were needed the five weeks to accumulate the said funds we apologized and said that would not be possible and set about teaching them the third teaching phase material.

Some lessons were grasped intuitively.  Some they discovered they were already doing a variation of what we were teaching.  Other lessons saw our students grimly squinting at the board trying to understand the lesson through our enthusiastic translator Isaak.  Occassionally I would joke with my teaching partner that we would teach good lessons but Isaak taught great lessons. This likely came because Isaak was a retired schoolteacher and likely taught one or two of them so we more or less had everyone mentally in the same neighborhood as us when the lessons would close.  Sometimes we would notice the same handwriting on the different student’s homework or business plans for different businesses that looked surprisingly similar.  More often we would see scrawled in mildly legible writing answers to the questions we posed the previous week.

We got a taste of this week a few weeks ago when we gave them back their rebates. The way the loan works is they are put in what we call pods which are groups of about three to five individuals and if the whole pod pays every month on time, they get half the interest they paid back free and clear.  This works cause we only have to send the loan collector once for the money instead of multiple times. Thinking back, I remember the excitement, the smiles, the dancing, and cheering as we gave them the money that was theirs to do with as they chose.  I honestly expected more of that from them this time.  I didn’t get it.

Don’t get me wrong, they were excited to be funded again.  But in the weeks since, Beverly and I hammered them on the expectations we had for them and the responsibility they were taking on.  The class collectively asked for around 14,000 Ghana Cedis (little less than 7,000 dollars).  After we ran the numbers on the board and showed them how much more they would be paying a month for that number, most conceded they could do with less.  So on the day of the funding we painstakingly read word for word the contract they would be initialing and answered any last minute questions they had then had them sign their contracts and the contracts of those in their pods.  When I say sign I should clarify that they only initialed as writing their name was beyond most.  Once every name was signed and every contract was binding, we took pictures of every page (14 people multiplied by 4 pages each equals a lot of pictures.  That was only one class. We still have 3 more to go!) for a record to get back to Wasach HQ. Then came the part they were looking forward to.

We ended up funding them 7,600 Cedis.  One by one they came up and we made a big show of taking a picture with each of them receiving their money.  Following which we took one of all of them together with us in the background smiling like proud parents.  In many ways we were.  I have reflected many times about how innocent these people are.  Though we explained exactly what the contract says in detail, most aren’t that literate.  They trusted us, learned from us, and now it was time for them to go back out in the real world where dreams are crushed and reality can be bitter.  We comfort ourselves with the knowledge they have traveled this particular road before.

If we are lucky, Beverly and I can help them when problems come but more likely the problems that happen won’t be obvious until other interns are here and then it will be their problem.  We can only hope they paid attention well enough to the lessons in the classroom and in their businesses to find the path to take. 

Indeed, this time there wasn’t the cheering, the dancing, the excitement that the rebate brought. But I believe I caught a look of determination in their eyes as they smiled.  That, I believe, is a better portent.

Beverly Jensen

October 16, 2013

The week has been very interesting.  Our classes are going very well, Allan and I are about to graduate our 2^nd time classes in Akokom.  This village has been an amazing teaching experience.  Every loan recipient in the town paid off their loans and received their rebates, which is rare.  They are so smart and doing very well with their business plans.  Today I told the women of the class about the feminine hygiene kits.  They were all very excited about the opportunity.

Before I left Logan I was introduced to the idea of a feminine hygiene kit. The kit is made up of a cloth holder which can snap to panties and wash cloth looking flannel napkins, which trifold into the holder (which I have nicknamed the holster) The idea is very pertinent, because some of the women out in the bush, do not have access to feminine products and have been getting toxic shock from the misuse of natural products.  This kit is something that they could wash and dry and reuse, to be sure of cleanliness.  It would save them money and be available every month.  I have been researching the area since I got here, looking for seamstresses and shops that already sell feminine hygiene. 

Last week I went to the health clinic and helped the nurses there while they did the immunizations.  I weighed the babies when they first got there, the moms all have a little sling made out of cloth, that the babies sit in and hang from the scale, like a swing. They each had their seamstress make them for this purpose.   Then I showed the kit to Mabel the midwife and she showed me what the women use for post partum bleeding; a pad that fits perfectly into the holster.

