Umsobomvu Youth Fund (South Africa): I was very surprised by the success of the organization and the number of people that they have loaned money to. Since our group is focusing on microfinance, I found it surprising that Umsobomvu makes just about all of its profits on the loans. Which therefore makes me feel even better about being a non-profit organization because if we were trying to get money we probably wouldn’t be doing that well.

The mindset seemed great to me in the organization. It seems like most organizations sit back and wait for people to come to them asking for help. But Umsobomvu’s methodology for microfinance is “the institution goes out and finds the client, not the other way around.”

Umsobomvu really opened my eyes to what microfinance really is and what an up and running organization does. They put it in simple terms for me. The meaning of microfinance is to create sustainable development for people. Visiting Umsobomvu really helped me get ready for the rest of the trip.

Safari: In total we went on five safaris: three morning safari and two late afternoon/night safari. I have concluded that the three days spent in the South African wild were quite probably some of my favorite days spent on this earth.

I have always had a passion for the wild and the animals that rule it, but my passion for the wild and the animals that rule it, but my passion was taken to another level when spending a few nights in the bush. The discovery channel and animal planet are enough to intrigue a mind, but the wild itself can capture it. I was a victim to the forest, plains, and tundra of Africa and find that a career may lie there for me in the future.

Between the sky-scraping giraffe, the elephant retreat, the baboon families, the lion families, the lion napping and all of the other amazing species that we saw (including flora as well as fauna), I would classify the experience as one of my best and know that my toes will point me in that direction again.

Village: Visiting the village Mduku was part of the three day “retreat” so to speak. The three days were life changing in many different ways. The safari sparked my wildlife side while the village struck me in a different way. Seeing the happy joyous people and their lifestyles and the way they reacted to outsiders was amazing. They’re all so happy for such a large percentage of their lives. It’s really something to strive to be like.

Having all of the kids run to the gates to greet us and sing for us and all of the people wave and smile at us as we pass by is humbling. The appreciation for the gifts we gave them was beyond any I have previously seen. It was inspiring seeing their extremely positive attitudes knowing all of the conflicts and hardships that they have to push through and fight with everyday.

As much as I thought that people in remote villages like Mduku wore traditional clothing, only a small percentage of the people wore tribal robes and hats and such. Many people were very well dressed and all of the children wore school uniforms. Everybody wore nice suits and dresses on Sunday for church services. Which brings me to what bewildered me most, religion. I didn’t realize people were so religious here, especially in small villages so far from any big cities. I would understand the passion for religion if it was that of their ancestors but they so passionately followed Christianity. After experiencing their passion for Christ and the bible, I can’t recollect what I really expected of the village religiously, but I know that is not what I expected.

The village experience was very humbling and I feel that my appreciation for life and everything in it will be greater from here on out.

Grayson

Hello everyone! This is Satchel here and I am going to tell you about my adventures here in South Africa in our first week. The trip started out with a scary event at the San Francisco Airport. Everyone finally arrives at around 4:30 a.m., and we were all sitting down in the corner of the airport when suddenly my mom couldn't find my dads and her own passport. My sister, Weezie, accidentally left them at our house, about an hour drive from the airport. In the end my dad drove back to the house, got the passports, and then came back. We got to our gate in the nick of time, 8 mins before it left. We flew to N.Y. and then got on South Africa Airlines which was 9 hours to Dakar, then another 9 hours to Johannesburg in South Africa. I was kind of dumb on the plane ride because I had not stretched for at straight 18 hours so when I got of the plane I was walking like a 100 year-old man whose legs were twisted in weird angles.

