Entrepreneurship is changing the world

"An entrepreneur is an artist of sorts, throwing herself into impossible situations and seeking out problems that require heart and guts to solve." - Seth Godin

Entrepreneurship is incredible. I love learning about new businesses that are creative, unique, and contribute towards changing the world. Threadless.com, http://www.threadless.com/, is a really great business that supports artists and encourages collaboration and TOMS Shoes http://www.toms.com/ was started to provide shoes to children  in need. Starting up a business is challenging, hard work, and risky but it can be so rewarding and you can help so many people. 

As an entrepreneur, the most important thing is that you are PASSIONATE about what you are doing :)

17-year old Guyanese, Jenell Pierre, youth entrepreneur who has a passion for bows. She has started a business making and selling hair accessories, bow-ties, belts, and more! 

I have the greatest job right now because I work with over 50 entrepreneurs and I absolutely love it. Nothing beats combining business with social good. While I provide support and networking opportunities to female entrepreneurs, ideas constantly float around in my head....especially here in Guyana. There is so much opportunity in developing countries like Guyana. However, there are a lot of additional obstacles and challenges as a result of laws that are not enforced, crime, and a lack of support for small businesses. 

I'm reading this great book right now called YOUNG WORLD RISING by Rob Salkowitz. How youth, technology, and entrepreneurship are changing the world from the bottom up. Entrepreneurship creates jobs and wealth while providing a needed good or service to communities. Entrepreneurs have the power to change the world in a sustainable way and I encourage all of those passionate, hardworking individuals interested in starting up their own business to do so :) Turn your talents, education, experience, and passion into something great!

"The optimism, energy, and entrepreneurial spirit of youth are channeled through the medium of information networks, driving sustainable growth by creating new markets and better solutions to local and global problems" - Young World Rising, Rob Salkowitz

A picture is worth 1,000 words...

Youth Challenge Guyana's Volunteers - Peer Educators at the award
ceremony for a play that we did for the National Drama Festival

Youth Challenge Guyana staff on Emancipation day
celebrating the end of slavery

The whole Youth Challenge Guyana team on fun day! :)

Some coworkers and I...I'm really going to miss everyone :)

