Day Two: Business Education Begins

WILL: For most, I don't think it is very difficult to wake up in the morning. We arrive for breakfast around 7:30 and look forward to starting the day. From breakfast we attended our first formal class on Swahili (something that will require a lot more work on my part) where the teacher was given many blank and confused stares. After an hour of trying to learn Swahili, we sat in on the Intro to Africa class where the climate, peoples, and geographic formations were discussed to give a clearer picture of Africa. Just before lunch we were met by a guest speaker named Zawadi Bella from Arusha who spoke on the role of Micro-Finance Institutions. These companies give loans to poorer people who want to start a business. The interesting thing is that there is no collateral pledged and they have an amazing 98% debt payback. Ms. Bella gave many interesting facts about the role of Micro-Finance Institutions, the role of government in these institutions, and the ever present educated labor market with only few jobs to fill (this could explain the heckling at the market). Our afternoon was filled with a tour of the World Vegetable Organization (they research crops and provide free seeds to farmers) and a hiking excursion around a large lake. Following a very filling dinner (which all of the meals are) we had a brief discussion of genocide and the conflict between the Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda. The discussions and readings earlier in the day prepared us for the viewing of Hotel Rwanda that followed. As can be expected, this movie opened our eyes to a disturbing part of Africa and the effects of misplaced power and revenge. The movie has not only informed us of historical events, but it has allowed us to take a new perspective and the importance of effective communication (something that we all must work on during this trip).