That night mostly everyone went to the mall which was acrross this small bridge from our hotel. I, on the other hand was passed out. The next day we headed to the organization, Umsobomvu, which took us a while to say it right. I was surprised to learn how much they were doing and how much their method worked. Everyone was very nice and we got take- out food at this place which was actually good. Near the end of the meeting we got to meet our old friend from the meetings we had in Washington D.C., Mbogeni. He still had his very amazing smile and I was happy to get to see him again. After that we all went with this nice young man from Umsobomvu and he showed us this building which had all these people working on giving people microloans. I had learned about Microfinance earlier this year for one of my spanish projects but I learned even more by listening to what Umsobomvu had to say. I had a fun time going to their buildings.

The long 15 hour plane ride was well worth the wait. Even though the difference when going out of the airport in Johannesburg, once you head away from the city, Boston suburbs and Johannesburg suburbs are extremely different. Instead of larger houses with $50,000 cars, there are houses made out of bricks and cinder blocks with goats and chickens.

On the first couple days, we attended a meeting at the Umsubomvu Youth Fund Center. We were able to get a full overview of the entire organization and everything they do for young adults. After this, we visited someone who was a member of the UYFC and who received a loan to start a business. This was a young woman in her twenties who was starting up a spa, and she and her mom were so excited about starting up this business. This was interesting to see because it showed how successful Microfinance can be.

The next place we went was the Phinda Game Reserve for our safari. The drive from Jo’berg to the reserve was eight hours long and it took even longer because we got stuck behind a bus on the back roads at the end of the drive before we got to the reserve. The camp site we stayed at was amazing and the game drives we went on were incredible because we were able to get so close to the animals that we saw. After the first day I already wanted to be a ranger so I could do that every day and get paid doing it.

When we were at the game reserve we went to the nearby town to see the schools and the new institutions they installed for computer and health classes. Going to the school was a lot of fun because the kids loved seeing us and swarmed around us to get in a picture. After the safari trip we headed back to Jo’berg for a night before heading off to Zambia.

We stayed in Lusaka for the first couple days in Zambia. We did a lot in Lusaka and never even got a chance to relax during the day because of everyone we were meeting and everything we were going to. Everyone we met was part of some program helping with Microfinance, malaria prevention, or HIV/AIDs prevention. One of the places we went to was called grassroot soccer and it used soccer to educate people about HIV/AIDs. We were able to play a couple games that they use in the program that were fun and after that were even able to play a soccer match with a bunch of Zambians who were part of the program. This was incredible because it was a once in a lifetime experience.

After Lusaka we took a six hour drive to Livingstone. In Livingstone we went to visit a village, barder with villagers for different trinkets and able to see Victoria Falls. Victoria Falls was amazing and we got soaked because the falls spray up so much mist after hitting the bottom of the 120m long waterfall. The only part I was disappointed about was that I wasn’t able to go on the tallest bungee jump spot in the world, even though I don’t know if I would be able to do it once I was actually standing on the edge.

Nick

Lusaka is a pretty nice, lush place. It’s really spread out and there aren’t that many buildings over one story tall. So the next thing on the agenda is the play pumps. The play pumps are a great innovation in which kids operate a water pump simply by spinning around on one of those circular discs with places around for the kids to sit, push, and spin around. We arrived at the school in which it was located (there are only two others in the entire city of Lusaka-it costs around seven thousand all pipes and structures included.

So we got there and of course it’s the hot topic around the school. Visitors! Visitors! Most of the kids were in class but that didn’t stop them from pressing their faces up against the windows and watching us watch their school administrators tell us how the pump works. There was a small group of kids that were outside playing on it already, so we first saw it in action.

Here’s how it works: The kids spin the large disc and get on and ride. The movement pumps water up a huge tower next to the disc which holds a storage tower at the top. When the storage tank is full, another pipe catches the overflow and sends back down to the water source under the ground. The actual pump is about five yards away and it pumps clean water as long as the storage tank is full or the disc is spinning. The school uses the water for toilets and other water needs, including drinking water.

They showed us pictures of almost exactly a year before when First Lady Laura Bush came to visit their school. They were really excited about that one.

