Sunday, May 09, 2004
So, some background on the Life Opportunity Club.
Tanzania is this beautiful country with incredible scenery and storybook animals, filled with attractive friendly people. My part of the country has an unbelievably comfortable year-round climate. I am waiting to see what the dry season looks like, but meanwhile it is not a bad setting for Camelot. But in this garden of Eden the people are wretchedly poor. Jobs are scarce and few pay a living wage. Even teachers, like all the rest of Tanzanian civil servants, are expected to have something working on the side because their pay is acknowledged to be too low to support a family.
So in this atmosphere of static misery in the midst of beauty and plenty, everyone is sitting on their hands waiting for the Government to DO SOMETHING for them, give them money, even while believing that their leaders are corrupt and so not interested in doing anything except lining their own pockets. There is this socialist residue from Julius Nyerere on top of the colonialist oppression and maybe even from the tribal structures before that that has left the people here docile, looking for someone else to take care of them. They are very hard working, but not self-reliant. Everything is “If God Willing.”
That is a stereotype. A few Tanzanians DO want to take charge of their lives. My friend Paul with the chickens is one. The vendors working the streets downtown are clearly in it for themselves. But none of them have any information or encouragement about how to be independent – how to start a small business – how to think about whether an idea is worthwhile, or how to know whether a business is making money or not, where to go for advice or help.
Meanwhile most students do not get into high school, and only 27% of the dropouts are able to find a job of any kind at all. They have no resources – the schools provide no help at all, and there are no social services to help them. Many end up simply hanging out on the streets in town, getting chased by the police.
Given this, I was astounded to find the woman beside me at the internet cafe typing out a thesis entitled “Record keeping and Bookkeeping in Small Business in Tanzania. Case Study: Mwanza.” That led me to Samwel and his friend Peter, who then brought in their friend Paul. And now here we are, trying to find a way to give information to Tanzanians about how to start and run a small business. We want to focus on the fresh school dropouts (forceouts would be a better term) who desperately need help whether they know it or not, and the street vendors downtown who are scrambling to survive but don’t know how.
Peter and Samwel are both big guys, smart, outgoing and direct in their manner. Their height and bulk leads you to think of them as athletes but they are too soft for that. They have an attractive air of confidence about them. With firm handshakes, good command of English and an uncharacteristic ability to focus on problems and suggest solutions, our meetings are usually productive and relatively brief. They are eager to accomplish something but don’t know how. They graduate in June, Peter in Communications and Samwel in Accounting, and neither one has any job prospects or is making any visible effort to develop any job prospects. For them, this project could easily become their jobs if we can manage to get a little funding and lift it off the ground.
Paul is a friend of Peter and Samwel that they invited to join us because he represents someone who has succeeded. Paul is a Kenyan, a take-charge kind of leader, Marketing and Operations Manager for the Marlboro Hardware and Car Accessories Co. in Mwanza. Small, wiry and perpetually answering his cellphone, he gives the impression of a guy who is working 20 deals at once that he can’t talk about. He keeps pushing us to get started, to move, which is very un-Tanzanian and makes him a very valuable part of the group. His vision of the group is a little different than mine. He is afraid that our idea is so good that unless we develop it very quickly other people will recognize it and do it first. He keeps suggesting things like our need for an office where we can meet important people, and that we should be sure to have the newspapers write about our Club, and how will we take it National?
As self-appointed secretary, the guy who has the computer to write things up and the one with the internet savvy to find resources and information, it is not hard for me to influence the direction we take. Sort of like the control of the sandlot ballgame that goes to the guy who brought the ball and bat.
At our last meeting we pretty much defined what our Life Opportunity Club might actually look like. The meetings are in my house with Peter, usually Paul, and Samwel when he decides to make it. Maybe a bowl of peanuts on the table, and the three or four of us sit around talking. Last night we tried to flesh out a tentative budget, but got stuck on what salary or stipend Peter and Samwel should have. Not a bad start, though. Looks like we need about $1400 plus the salaries for Peter and Samwel. It reads like this:
PROGRAM PLANS – LIFE OPPORTUNITY CLUB as of May 8, 2004
** Start date: First week of July, or one month after we have secured startup money. (Samwell and Peter will graduate in June.)
