Ground Team Perspective: It’s Time for Africa!

Nadir Surani, 1st year BCom, Sauder

and

Katarina Yan, 1^st year BCom, Sauder

Jambo! Though we have both had our successes and struggles during this program, SAI has been a great learning experience overall. From team bonding activities to learning parts of a brand new language, we definitely had a lot of fun!

I (Katarina) was looking for a way to be more active in the Sauder community and saw SAI as a chance to do just that as well as an excuse to travel to a new country. I was completely overwhelmed at my first meeting; we were already having full-blown discussions about writing funding pitches and presentations. Having little experience as a first-year student, I felt extremely nervous among my teammates who seemed to be bursting with confidence.   

Since my family is from Mombasa and Kisumu, I (Nadir) thought this would be a great opportunity to make a global difference, as I have already been involved with many local organizations. In January at our first meetings, I was nervous about the entire experience and bonding with the rest of the team, but as time moved on over the last eight months, I made friends with the rest of the group.  

Our first task was to fundraise $1000 each. Fueled with ideas and team brainstorming, we each set off to accomplish this seemingly easy task. Unfortunately, it proved to be a lot more difficult than anticipated. Our first venture selling heart-shaped chocolates at a booth did not go as well as the team hoped for, however, we were able to learn from our mistakes and move forward. We realized that selling these to students, in this case, at UBC, would not make a large enough profit to meet our fundraising goals. One event that proved to be extremely successful was our silent auction and pub night. Aided with a great location and focusing on a more adult demographic ensured us a larger amount of money raised.  

We had our first experience creating business plans and adjusting them to fit a different demographic. Being warned that the classrooms in Nairobi would be cramped without technology and few supplies, this would be an environment that would take much adjustment on our part. Also, we were told to expect a language barrier that would hinder our ability to convey our lesson plans. 

Us undergraduates were lucky to be able to work with two experienced MBA students who provided their expertise and mentorship. Meghan and Mostafa both took time out of their busy schedules to provide us assistance whenever we needed it. We were also lucky to have many guest speakers that gave us background knowledge on what to experience in Kenya. Our excitement grew as we learned more about African culture through group presentations, and even learning a bit of Swahili (thanks to Shahista!).  

Although our plans to travel to Kenya with the rest of our team didn’t follow through, we are still glad to have been a part of the ground team. We both recommend this program to any students who have a passionate interest in making a global difference and can maintain a dedicated time commitment throughout the entire year.  We also suggest joining the team as a second year or above student, as most of the learning material is not covered in first year. Best of luck to the students next year, and special thanks to our program director, Frances Chandler!