One of the things I’ve been thinking about lately is how well developed the concept of microfinance is already in Africa. I assumed because I had not heard about it until my involvement in this trip, that there would be no way it would be any more developed in Africa. But I was wrong. Umsubomvu and the signs on the street and the projects we’ve visited and the institutions already set up and the emphasis on the importance of such a concept is definitely prevalent in society. It is strange to think about that Africa seems so much more developed than America when it comes to this. You think of America trumping all other countries in all societal aspects, but this one Africa has over us by leaps and bounds.

Now it is also true that Africa needs concepts like microfinance more than America, and therefore such an industry was created, but you don’t think about those things up front when traveling to a different country. At least I didn’t, and it caught me off guard. I guess that is just another lesson to be learned: keep an open mind and, if you judge or build structures and positions at all, do so based on your own experiences.

Matt

So we're in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia, and I have to admit that this is more what I imagined when I thought of Africa. South Africa in general is so much like being in England or the US, so it is really great to get a real feel for the city. Everyone is so friendly here and they really make you feel welcome. They're always smiling!

Wednesday we got to go to a Women in Microfinance Fair in a village outside Lusaka called Chongwe. The United Nations Development Program and the Grameen Trust sponsored a pilot in this part of Zambia where they gave loans of about $200 to $500 to women who wanted to start their own businesses. Most banks refuse to give credit to disadvantaged individuals because they see it as too much of a risk, but within this group of women not one defaulted on her loan. Because this program was so successful, the Grameen Trust is planning on becoming a permanent microfinance lending institution in Zambia.

It was really inspiring to walk around the little market that they set up and listen to the stories of the women who, because of their loans, were able to send their children to school, provide three meals a day for their families, and above all have a purpose in life. You could see it in their faces, how proud they were of their accomplishments, and that in itself was the most incredible part of the experience.

Weezie Post:

It's always surreal to get on a plane for 18 hours (even though it does seem like a lot) and get back off the plane and be on a totally different country, one you always hear about in the news, yet in the back of your mind you don't expect to be there anytime soon. Yet here I am, in Johannesburg, and just yesterday I was riding along in a massive open-aired jeep, searching for a cheetah in an African veldt.

In 2004, my mom and I went to Zambia, where the poverty rate was extremely high, and the level of development was pretty low. Mud huts, run down cars, and beggars were common. So, when I arrived at the South African airport, and saw the sleek, clean floors, and when we drove to our hotel, everything we saw pass by our window was extremely modern and developed. It didn't feel as if I had left the United States. I think that people, even I, underestimate and prejudge the level of development in Africa. People claim that giving or investing money to Africa is a waste, yet they have no right to say that until they have been to the continent, and have seen what has been done here already. It's pretty advanced in some areas, and with effort and help, the under-developed areas can achieve that same level of development.

On the first day, we attended an introductory meeting with the Umsobomvu Youth Fund, who is hosting the Microfinance Conference we will be attending in Cape Town. It was amazing when they shared their statistics that demonstrated the change they had created within South Africa. We visited a loan receiver, a young woman in her twenties who was opening up a spa and had received a loan from Umsobomvu. She was so happy and proud of herself, and to think that some people doubt the ability of Microfinance institutions was crazy. You knew it had made huge impact on her life. Riding back on the bus to the hotel, I thought more about how this new concept of microfinance was still a little-known movement, and so many people back in my town and in the US always wonder what they can do to help a person in a less-privileged spot. Microfinance is so sustainable, and the difference it makes is tremendous.

Weezie

John Post

So far our trip to South Africa has been great. We have seen that the country is much different from what Americans typically think of Africa to be like. Don’t get me wrong, we have seen our share of straw houses and extreme poverty. The big difference, however, is that the people are considerably different than what we imagine Africans to be like. Miserable, uneducated, and militant- as Africans are portrayed to be in many films (Blood Diamond, etc.)- are three adjectives absolutely do not describe the people who we have met. Instead, the people are thoughtful, optimistic, hard working, grateful, and, most importantly, happy.