** Target groups: 20 school leavers and 20 street vendors for meetings 2x per week for 2 months, providing a training base of 40 young people. This would provide about 17 periods, each an hour, maybe an hour and a half at the longest. There may be a mid-course Review Session and a final Summary Session, and the course will be followed by a Graduation Ceremony with a Certificate for the participants.
** The first session may focus heavily on self-presentations of what the individuals are doing now and would like to do in the future, followed by a discussion of self-employment and generation of a long list of businesses that could be started with few financial resources. At the end, a signed commitment statement is required from those participants want to continue the program that attend all meetings on time – American time - and contribute to the discussions. We will stress that this is part of the program and represents the kind of integrity they need to establish for their business relationships. The attendance record will be posted every session, and if feasible a buddy system used to aid attendance. Perhaps charge a small fee for each session that will be returned at Graduation Set rules: Miss a session or come more than 15 minutes late and the participants are kicked out and lose their session fees. Be strict or discipline will be lost.
** Group cohesiveness will be strongly supported. A typical meeting format might be the following: At the start of the meeting, take attendance and have some small exercise or other – this allows 15 minutes for late-comers to arrive. Then break into two groups of 10 ± 3 with a Trainer, where each participant briefly updates their progress and problems since the last meeting. Then come together for a presentation of a pertinent business topic, then break into two groups of 10 or so each to discuss the topic. Finally, come together for sharing and a summary and a discussion of what the next meeting topic will be, and what they would particularly like to have covered. Maybe serve chai. Finally, clean up the meeting space before leaving.
** Later sessions will follow the same general format and be based on presentations by the Trainers, or frequent talks by guest speakers.
** Recruiting participants is by contact with local religious leaders and organizations, with the expectation that a base of 80-100 candidates will be needed to actually have 40 show up and join the program.
** Trainers: Samwell and Peter, working full time to prepare the two sets of classes and lead discussions, locate and schedule outside speakers, develop strong relationships with the business, religious and political communities, and conduct such other tasks as support the Life Opportunity Club and its participants. An evaluation with comments will be prepared after each meeting, noting attendance, suggestions and lessons learned.
** Disposable Materials: Easels and flip charts, copied handouts and homework, stenographer’s pads and pens for the participants. Cost of the Graduation Party and Certificates – participants to bring 1-2 guests each to the party.
** Administrative Needs:
The Trainers require money for room and board (room possibly donated by St. Augustine U?), transportation, cellphones and incidentals.
Classroom reference and study materials.
One computer with and printer.
** Budget: Still to be determined, along with the method of financing this program.
TRIAL BUDGET FOR LIFE OPPORTUNITY CLUB
Month 1 Recruit students, secure space, plan first session(s).
Month 2 Program runs.
Month 3 Program runs.
Month 4 Final report and planning for next stage.
Month 5 Administrative details (especially financial support) for Stage 2.
DISPOSABLE MATERIALS Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 TOTALS
Easels (2) 40 40
Flip charts 20 20 40
Marking pens, tape 5 5 10
Paper and copying: handouts, homework 15 15 30
Student supplies: Pens, notebooks 10 10
Graduation celebration 160 160
Framed certificates 40 40
ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
Salaries ( 2 Trainers) ? ? ? ? ? ?
Housing 50 50 50 50 50 250
Cellphone minutes 10 10 10 10 10 50
Transportation allowance 10 10 10 10 10 50
Classroom reference and study references ?
