Adventure in Africa: Part IV

For this blog I want to continue the theme of “hope” in South Africa and talk about the workshop I gave to some of the students in the Grade 12 class. It was towards the end of my stay there and it was such a positive way to end an amazing experience. Who better to illustrate hope than the children of a country?

So there I was giving a workshop on how to start a business. I went into the class not knowing what to expect. The students where I had been earlier in the week were mostly younger kids who were thrilled to have a visitor. But would high school students? Further, did they want to hear about starting a business or anything else I had to say for that matter? I had prepared some notes that hit on certain points I did not want to forget and so I started speaking. WOW! They were paying attention – I mean really paying attention and taking notes. I invited questions throughout and boy did I get asked questions. Really good questions. Questions like: Where to get the money to start a business, what type of business to open, what to do if a customer is not happy with a product or service, what are ways to grow and expand a business, how many hours a week usually go into owning a business, what are ways to give back to the community…

I want to touch upon this last question briefly. These kids who have not even started a business yet were already asking ways that they could help and give back to their community. I was, to put it simply, blown away. As a business owner myself, one of the most fun, rewarding things I get to do is to give back. Of course, anyone can do this whether they own a business or not! But as a business owner, I do get asked for assistance a lot more than in my personal life and through my business I have been led to some great opportunities to give both time and money. A prime example is this incredible trip to South Africa.

A few days before I gave the workshop I read through the various applications the students had filled out for either the grant or scholarship or, in the case of a couple of students, both. Hey, you can’t blame someone for trying! As I read through the applications a couple of things stood out. One, these kids grew up very differently than I did. Their lives have not been easy. Most have experienced the loss of one or both their parents to AIDS. In fact, they have probably lost many relatives to AIDS. Some grew up in the orphanage. Their financial situation is perilous. Yet in every application, and this is the second thing that really stood out, the students’ wanted to go on to university or start a business to make their community better.

I have to admit that when I first went to work as a teenager it was not to make my community better. It wasn’t until years later that I thought about giving back. Not these kids, giving back is their goal – to both their families and community. Many want to be nurses so they can care for the people there in their village, one wants to be an agricultural engineer, again, to make things better for everyone, and one wants to be a Math teacher to come back to the village and teach. Some want to start businesses so they can fulfill a need in the community, employ people, and also, in turn, someday give someone else the opportunity to start a business.

No one in the village has gone to university yet, but they will soon and the Thanda After-School project has recently started an Entrepreneurship Training Program for recent graduates who wish to start a business. I saw firsthand how Thanda has given these children hope for their future and that they in turn will give South Africa hope for its future.

And from what I saw there is a lot of hope. I am by no means an expert on the subject and I was there for such a short time but it sure felt like change was in the air. More on this in my next blog…