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!           

Investing In Youth in the Caribbean...

Life in Guyana

I've been here almost 2 months now....it's crazy how fast time flies. I guess I'm just having lots of fun! :)
I'm going to share a little bit on the main observations I have made. Keep in mind that these are just my observations from the area that I live in, the office that I work in, and the people that I am friends with. I haven't traveled much outside of Georgetown so I don't know a lot about the interior and more rural areas in Guyana but here is a little bit more about what I have learned, what I have observed, and what my life is like in Georgetown...
Guyanese Culture...
Of course there are cultural differences between Guyana and Canada but things aren't drastically different in terms of culture, unlike many of the other countries that YCI interns are currently living in (Uganda, Tanzania, Ghana, etc.). The culture is very Caribbean, with some Brazilian influence, which you can recognize by the type of music, style of dance, and street parties until sunrise :) The dress is pretty much the same as it is in Canada. When you are working in the international development field and living abroad in developing countries you are told to bring and wear lots of skirts, shorts and dresses that fall below the knee because of the country that you will be living in. However, even in the rural areas of Guyana you will find girls wearing very short skirts, shorts, and dresses just like you would see back in Canada. The majority of clothing that is sold in Guyana comes from the US and a lot of people, especially youth, like to be flashy with brand names, designer bags, expensive sneakers, and lots of jewellery.
Food is very important in Guyanese culture. When it comes to food everything is very communal and Guyanese are very hospitable. When out with a group of friends it is common for one person to buy everyone's lunch and/or drinks. Or, if one person buys food or a snack they will usually share it and pass it around to everyone else. Lunch is the biggest and most important meal of the day and typically when Guyanese cook they will make more than enough food in case any guests stop by. I learned very early on that you must ALWAYS have hot sauce (chili) and ketchup in your kitchen if you plan to entertain Guyanese guests... most people put it on everything! :) The most common Guyanese dishes are: cook-up , fried rice, chow mein, curry, and macaroni. Cook-up is typically a mix of rice, chicken/beef, beans, onions, cook-up seasoning, and pretty much anything else you have around the kitchen!
When it comes to body image it is the complete opposite of North America. In North America we are so obsessed with being thin, fit, and having this "perfect body"...I'm sure right now as the summer approaches in Canada every girl is dieting and working out like crazy to get that perfect beach body. In Guyana, and the Caribbean in general, men like curves and women are a lot more comfortable with their bodies even if they are a little heavier. You can clearly notice how confident the bigger girls are and the very thin girls are more self-conscious doing everything they can to put on weight. I really do wish that our North American obsession with body weight would change and every girl would feel better about themselves!
There are some trends and fads that are very common and evident in Guyana. Here are the two main ones that I have noticed...
1. Tattoos!!! EVERYWHERE. Almost everyone has a tattoo. Tattoo sleeves (cloth material with tattoo designs that you wear on your arms) are the newest trend to have right now.
2. Back in the 90's gold teeth became a fad. It is very common to see people with one gold tooth and I noticed this immediately as I got off the plane. Sometimes they come with a shape such as a heart or a star.
Other observations...
3. Birds are common to have as pets and you will sometimes see men, typically on bicycles, carrying around their birds in cages. I've heard that the men and their birds congregate with others to see whose bird has the largest chirp. Speaking of birds...bird watching is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Guyana!
4. When asked your age adults tend to say the age that they are turning, not the age that they actually are. I am turning 23 in August so I would say that I am 23 even though that isn't for another 3 months.
5. Frequent blackouts. There are typically blackouts at least once a week...Friday afternoons are common scheduled blackouts. My Australian roommate and I embrace the blackouts and spend the time sitting out on our veranda drinking beers and talking which is nice. One day at work when we had a blackout I was expressing to my boss how I enjoy blackouts....we debated about it for a little while before he said "Amanda, one day there is going to be a blackout while you are doing something very important and then you will no longer like blackouts". Sure enough on the first day of the Entrepreneurship Workshop that I was facilitating for the staff there was a blackout and I had to finish the first day without the projector.
6. Unfortunately there is lots of garbage. Georgetown is a beautiful city but it has so much potential to be so much more. You will see piles of garbage everywhere and there is currently no recycling system so EVERYTHING goes in to the garbage.
7. Common Creolese phrases: (GUYANA = CANADA)
• "I aint hear you" = Sorry OR pardon me
• "Me aint know" = I don't know
• "You and who" = who were you with/who are you going with
And I have perfected all of these :) ....well sorta.
Life at YCG...
It is great! It is hilarious and fun and I really enjoy it. The office is very young and we laugh a lot. A typical day involves my boss Dmitri and co-worker Dwayne teasing me about my Canadian accent. Some words that us Canadians pronounce differently than Guyanese: butter, tomato, potato, three (they pronounce 3 as "tree" and 30 as "turty"), water, sour, and healthy (they pronounce it elle-tee). It is pretty hilarious...I am easy to tease and I play along with it.
My greatest learning experiences...
8. I recently facilitated an introductory Entrepreneurship Workshop internally for the YCG staff. Dmitri had asked me to run a workshop for all of the staff and although I was a little nervous about it of course I took it on :) It was an incredible experience and I learned a lot. I'm excited to run the workshop again in the future so that I can improve and gain even more experience.
9. I am learning a lot more about cooking, yay! My Australian roommate, Dale, loves to cook so I am learning lots from him but I am also learning how to cook Guyanese meals from my other friends.
Overall it has been an incredible 2 months. I have learned a lot, experienced a lot, and made a lot of great friends. I can't wait for even more...I just hope that time doesn't fly too fast!