Computer 600 600
Printer 100 100
Final report: Printing and distribution 15 15
TOTALS 770 160 110 270 85 1395
IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS
Lee Forney, Peace Corps Consultant 1/2 Salary
Tanzania is this beautiful country with incredible scenery and storybook animals, filled with attractive friendly people. My part of the country has an unbelievably comfortable year-round climate. I am waiting to see what the dry season looks like, but meanwhile it is not a bad setting for Camelot. But in this garden of Eden the people are wretchedly poor. Jobs are scarce and few pay a living wage. Even teachers, like all the rest of Tanzanian civil servants, are expected to have something working on the side because their pay is acknowledged to be too low to support a family.
So in this atmosphere of static misery in the midst of beauty and plenty, everyone is sitting on their hands waiting for the Government to DO SOMETHING for them, give them money, even while believing that their leaders are corrupt and so not interested in doing anything except lining their own pockets. There is this socialist residue from Julius Nyerere on top of the colonialist oppression and maybe even from the tribal structures before that that has left the people here docile, looking for someone else to take care of them. They are very hard working, but not self-reliant. Everything is “If God Willing.”
That is a stereotype. A few Tanzanians DO want to take charge of their lives. My friend Paul with the chickens is one. The vendors working the streets downtown are clearly in it for themselves. But none of them have any information or encouragement about how to be independent – how to start a small business – how to think about whether an idea is worthwhile, or how to know whether a business is making money or not, where to go for advice or help.
Meanwhile most students do not get into high school, and only 27% of the dropouts are able to find a job of any kind at all. They have no resources – the schools provide no help at all, and there are no social services to help them. Many end up simply hanging out on the streets in town, getting chased by the police.
Given this, I was astounded to find the woman beside me at the internet cafe typing out a thesis entitled “Record keeping and Bookkeeping in Small Business in Tanzania. Case Study: Mwanza.” That led me to Samwel and his friend Peter, who then brought in their friend Paul. And now here we are, trying to find a way to give information to Tanzanians about how to start and run a small business. We want to focus on the fresh school dropouts (forceouts would be a better term) who desperately need help whether they know it or not, and the street vendors downtown who are scrambling to survive but don’t know how.
Peter and Samwel are both big guys, smart, outgoing and direct in their manner. Their height and bulk leads you to think of them as athletes but they are too soft for that. They have an attractive air of confidence about them. With firm handshakes, good command of English and an uncharacteristic ability to focus on problems and suggest solutions, our meetings are usually productive and relatively brief. They are eager to accomplish something but don’t know how. They graduate in June, Peter in Communications and Samwel in Accounting, and neither one has any job prospects or is making any visible effort to develop any job prospects. For them, this project could easily become their jobs if we can manage to get a little funding and lift it off the ground.
Paul is a friend of Peter and Samwel that they invited to join us because he represents someone who has succeeded. Paul is a Kenyan, a take-charge kind of leader, Marketing and Operations Manager for the Marlboro Hardware and Car Accessories Co. in Mwanza. Small, wiry and perpetually answering his cellphone, he gives the impression of a guy who is working 20 deals at once that he can’t talk about. He keeps pushing us to get started, to move, which is very un-Tanzanian and makes him a very valuable part of the group. His vision of the group is a little different than mine. He is afraid that our idea is so good that unless we develop it very quickly other people will recognize it and do it first. He keeps suggesting things like our need for an office where we can meet important people, and that we should be sure to have the newspapers write about our Club, and how will we take it National?
As self-appointed secretary, the guy who has the computer to write things up and the one with the internet savvy to find resources and information, it is not hard for me to influence the direction we take. Sort of like the control of the sandlot ballgame that goes to the guy who brought the ball and bat.
At our last meeting we pretty much defined what our Life Opportunity Club might actually look like. The meetings are in my house with Peter, usually Paul, and Samwel when he decides to make it. Maybe a bowl of peanuts on the table, and the three or four of us sit around talking. Last night we tried to flesh out a tentative budget, but got stuck on what salary or stipend Peter and Samwel should have. Not a bad start, though. Looks like we need about $1400 plus the salaries for Peter and Samwel. It reads like this:
PROGRAM PLANS – LIFE OPPORTUNITY CLUB as of May 8, 2004
** Start date: First week of July, or one month after we have secured startup money. (Samwell and Peter will graduate in June.)