Wah Dem Seh

Wah Dem Seh... (What the people say...)
I love how as time goes on here I continue to learn more and more about Guyana, the culture, entrepreneurship, cooking, football, history, myself, and life in general. Every day a new interaction with a stranger or someone I know teaches me new things. Every day I learn more about Guyana and the struggles that a lot of people face here...unemployment, corruption, crime, drugs, sexual abuse, prostitution, domestic violence, poverty, and so much more. Every day you hear about these same things in the news and more: suicides, murders, unwarranted police searches, and unsafe public transportation leading to innocent people dying. And every day you realize that life is never easy but we should appreciate what we have, surround ourselves with positive people, and work hard to improve the world that we live in.
The best part of my time here has been with locals just gaffing and liming (talking and hanging out). I've recognized the value and importance of triangulation in terms of cross-cultural work and communication. Ideally, you should get a minimum of 3 different opinions and answers (of course as many as possible is best) about something in order to effectively understand cultural norms and behaviours that you are learning about. It is critical to get as many different opinions about something as possible, especially when learning about a new culture so I make sure to ask several different people here about any question that I have. Below are some common things I've learned about from observation, experience, and talking to my Guyanese friends and colleagues. Of course, these observations are definitely not true for everyone in Guyana but they are the things that stand out and are more common...
• There are a lot of single parents and young mothers. This tends to be related to education levels, socio-economic status, and family. I've also been told that some young girls will have children in order to "keep their man".....but it doesn't necessarily work.
• Guyanese can be very fast. Fast = curious. As well, they are a lot more open about certain personal things that Canadians would not be. For example, some people will comment on anything that looks different or funny about you from your hair and clothes, to your weight and the mosquito bites on your legs. Back in Canada we tend to avoid talking about personal things that people might be embarrassed about. Guyanese have told me that they tend to do these things out of concern for the other person.
• It is very normal, and polite, to talk to complete strangers and greet them with "good morning/afternoon/night" if you walk past them or interact with them in anyway. I really like this because in Canada we really don't talk to strangers at all and wouldn't really greet someone randomly on the street. It is the polite thing to do here, and a lot of people will say "good morning/afternoon/night" to everyone as they enter a bus, office, or a room.
• Guyanese will always call or text you to make sure that you have reached home safely.
• Some very common phrases that I get asked when I meet some Guyanese men for the first time: Do you have a boyfriend/Are you married? Do you have kids? I find it interesting because I wouldn't usually get these questions back in Canada, especially not when you first meet someone and at my age (23). However, to Guyanese I could easily have kids and be married at my age. Also, if men meet someone who they are interested in they want to know what they are dealing with right away (i.e. if she has a child-father, boyfriend, or husband). Being single is shocking to some Guyanese people too since some think that a woman needs a man for financial support and a man needs a woman for emotional support.
• A lot of Guyanese men speak about the importance of being with a woman that knows how to cook and clean. This is something that comes up in conversation often when talking about relationships, marriage, etc. Cooking is high up on the list of things to know how to do if you want a man.
There are two groups of very kind Guyanese men that live and lime on my street that I frequently have conversations with - one group of younger men aged 17 to 34 and another group of older men over 40. Most of them were born and raised in my neighbourhood and have been friends with each other since they were very young. A lot of the younger ones are out of school and not working; relying on their parents, grandparents, or relatives oversees to support them. And some of the older ones do odd jobs here and there if the price is right and they also work in the mines when the opportunity comes up. They all look out for me, help me carry the large 20L water bottles home from the water filter place, and gaff with me every day. I learn a lot from them and after speaking to them more I've started to see a recurring trend. Recently two of them told me almost identical stories of how they had to drop out of school (at age 13 and age 15) and start working because their parents couldn't afford to feed them lunch (lunch is the main meal in Guyana, equivalent to our dinner back home). They didn't want to drop out but they had to and they never had the chance to go back. They speak thick Creolese, an English-based creole language, with lots of slang and as a result of dropping out of school it is difficult for them to speak English with proper grammar. I can't always understand everything that they say but I'm learning some Creolese :) I know that there are many young people who have very similar stories. No child should have to drop out of school because their parents can't afford to support them.
Below are some more things about Guyana...
Some Creolese...
• "buddy" pronounced "budd-ay" | A common term used when talking to a friend or stranger
• "blow" = cheating on someone | "You get blow"
• "vex"= angry | "I vex with you"
• "lime" = chill or hang out
• "gaff" = talk/chat
• "I gone" = I'm leaving/going
• "Ah comin" = I'm coming
Some Guyanese Food...
• Breakfast | Bake and salt fish (a classic Caribbean breakfast)
• Snacks | This is basically anything that isn't considered "food" (see below)
• Lots of pastries....pine tart, cheese roll, pinwheel, egg ball, polari, cinnamon roll,
• Channa (e.g. Chickpeas with onions, hot peppers, etc.)
• Plantain chips
• Hot dogs & hamburgers (yes, these are just snacks)
• Food | The word food is used to describe large full meals which should include rice (e.g. Fried rice and chicken/fish, cook-up, curry, baked chicken with rice, etc.). Hamburgers, hotdogs, fish and chips, sandwiches, and many other smaller meals are not considered food.
What I've experienced...
1. My speech pattern and accent have changed. I've even had someone think I was Guyanese (speaking to them on the phone) and everyone laughs and loves it when they hear me say certain Creolese phrases.
2. Lots of people think I'm Brazilian (from my appearance)
3. There are lots of jokes, nicknames, and other "That is so Amanda" comments in the office
• My most popular nickname at the office is Snowflake (variations include Snowflakes, Snow and Snowy)
• Other nicknames include Cotton Tail and White Chocolate
4. New friendships with people of all ages. When you travel or move to a new place you meet a lot of new people which is great :) I now have a lot more older friends who are 30, 35, 40 and even older than that. It is interesting to gaff and lime with them since they have been alive for twice as long as me and the interaction in general is very different than with someone my own age.
Below is a section of Kaieteur News, one of Guyana's newspapers, that I always like reading because it is the only part written in Creolese. Try to read it and see if you can understand what they are writing about :)
Dem boys seh….People mouth gun up
OCTOBER 20, 2011 | BY KNEWS | FILED UNDER DEM BOYS SEH, FEATURES / COLUMNISTS, NEWS 
People hiding. Reporters got a hard time getting information from all dem people who know wha going on but who ain’t talking. Is only dem politician in de news these days. When dem boys call people to find out wha going on everybody talking bout how dem prefer to keep a low profile. All of dem get dumb and is easy to understand why. Dem don’t know wha gun happen when de elections done and all of dem want to keep de wuk.
Now dem boys want to know if that is how things does do in a democracy. A man come up to de Waterfalls paper de other day and he did really vex. Something happen along time ago and de government squeeze suh till he couldn’t even afford milk fuh he baby.
People tek notice. Dem decide that dem ain’t talking.
Is like if dem need doctors fuh open dem up. Some doctors would have to cut dem from dem tail because that is wheh some of dem now got dem mouth.
Dem boys seh that it easy fuh talk but it hard fuh face de backlash. Dem know that all de people who talk now getting dem name in a book. It depend on wha dem talking bout. If dem cuss de government then if de government get back in power is problems.
Dem lawyers can talk because de government can’t stop dem criminals from tekking who dem want to represent dem. And is nuff lawyers is politician.
That is why dem lawyers joining all de political parties. Dem don’t have to worry. Was a time when a certain Big Man did want to become a lawyer. He look and he see de money. He also see de easy way how lawyers does mek money. But he change he mind when he hear that he can get de whole cake. And Amaila is a big cake.
Talk half. Lef half.
http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2011/10/20/dem-boys-seh-people-mouth-gun-up/