This does not go to say that the more superficial stereotype of Africa as a poverty stricken land is universally true either. We are staying in a very nice hotel, among other nice hotels, across the street from a booming mall, with a bowling alley, a movie theatre, and enough shopping outlets to make a 14 year old girl feel like she is in heaven. The streets are lined with advertisements for cell phones, luxury cars, and computers. The fact that places such as Johannesburg exist in Africa was surprising to us. We were expecting to instantly see a part of the world which is completely foreign to us at home. In a way, we were surprised that we were not surprised.
My new impression of the typical African, or at least South African is best exemplified by the people that we have met. We met people from a group called Umsobomvu who funded young entrepreneurs in starting their business. My sense was that the primary mission of this group was social improvement. Unlike banks, which make loans because they collect interest, this group really wanted to advance the southern region of Africa. This, however, was only one of many such programs in South Africa. The Safari we just got back from donates part of their earnings to the local village. This funding goes towards building schools, hospitals, etc. When we visited the village we saw that the people (as a result of this funding or not) seemed to enjoy life in a way that Americans don’t. We realized that these people don’t need our money to be happy. Happiness does not come from what we have. Instead, happiness comes from living sustainable, meaningful, and energetic lives.

The final example of how Africans are proactively seeking to help themselves, which I found most interesting of the three, is the work of a man who introduced himself as Fred. Fred emphasized to us that a relatively small number of people have shaped the world. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb, and now we can sit in rooms with light. The Wright Brothers invented the airplane, and now we can take cool trips to Africa. MLK and Gandhi both started human rights movements which have created the path for how our world has changed in a recent context. Fred has started a school to educate the people who will help shaped Africa. He believes that in two or three generations, Africa can be a major force in the world – comparable to Europe or America. I thought that his goal was very inspiring. The Africa School is just getting off the ground, but surely we will hear more from this school in our life times. Fred struck me as one of the few people who really can change the world. (ps. I am embarrassed that I don’t know his last name)

So far, our trip to Africa has changed my perception of the world. I look forwards to seeing Zambia in the next couple days.

John

I’m not tired yet, but I have the feeling in my gut that I will be, and frighteningly so, before this day is over. I slept through nearly the entire CA to NY flight after having stayed up last night packing. Time is so strange right now. Today is actually tomorrow, last night seems really recent… too hard to think about right now on 5 hours sleep. I’m on the plane right now, killing time.

I was reading through the packet of articles provided to us, and a few really stuck out to me. The first was a packet discussing the impacts of clean water access for the straight-forward reason that I hadn’t realized how much affect it had on developing communities (not to mention how much water developing communities consume), and how the lack of it can be crippling. For example, there is the raw fact that a child dies every 15 seconds from a water-related disease.

The other articles that caught my eye were an FAQ about microfinance, an column criticizing it, and a letter to the editor rebutting the column. Each of the three opened a microfinance a little more. The first introduced me ot the finer details of microfinance, such as that it doesn’t just refer to loans, but to insurance, saving accounts, and other financial tools. It also showed why microfinance works and why sometimes it doesn’t. The column elaborated on the second concept, pointing out that it is such a small scale and aimed only at creating one person businesses that don’t create jobs and thus produced little impact. Then I read the rebuttal, which pointed out that the system was not just designed to produce income, but to also empower the poor, especially women. I agreed with both. Microfinance has its function, but not enough attention is paid to medium-sized businesses which can create jobs.

The common denominator between these three microfinance articles was that they showed facets of microfinance not portrayed by mainstream media. Admittedly, microfinance is very hyped, though not without reason. But the problem is that its shown as a miracle tool. But microfinance, like any other tools, needs to be used with care and only where it will function properly. Idealism is a driving force, but blind idealism can get in the way more than it helps.

That’s it for now. My next entry will be from South Africa!