After getting all of the information that both Jamie and Ike had about the kits. Ike came out in July and left about 200 kits here, I found them, just this week, after correspondence with him and Jamie (the last intern) I was so excited, because I had already given out half of the one kit I had, one holster and pads to a local Abomosu seamstress to make a copy of it.  She and the ladies in her shop were all very excited about it.  I wanted them to feel like this was their own, so I asked them for ideas of how we could make this product in Ghana, out of local materials.   The kit is such a great idea to help women in poor countries.  But if we can’t reproduce it easily here, we could give out all 200 kits and that would be the end of it.  So I am very encouraged by the response that I am getting.  I am not handing out the kits, I am keeping them scarce, because I don’t want women to wait for Obruney to solve their problems and I am watching them solve their own problems perfectly, by simply giving them the idea.  Teach a woman to fish…

They decided that snaps are not available in the area, so instead of snaps, they would sew on ties, that would secure the holster to the panties.  I only had to point out the need for plastic in the holster as a moisture barrier and for soft flannel like material on the pads and top of the holster where it touches skin.  I have already gone to four different towns and told the women about this new idea.  I have all of the storeowners and material sellers looking for soft types of material when they go to Accra for stocking up on supplies.  This is being presented as a business opportunity for the seamstress and storekeepers.  The people here are very hungry for a good business opportunity and pretty savvy about carrying it out.  All of the women that I spoke with were personally excited about the idea and could see that it was good for Ghanaian women. I am very enthusiastic about its success and the improvement that it will mean to women’s health here.

When the health clinic midwife and nurses travel around checking on babies, they can also teach the women about personal hygiene with these kits.  This will perpetuate the product.   If the seamstress sewed on ties to all four sides, so that women could tie them at the hip, (like a string bikini) they would be able to use, wash and reuse the kit.

The reason that I am writing this in the blog, is that several of our loan recipients are in a position to take advantage of this opportunity, either by sewing or selling the simple feminine hygiene kits.  This is free market enterprise at it’s finest.  Producing a product that fills a need, saves the women the expense of buying monthly supplies and gives hard working, women a business opportunity, it is a win-win proposal.  I will continue to visit all of the villages in the area and speak with the women about this new product, taking a sample to the seamstress in each town, so that they will know how to reproduce it.

Thank you to Ike, Jamie, and all of the smart women who designed, and put together all of the feminine hygiene kits, your efforts are expanding exponentially.

Beverly Jensen

Teaching

The comprehension ability of the people out here is not as developed as I am used to, so teaching them provides challenges. They are very simple, so we have to simply teach important business principles so they can understand how the concepts will benefit their business. We also have to explain it through a translator, which means we have to make sure the translator knows the concepts well enough to explain and to help answer questions they have (translators are usually teachers who know English well).

Garrett and I teach together, and we prepared for these challenges. I was so excited to teach the first day, especially because we are teaching in a new village, Amonom. The first day went better than expected. We had 75 students come to class! The lesson also went well (at least in English), and we felt that the purpose of the SEED program, which is the first lesson, was well understood.

The next time we went to teach, the class dropped to about 30 students, and has slowly decreased each time. The huge drop was because the people realized that we weren’t giving free money, and the drop was a very good thing. Having the students narrow down themselves makes our job easier when we are deciding who are worthy candidates for a loan.

We have had a rough time trying to make our class understand the importance of being on time to learn the entire lesson. Many think if they just show up, the check mark is what will get them the loan. We have been keeping a close eye on the attendance so we can weed out the people with that mindset quickly. Of course, we encourage everybody to continue to come to class, even though they may not qualify for the loan. The people are motivated by the money, manifested through questions like, “Are we getting closer to the money?” It is exciting to finally have the opportunity for credit, but a loan can be disabling if given to a person with the wrong mindset. We can already tell the people that are mature enough to understand the purpose of a loan, and I am excited we are getting closer to the money to give to the students who are already starting to stand out.