Dream Big. Start Small.

Dream Big. Start Small.

Those are the words I was told by the first Guyanese I ever met during my training in Toronto 5 months ago. Those are the words that I am living by. And those are the words that I continue to repeat to the female entrepreneurs that I work with.

The objective of my programme is to train and support 50 female entrepreneurs in Georgetown, Guyana. My dream is that these 50 women will become sustainable and be able to support themselves and their families comfortably. But my dream is much more than that. I dream that these 50 women will grow and grow and grow to help many other people in Georgetown who are unemployed and disadvantaged. My dream is that these 50 women will inspire others across Guyana through the media and personal encounters. My dream is that these women will be successful, providing a needed good or service to the community which will contribute to the development of Guyana. I am hoping to initiate a "pay-it-forward" type activity where the women share their knowledge and experiences including their successes and challenges to other female business owners and young aspiring entrepreneurs. Dream Big. Start Small.

All of the female entrepreneurs that I work with are really great :) They have dreams and they have the desire to achieve those dreams, they just need a little extra push. They need someone who believes in them, someone who will listen, and someone who will give them some extra encouragement. As time goes on I learn more about the female entrepreneurs, their businesses, and the challenges they face. As an entrepreneur you immediately face additional pressure and challenges and as a female you must work extra hard in order to be taken seriously as a business women. On top of that, 36% of the group are single mothers (18 out of 50), and 60% have no post-secondary education.

I find that a lot of the social problems that exist here in Guyana are sometimes hidden but more and more I hear about the poor treatment of women. It is usually behind closed doors but involves domestic violence, sexual assault, unfaithful partners, child abuse, and incest. Domestic violence and unfaithfulness are the most common things that I hear about. Although I have met many very strong and confident women here, there are so many more women in Guyana who don't have the confidence and strength to stand up for themselves and get out of the situation. They fear that there is no other option. Many women depend on a man for financial reasons as well. Some men are very controlling and will not let their wife or girlfriend leave the house.

Not only do women face these challenges, but the women in my programme face so many more challenges as an entrepreneur in Guyana. From crime and theft to unenforced laws and untrustworthy staff, business owners have so many more challenges to deal with on a daily basis. Ideas can easily be stolen, businesses are frequently robbed, and staff members are not to be trusted. Almost every business has security guards and the cashier is located behind bars or glass to prevent theft. Our training facilitator recommended avoiding developing a pattern of going to the bank on a specific day and time to deposit money. Many of the women try to put measures in place to avoid theft from staff - measuring the level of juice, avoiding sharing too much information about the business and how things work, random checks, and more. The reasons for staff stealing from the business could be out of necessity if they are not being paid enough to provide for their family. 

I enjoy learning more but it is difficult to deal with the harsh realities of life as well. As much as possible, I share my words of encouragement with the women in the programme to build their self-esteem and give them that little extra push that they need to succeed.

Never give up. Reach for the sky. Follow your dreams. Don't ever let anyone put you down. Inspire others. Be confident in yourself. You are smart and capable and you can do whatever you want if you put your mind to it. Seize every opportunity. Treat your staff and customers like you would like to be treated. Support each other. Share ideas. Entrepreneurs will change the world and make a difference.

