Working for the Man

Some of you may be wondering just exactly what I do as a Small Enterprise Development Volunteer here in Madagascar. For a while, I was wondering the same thing. I'm happy to say that I (finally) have a few projects rolling. Here's what's going on in my neck of the woods:

-Trainings! I've been traveling to villages within my commune and conducting basic budgeting and money management trainings. I usually throw in a little bit about business plans to plant the seed for those who are interested in starting new businesses.
Here is a picture of the turnout for one of my trainings, although I'm pretty sure that some people were just there to check out the vazaha (foreigner).

-Business club! I have a business club with local middle school orphan girls. These girls are more likely to drop out of school around the age of 15 or 16 because they simply can't afford to go to school anymore. We meet every Wednesday and learn the basics of business and finance. The girls will learn about and subsequently complete a business plan and with money that I have received from the U.S.Embassy I will provide them with the start-up funds for their own businesses. With the money they earn from conducting their business (like selling fried dough, for example) over their summer vacations and the skills they learned from the club, they will be able to buy the school supplies necessary and pay the fees for the coming school year.
These are the students in my business club.



-Village Savings & Loan! I have started a Village Savings & Loan program with the wives of the gendarmes (read: police) in my town. Though we are still in the formation stage, once the group is up and running the women will save money monthly. It is a great and easy way to save, especially since there is no bank in my town. Once the funds have built up over time, the women will be able to take out small loans to finance different projects. This is one of the programs that I'm most passionate about because it is simple yet so very empowering.

Those are my main projects although, as a secondary project, I teach English to teachers every Sunday afternoon. I am also working on helping a nearby village to begin raising pigs, an excellent source of food as well as income, and a welders group and a bicycle repairman to expand their businesses. So stay tuned!