-JD

First Steps in Ghana

We landed in Accra, Ghana around 12:30 pm local on Tuesday and managed to get out of the airport within an hour.  We were greeted by a man holding a sign with “Utah State” written on it and a big smile on his face.  This was our driver and new friend ‘Master Fufu’.  After loading up our luggage we headed to where we would be staying for the next few days to rest and battle the jet lag.  After a few stops, we got taken to what I can only call a compound complete with high walls topped with razor wire and a main gate that meant business.  Once inside, it felt a lot more comfortable.  Our host family has a son that lived in the capital and we were staying in his office (which had 6 bedrooms in the back) until a ride to Abomosu could be finalized.  Our first meal in Ghana that day… Chinese.

Friday we took off to Abomosu in a suburban with some of the luggage hogtied to the roof and the rest precariously balanced next to JD inside the vehicle.  3.5 hours of bumpy roads, mildly homicidal drivers, potholes, police officers unabashedly asking for lunch money with AK-47s strapped to their backs, bipolar road pavement switching from dirt to asphalt and back, street vendors, and driving laws that seemed to be guidelines at best made for an excellent adventure.  By the end we had arrived at our new home in the Village of Abomosu.

Stephen Abu, our new host, welcomed us with open arms.  He is one of the kindest men any of us have met.  His wife will be in Accra with their son for some weeks but we will see her soon. We got settled in our rooms and started going to work.

We met Douglas, the program supervisor, and had him show us our roles.  He introduced us to some of the loan collectors which in turn introduced us to many of the past recipients of the program as well as those who currently have loans out and are paying them off.  This was a great experience as we were able to learn what many of the people here in Abomosu and the surrounding villages do for business.  The humidity is heavy, the sun is hot, and our feet and legs are sore by the end of each day but we look forward to expanding the program.  We have already seen the goals of the program reached in many of the lives of the people we have met and are excited to bring it to many more during our stay here.

Welcome Fall Interns

These week our Fall interns arrive in Ghana, here is a little bit about each of them....

Garrett Hansen

Senior- Finance with a Marketing minor

I was born and raised in Hyde Park, Utah.  I am currently I a senior at Utah State University, majoring in Finance and minoring in marketing.  In 2011 I was married to my beautiful wife, Zandra Hansen.  I enjoy playing music, singing, oil painting, mountain biking, skiing, riding my motorcycle, and spending time with my wife, family, and friends.

I wanted to participate in the SEED internship because I feel it offers a great opportunity to put to practice all I have learned while at USU.  I feel that this internship will truly be able to make a real impact in my life as well as in the lives of the people I will get to work with.

  

JD Borg

Senior – Finance and Economics

My name is Joseph Dale Borg, but all my life I have gone by JD. I always say I am from Richfield, Utah, but I am really from the small town of Sigurd just outside of Richfield. I am a senior at Utah State studying finance and economics with a goal of becoming an actuary when I graduate. I love Aggie athletics and the Utah Jazz, and I love to play racquetball and volleyball. I am also a member of the USU percussion ensemble.

            I wanted to participate in the SEED program because of my involvement in the Huntsman School of Business’ Go Global program. In preparation for our trip to South America, we read the book Banker to the Poor by Muhammad Yunus, which piqued my interest about microlending. I was excited about the small involvement of our program with the SEED program in Peru, and I jumped on the opportunity to travel to Ghana for a full internship.

Allan Follett

Senior – Finance with a MIS minor

Allan Follett is a transfer student from University of Texas in Arlington.  Currently he is a senior with his major being Finance with a minor in MIS.   In his spare time he plays EVE Online where he finds USU’s Finance program with its emphasis on economics give him an advantage over other players in the game.

Allan has always found the concept of microloans to be fascinating and the chance to see people in all phases of a microloan was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Beverly Jensen

Junior – Business Administration

My degree is in Business Administration and I am a Jr at Utah State University, Huntsman School of Business.  I am returning to school after raising most of my children, I am a mother of 8, 7 sons and 1 daughter.  I wanted to participate in the SEED program and go to Ghana because I have been a single mother in poverty in the US.  I was able to climb out and reestablish myself in the community with the help of my church, community and government.

I would like to give back, by teaching others about self-sufficiency.  I also want to better understand the basic concepts of the business principles that I have been taught in school, by seeing them in action.  I have owned several businesses and been in sales, including 6 years as a realtor.  I have enjoyed success and also learned from my failures.  My goal is to own my own successful business again, and I believe that my experiences with Wasatch Social Ventures will help me to obtain all of these goals.