Dream Big. Start Small.

“When people are passionate and excited about what they are doing, they will move forward” - A mentor from the programme

The beauty of untouched land

Three weeks ago I went on my first real trip to see the beauty of Guyana...and it was incredible! In the past three months I had only been on two small trips to Leguan Island and Linden, a mining town, with some Guyanese friends but this was the first time I was seeing one of the main tourist attractions in this beautiful country.

It really was more than what I had expected. Nothing compares to relaxing on a beautiful isolated untouched beach with no one around and walking for hours at night to see prehistoric Leatherback Sea Turtles nesting....and of course the amazing roller coaster boat ride through the forest! It was a long journey of approximately 12 hrs total in a bus (Georgetown to Parika), on a boat (Parika to Anna Regina), in another bus (Anna Regina to Charity), and then on another boat (Charity to Shell Beach). Luckily I'm good with traveling and I never get sick or anything so I loved every second of it. 

The boat rides were my favourite! My fellow boat ride lovers and I took the opportunity to sing loudly and laugh uncontrollably at times...especially on the rollercoaster boat ride home where we all got drenched. The 4 hour boat ride between Charity and Shell Beach was by far one of the highlights. There were 12 of us in a small wooden motor boat winding through the "99 turn" river through the forest. We stopped occasionally for young Amerindian children in small wooden canoes fishing or on their way to school, to observe the otters, and to stretch our legs in Maruca, a small Amerindian town. The town was so nice and quiet and it reminded me of the place I called home in Kenya...the town of Oyugis. Although I am really enjoying working and living in Georgetown, I miss the experience of living in a small rural town. It has such a nice community feel where everyone knows each other and everything is so peaceful.

Maruca

It was a beautiful long boat ride in the hot sun with a nice cool breeze that allowed you to just think and think and think because it was too loud to speak. I spent the weekend relaxing, reading, swimming, playing frisbee, and fighting off the mosquitoes. We spent two nights there where we walked for about 5 hours along the beach, in pitch black basically, joining the turtle wardens on their nightly walk.

Shell Beach is a 90 mile stretch of coast, which for the most part remains ecologically undamaged, with several beaches composed of sea shells. It is located in the North Western part of Guyana and is the nesting ground for 4 of the world's 8 endangered species of sea turtles: the Leatherback, Hawksbill, Green and Olive Ridley turtles. They nest from March to August. The whole nesting process from when the turtles crawl onto the beach, dig a deep hole, lay their eggs, cover the hole, and crawl back into the water can take anywhere between 1 to 3 hours.

The turtles became endangered due to unsustainable harvesting, habitat loss, commercial fishing, pollution of the oceans and overall climate change. A man named Audley James and Dr. Peter Pritchard decided to take action and began an effort to save the endangered sea turtles by working with the local communities and they started the Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society in 1988. Together they encouraged fisherman to stop hunting the turtles and to leave the eggs alone. It was difficult for them to convince the fisherman to give up their livelihoods but Audley and Dr. Pritchard focused on community development and alternative forms of livelihood to encourage them and the communities. They educated the communities on tourism, recognizing it as a source of income, so that they would realize visitors would pay to see these things in their environment that they may take for granted. They converted the hunters into turtle wardens who patrol the beaches every night monitoring and protecting the turtles. The turtle wardens tag and measure the turtles and keep detailed records of all the turtles that nest.

I saw 3 Leatherback sea turtles and I got to measure one! It had been 3 months of non-stop work and I enjoyed every bit of my first trip to see the real Guyana. I took the opportunity to talk with Audley and his son Romeo about the conservation project, how they can improve, and how they can become more sustainable (by attracting more people). They are currently upgrading the camping facilities and working on their website and I plan to send them some photos and videos that I took. When we were leaving, Audley handed me a pair of earrings with shells and some earrings with feathers from the Scarlet Ibis as a gift. I was so grateful to have met Audley himself and to have a great conversation with him and his son. I will continue to stay in touch with them to see how everything is going and to eventually plan my return one day :)

As long as me!

Romeo can be reached at 1-592-661-1080 or romeodefreitas@yahoo.com. Don't expect a luxurious resort but instead be excited about experiencing something that not many have before and don't be surprised if you come out with some mosquito bites. I strongly encourage everyone to make a trip to Guyana to visit Shell Beach and all of the other wonders of this country before they are flooded with tourists, which eventually will happen :)

In the media...