** Target groups: 20 school leavers and 20 street vendors for meetings 2x per week for 2 months, providing a training base of 40 young people. This would provide about 17 periods, each an hour, maybe an hour and a half at the longest. There may be a mid-course Review Session and a final Summary Session, and the course will be followed by a Graduation Ceremony with a Certificate for the participants.
** The first session may focus heavily on self-presentations of what the individuals are doing now and would like to do in the future, followed by a discussion of self-employment and generation of a long list of businesses that could be started with few financial resources. At the end, a signed commitment statement is required from those participants want to continue the program that attend all meetings on time – American time - and contribute to the discussions. We will stress that this is part of the program and represents the kind of integrity they need to establish for their business relationships. The attendance record will be posted every session, and if feasible a buddy system used to aid attendance. Perhaps charge a small fee for each session that will be returned at Graduation Set rules: Miss a session or come more than 15 minutes late and the participants are kicked out and lose their session fees. Be strict or discipline will be lost.
** Group cohesiveness will be strongly supported. A typical meeting format might be the following: At the start of the meeting, take attendance and have some small exercise or other – this allows 15 minutes for late-comers to arrive. Then break into two groups of 10 ± 3 with a Trainer, where each participant briefly updates their progress and problems since the last meeting. Then come together for a presentation of a pertinent business topic, then break into two groups of 10 or so each to discuss the topic. Finally, come together for sharing and a summary and a discussion of what the next meeting topic will be, and what they would particularly like to have covered. Maybe serve chai. Finally, clean up the meeting space before leaving.
** Later sessions will follow the same general format and be based on presentations by the Trainers, or frequent talks by guest speakers.
** Recruiting participants is by contact with local religious leaders and organizations, with the expectation that a base of 80-100 candidates will be needed to actually have 40 show up and join the program.
** Trainers: Samwell and Peter, working full time to prepare the two sets of classes and lead discussions, locate and schedule outside speakers, develop strong relationships with the business, religious and political communities, and conduct such other tasks as support the Life Opportunity Club and its participants. An evaluation with comments will be prepared after each meeting, noting attendance, suggestions and lessons learned.
** Disposable Materials: Easels and flip charts, copied handouts and homework, stenographer’s pads and pens for the participants. Cost of the Graduation Party and Certificates – participants to bring 1-2 guests each to the party.
** Administrative Needs:
The Trainers require money for room and board (room possibly donated by St. Augustine U?), transportation, cellphones and incidentals.
Classroom reference and study materials.
One computer with and printer.
** Budget: Still to be determined, along with the method of financing this program.
TRIAL BUDGET FOR LIFE OPPORTUNITY CLUB
Month 1 Recruit students, secure space, plan first session(s).
Month 2 Program runs.
Month 3 Program runs.
Month 4 Final report and planning for next stage.
Month 5 Administrative details (especially financial support) for Stage 2.
DISPOSABLE MATERIALS Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4 Month 5 TOTALS
Easels (2) 40 40
Flip charts 20 20 40
Marking pens, tape 5 5 10
Paper and copying: handouts, homework 15 15 30
Student supplies: Pens, notebooks 10 10
Graduation celebration 160 160
Framed certificates 40 40
ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS
Salaries ( 2 Trainers) ? ? ? ? ? ?
Housing 50 50 50 50 50 250
Cellphone minutes 10 10 10 10 10 50
Transportation allowance 10 10 10 10 10 50
Classroom reference and study references ?
Computer 600 600
Printer 100 100
Final report: Printing and distribution 15 15
TOTALS 770 160 110 270 85 1395
IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS
Lee Forney, Peace Corps Consultant 1/2 Salary
