Sometimes it's easy to forget the struggles people face when we don't interact with the same issues on a regular basis. It can be hard to comprehend the ways a person's system of values can differ from our own. I came face to face with that during this experience. The goal of the experience was to create a small business plan with an entrepreneur in South Africa and then travel there to help them implement it. Unfortunately I was unable to travel due to Covid-19 but it was still a life changing experience and I hope to travel to South Africa one day. I learned so much about the way people live and what they value in Khayelitsha, South Africa and I plan to take what I learned and use it moving forward.
My group was assigned a small business called Raheemas School of Excellence and it was run by a wonderful woman named Gladys. She ran a tutoring business named after her daughter to give the kids in her community their best chance of success despite a poor school system and lack of resources for students. Education is not the foremost value in their society, there is a focus on family and community. Most people with a job are typically supporting multiple households on their own and cannot afford an education. Gladys's work gives people a chance to educate themselves so they have the chance of a better future. The work she was doing in the face of adversity was incredible. She was supporting her own household as well as an orphanage while running a tutoring business out of her home. She had so much love and respect for other people, she radiated strength and was the epitome of kindness. She is an inspiration. Over the course of this class I kept a personal journal as I researched, learned and experienced. I think my biggest takeaway was to constantly remind myself to have empathy for other people and be aware that they have their own complex life experience going on.
Over the course of the semester my team put together a small business plan including new logo designs and collateral, SWOT analysis and other marketing materials. Below is the situation analysis that we did as part of our small business package.