This past week I was very happy to be interviewed by two different people from my old university, The University of Western Ontario (UWO), back home in Canada who were interested in my work in Guyana. It is so great to be able to share my work with people in Canada and hopefully inspire others, especially Ivey business students, to get more involved in international development and entrepreneurship.

You can check out the article that is on the Ivey News website at http://sites.ivey.ca/blog/2011/06/10/strengthening-entrepreneurship-in-guyana/. The second article is being published in Western News, UWO's official newspaper, and will be out soon. I greatly appreciate the interest that both Ivey and Western have shown in my work and I hope that I can continue to share my work and information about Guyana with Canada and the rest of the world :)

Women’s Entrepreneurship in Guyana

Below is my most recent blog post for the Youth Challenge International blog...http://ycicanada.wordpress.com/

Entrepreneurs are changing the world from the bottom up. Entrepreneurship is extremely important in order to create jobs, value for society, and economic growth. Today development organizations, governments, and NGOs are focusing more of their efforts on supporting entrepreneurs in developing countries realizing that this generates results far bigger than the resources invested. Entrepreneurship provides income, knowledge and skills, and empowerment to many people around the world who are providing needed goods and services to their communities.

As the Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme Officer at Youth Challenge Guyana, I have been coordinating a networking initiative for female entrepreneurs over the past two months. The objective of the program is to train and support 50 female entrepreneurs, empower them to become leaders in their communities, and foster an entrepreneurial environment in Guyana. We hope to create a network of female entrepreneurs who will work together to improve their lives, empower others, and make a difference in the community.

Half of the Women's Entrepreneurship Programme group during training

 The programme officially launched three weeks ago on May 14^th with an initial training workshop that covered an introduction to entrepreneurship and basic business management including strategic planning, record keeping, costing and pricing, and marketing and sales. We had a total of 50 participants with a wide range of businesses from salons, variety shops, and restaurants to fashion designers, recording studios, and event planners. The training was extremely successful and it was so exciting to hear the appreciation and satisfaction that the women expressed. The specific outcomes observed included increased levels of self-confidence and inter-personal skills, increased business knowledge and skills, and an established network of committed female entrepreneurs. We now have a Women’s Entrepreneurship Programme Committee which meets twice monthly to plan monthly workshops and networking events while developing the programme further. 

One of the female entrepreneurs, bar and fish shop owner, and I with her certificate

Guyana is one of the four non-Spanish speaking South American countries; however it is distinctly Caribbean with a mix of many different ethnic backgrounds. It is a country with only 765,000 people and like many of the Caribbean countries Guyana experiences significant brain drain causing the population to shrink by approximately 0.5% each year. High unemployment rates are one of the main problems in Guyana, especially among youth. Women face numerous challenges as well including lack of education and skills, low self-esteem, domestic violence, and a sense of powerlessness that often prevent them from participating in economic activities which will enhance their livelihoods. I am very excited to be working with Youth Challenge Guyana to address this issue and provide a network to support and empower female entrepreneurs.

One of the female entrepreneurs with her products at the Women's Exposition in Guyana

Last weekend there was a new women’s exposition in Guyana to promote women’s talents, skills, and entrepreneurship. We had 15 female entrepreneurs from the programme participating in the exposition where they promoted and sold their products and services. All participants had very creative and attractive displays with their own business cards, banners, flyers, packages and promotions that they had specifically prepared for the expo after the training. It was so exciting to see all of the women in action gaining exposure, obtaining new customers, gaining valuable experience interacting with customers, and managing their operations. In my opinion, the biggest improvement that I have seen over the past 3 weeks among all of the women is their increased self-confidence J

 Two of the female entrepreneurs with Guyana's Prime Minister, Samuel Hinds. 

Over the next 6 months our committee and I will be organizing monthly workshops and networking events while each member of the programme will receive additional support from a mentor and me. I also hope to work with other NGOs and the government to develop a strategy for entrepreneurship and employment in Guyana which is critical for development. 

Overall, the past 2 months have been an incredible learning experience and I am so happy that I have this incredible opportunity to work with Youth Challenge International and Youth Challenge Guyana on such a phenomenal initiative. I can’t wait for another 6 ½ months!