My Baby

Well, my internship is 9 months right?
The Women's Entrepreneurship Programme (that is not a typo, it is "programme" in Guyana) is a new initiative that Youth Challenge Guyana (YCG) has started with the objective of training and supporting 50 female entrepreneurs and small business owners to improve their business and ultimately their quality of life. The programme is the first of its kind in Guyana and it will provide women with resources, knowledge, and networking opportunities while developing female entrepreneurs and businesswomen to inspire others.
One month ago we had 22 women signed up for the programme and I am thrilled to say that we now have 58! :) During my first week in Guyana, Dmitri (YCG's Executive Director) and I were in the Kaieteur News Sunday paper (the biggest day) and we appeared on TV twice to speak about the programme. I had never been interviewed on live TV before and it all happened within my first week in Guyana so that was pretty exciting. The following two weeks were busy with phone calls and visits from women interested in signing up for the programme. Almost every single one of them mentioned that they had read about the programme in the paper or seen us on TV. Every time someone called or came in and told me all about their business or business idea I got really excited. Some of them would tell me their life stories, I loved it. 
The programme, funded by Exxon Mobil, was planned to start a couple months back but there wasn't one staff member dedicated to managing it which caused a slow start. When I arrived there was a structure and ideas about what the programme would entail but we brainstormed and developed it during the first two weeks. This is what the programme looks like as of now:
1. Entrepreneurship Training: Approx. 20 hours of entrepreneurship training done in 2 batches (25-30 women in each)
2. One-on-one support: Follow-up done by myself with bi-monthly meetings to evaluate each participant's progress, address issues, and provide advice going forward. I plan to meet with each entrepreneur 3 times over the following 6 months (June to November).
3. A mentorship programme which will partner each participant with an established business owner, entrepreneur, or business professional for further support, guidance,  and networking opportunities.
4. Monthly networking cafes for the participants to network, exchange ideas, and socialize in the community. These will include motivational guest speakers from the community and success stories from the participants themselves.
5. Monthly workshops to provide continuous training and education on specific topics that were not covered in the initial training session (e.g. Business etiquette, accessing international markets, management and leadership, etc.)
6. Other networking opportunities: providing the entrepreneurs with information on events, conferences, expos, and other networking opportunities in Georgetown, Guyana, and internationally.
• There is a conference in Port of Spain, Trinidad called Investing in Youth, with a large focus on entrepreneurship, that is coming up at the end of May and we will be sending one participant to attend.
• The Ministry of Human Services has launched a new event called Feminition, a Women's Exposition, in Guyana that will take place from May 27th - 29th in Georgetown. Our entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to set up a booth to display and sell their products and services. It couldn't be more perfect!

              Germaine and I at our desks....notice the trash bin in the middle for our basketball game

I am also hoping to plan a small Entrepreneurship Fair/Expo and create a Guidebook for YCG that will provide youth, women, and entrepreneurs in Guyana with a toolkit for starting up their own business. Overall the programme will encourage entrepreneurship in Guyana and provide participants with the knowledge, resources, and support to start-up and grow their own businesses. Over the past month the majority of my time was spent in meetings with different financial institutions, partner organizations and potential training facilitators and they were all great! I also spent a lot of time developing my work plan, recruiting participants, and working out the logistics of the programme. I had quite a few meetings on my own and I have learned so much in such a short period of time :)
The next step has been to organize the training sessions that will be starting in just over one week. We have chosen a training facilitator, decided on the dates, and set a schedule of topics to cover. This week I will be finalizing all of the logistics (venue, snacks, supplies & materials, etc.) and putting together a folder for each participant among many other things.

The programme is my baby but I also have some other initiatives and activities that I hope to accomplish during my time here.... 
1. Assisting with YCG's social media marketing and taking on the responsibility of YCG's twitter account (they currently don't have one)
2. Some photography on the side: for YCG, friends, and other events in the community
3. Professional Development Activities: Anything related to entrepreneurship, youth, and sport. I am hoping to get more involved with activities related to these three things, my ultimate passions in life.
I am always busy and always learning which is great. I never would have imagined that I would be in another dream job managing an entire entrepreneurship programme on my own in a foreign country but it has been incredible. I can't wait for the next 8 months!