Accounting and Program Audit
Team
Log # 10
By Shelby Chambers
This is our last official week of GLOBE. When
this class first begins, you never realize how fast it will go by.
I have learned so many things since we first began and I have to
say this has been one of the best learning experiences I’ve ever
had. I originally had no clue what microfinance was before this
class. When I thought about poverty I was thinking of it in lamest
terms, but now everything has a new meaning. Microfinance is a tool
that is used by people in the developed world in order to help
those in developing countries to find a way out of an endless cycle
of poverty. Poverty is more than individuals being poor but a
lifestyle they are forced into due to the economic situation of
their country. People do not ask to be born into poverty, they
cannot help it and unfortunately, they have no idea how to pull
themselves out of it.
Microfinance is used in various ways to insure
people will have a better lifestyle. Families that are able to
receive loans from organizations, such as GLOBE, are so grateful to
the services because they are given opportunities. Now their
children can go back to school, there is food on the table for
everybody, mothers are able to take charge of their lives and so
on. It brightens my day to know that I am a part of an organization
that can give these opportunities to people in developing
countries.
Now that my semester is ending, it is time for
me to find a new endeavor. Being a part of this program allows you
to grow in many ways. GLOBE has opened my mind up to a new realm
that is growing continuously and its maturity is nowhere in the
near future. I want to find a place where I can continue to grow
while helping those in need. I am excited about the next chapter in
my life inspired by GLOBE and I hope the memories from this class
will help me to push forward.
Finance and Risk Assessment Team
Log # 10
By Nattalia Balkaran
As the semester comes to a close, GLOBE has
changed me in a number of ways. I have become more group oriented,
I have learned how to manage my time better and have brought forth
my unknown skills to the forefront. I am extremely happy that I
chose to take part in this wonderful academia program and very
happy that I was chosen to be one of the few selected. The
opportunity has been life-changing and regardless of what I do in
the future, my thoughts will always stem back to GLOBE and its
mission. Being on the finance team will do that to you. Reading
about loan applicants’ history and their hurdles, it makes one want
to help- in any which way I can.
There are many things I regret not doing
during the semester, but I am satisfied with the way we overcame
our own hurdles. I believe that SPRING 2013 will have a blissful
and easier transition into GLOBE because of all the improved
methods of recording and accounting information from the teams this
semester. It was difficult to jump into GLOBE and understand right
away what took place, what is taking place and what should take
place. At least in this instance, there is no back tracking,
everything is provided in an easy form, all thanks to GOOGLE
DOCS.
I believe once we learned about our
borrowers and the regions we were located in, the team began to
function and geared towards issuing new loans, reassessing other
poor loans and writing them off. We then began working on figuring
out a way to make all these time consuming bureaucratic sort
of paperwork less of a hassle. Once that was
accomplished, the next hurdle would be to have better communication
with the on ground eyes and ears, the daughters of charity.
Communication in GLOBE is an essential factor to the function of
what GLOBE’s vision is. In order to improve in our business and
learning endeavors we need more communication with those located
on-site.
I look forward to seeing each semester
build upon the previous knowledge gained to make their semester
even better. The point of GLOBE is to help pull people out of
poverty by helping them help themselves. Likewise I think GLOBE
also helps students shape themselves without us even realizing it
and ever more help shape the way in which we view the world. There
are things we as Americans are blind to one huge issue is poverty.
It’s also very hard for people to care, which is why I would like
to give thanks to everyone who lends an ear to listen and open up
their hearts to give. People make poverty seem as if it is an
alien, as if it is something they have never heard before. The
golden rule in life is to treat others the way you would like to be
treated. I view our mission as if I were a person living in the
conditions of a developing country; in that scenario, I would want
someone to care and give a helping hand to me. With that said, I am
truly grateful for this chance you’ve given to me, Dr. Sama and for
letting me open my eyes to a world that is unseen.
Marketing and Fundraising Team
Log # 10
By Tiffany Yeung
I cannot believe that the semester is
almost over! Dr. Sama was not lying when she said that this class
would fly by. Tonight’s class consisted of rehearsing for our final
presentation. I am so proud of my class and all that we have
accomplished, but I am especially proud of my team. I did not
expect for my team to become so close to each other and rely on
each other as much as we did. I am so grateful to have met these
four dedicated and ambitious people. Without them, my GLOBE
experience would not have been the same.
Looking back on this semester, I personally
feel like I have accomplished more than I ever would. Of course
this would not have been possible without the other members of my
team and classmates but I never would have imagined doing all that
I have. Being a part of GLOBE made me realize that everyone is
capable of doing something greater not only for themselves but for
others. Not only did I learn more about microfinance, but also I
learned more about myself and my own personal goals in life. I know
that the lessons and compassion that I have developed in the
classroom will carry on with me for the rest of my life. Although
my journey in the GLOBE classroom is coming to an end the
footprints I have left behind will remain for the future classes. I
know that the final presentation will be a huge success and I
cannot wait for the next class to be a part of it! This is an
ending to a new beginning and truly a bittersweet moment.
Technology and Communications
Team
Log # 10
By Patrick Diamitani
10 weeks? The end of the year? One more
semester gone and another semester that will be the last of my
undergraduate years?
Wow.
And you know what, while this is a period
in which many young college grads-to-be feel scared, I can’t help
but feel blessed. Even with the uncertainty- because for us, there
is hope.
I was speaking with a friend today over
lunch and we were talking about future plans and insecurities. I
couldn’t help but realize that everything we seemed scared about
was relatively insignificant. Sure, some people truly do have needs
that are unmet do to fear and anxiety, but for the most part we can
look at our lives and say, “I’ve had an opportunity to pick up a
book and read it, to obtain knowledge. I have clothes on my back,
I’ve got shoes on my feet, I’m going home to an apartment, and if I
live with my parents, even better- I’ve got a nice, free warm meal
to come home to. We have choices after we graduate that will make
us tens of thousands of dollars; even if they are not the choices
we seek. Who says I can’t wash dishes for $10 an hour and live in
an apartment in Queens with a few roommates? Even if it’s not
ideal, that kind of life produces more wealth than some people
dream of. “ That’s why I’m glad I took this course and pursued
knowledge of solutions for the worlds poor- if I can be so unhappy
with relatively so much, how can I raise their standards of living
so I can justify my ranting and raving? I think that’s what the
true goal of any person facing a tough life should be- “Okay, I get
it, you’re life is harder; now let me make it better so I can
complain in peace.” I spent Thanksgiving Day with my uncle who is
the Director of Programs for Unicef. He’s also on the boards of a
couple universities and sits as a board of trustee for the American
Red Cross. At dinner myself and another young man were speaking to
him and I could feel the passion and pain in his heart. “No one
gives a damn about the poor.” He went on about how so many people
harden their hearts as if it is “their problem,” that individuals
are in poverty without realizing how hard it really is. When he was
younger he visited war-torn regions, sided with rebel armies in
civil war conflicts (which would have undeniably gotten him
executed should the side not have won) and truly pursued his dreams
to take care of the poor, before and while working as a field agent
for Unicef. He said that there was always something in him growing
up that wanted, needed, to help the poor and he never would’ve been
happy if he didn’t. He put his heart and soul into it and even
though he took an unpopular jump in his youth, it has truly
produced massive dividends in his future and career. That’s why I
thank you, Dr. Sama, for taking the leap to develop a
world-changing, if not Patrick-changing, program to give much
needed assistance to those in need. Like all of us, it would be so
great if only we could continue to do so much more. I guess that’s
why we will truly never leave the GLOBE family until poverty really
is on the edge of its seat.