Accounting and Program Audit Team
Log # 7
By Marie M. St Jean
What it takes to make a difference?
A friend of mine once told me that those who make a difference
are not any different from us, average people. However, I beg to
differ because there are those who set out to make a difference
because they have the passion within them to enact changes wherever
they go and therefore leading others to walk on the same path as
them. Most people are oblivious to the society that they live in;
they tend to be more comfortable with their surroundings and are
not receptive to change. I came to realize that the difference
between the person who makes a difference and the average person is
the average person sets out on a mission and little obstacles that
come his or her way usually easily discourage him or her. Perhaps
it is a money situation or not enough volunteers that stops their
dream from coming true in the end they will most likely give up;
where as the ones who actually succeed in making a difference,
whether if it is on a local or national scale, does not give up,
their desire runs deep. One of my favorite quotes has come to be a
proverb that I often think about in my times of struggle “when it
is dark you can see the stars”.
I usually follow the teaching that whatever happens in our lives
we have to know that we will never stay in it, which is why the
words “you will get THROUGH it” means that whatever the situation
is, it’s not meant for you to get stuck in it. It is meant for you
to go through it and learn from your experiences, although it is
sometimes hard but I try to look at the bigger picture when I’m
going through my obstacles. I came across an individual this week
while doing some research looking for people who are making change
around the world. His name is Greg Mortenson authors of Tones into
Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and
Pakistan and many more bestselling books his contributions to
advancing education has caused the survival of a lot of
individuals. One would say that he is somewhat like Muhammad Yunus.
Greg Mortenson is a zealous and determined individual. Had
Mortenson not been passionate about building schools in Pakistan
and Afghanistan, he would have never been able to achieve his goal.
Had he been an ordinary person, one who is not receptive to change
he would have never gone through the trouble to build what is now
over a hundred schools for both boys and girls. His schools are
geared more towards girls because he believes in educating young
girls since they are the future.
Greg Mortenson said a quote along the lines of “when you teach a
boy you teach an individual but when you teach a girl you teach a
whole community” in other words what he meant by that quote was
that it is in a girls nature to nurture others with what they learn
one example that he gave was a girl teaching her mother how to
read. Whereas a boy, it’s in their nature to work so therefore they
don’t have time to nurture and teach others. Through Mr. Mortenson
I learned that I must never say “no” or “maybe” as an answer when
it comes to a dream that I want to make a reality. I must strive
for the best, whatever it is that I may be doing. To learn from
Martin Luther King’s idea, I may not see the results tomorrow but
at least I am planting the seeds today and that is all that
matters.
Finance and Risk Assessment Team
Log # 7
By Nathan Holmes
What will the program of GLOBE look like in 15 years? When
struggling for topics to write about in my journal entry today I
started to wonder whether people ten years from now will also be
struggling with what to write about in their journals. Obviously
we’re all going to have super computers implanted in our brains so
we’re going to be able to do the journal entries instantaneously so
that wouldn’t be an issue, but that then led me to wonder what the
GLOBE program itself would look like in 15 years.
Obviously, if we just project outwards I could easily see a
GLOBE program that has borrowers spread out across Asia, Africa,
South America, North America, the Caribbean, and The Pacific
Islands. The finance team would have to field loan applications in
the hundreds every semester because we have so many connections
with Daughters of Charity spread out across the globe that have had
good experience with our program. The finance team is already on
track to have a more complete loan tracking system and a more
standard process for reviewing applications for loans so I could
easily see finance teams in the future up to the task of reviewing
a large amount of applications. In the future the I.T. Team would
be reaching out to thousands of GLOBE followers with every message
they send out to the world. In the future Accounting Team would be
in charge of a GLOBE account that has plenty of money to lend out
to all worthy loan applicants. In the future the Marketing Team
would be able to raise enough money every semester to make over
fifty loans through well-established fundraising channels.
All of this could easily happen if GLOBE simply expands as it
currently is. In my opinion that probably won’t happen and we
shouldn’t be satisfied with it. GLOBE is capable of so much more.
In the coming years I believe that technological innovation will
allow us to start to bridge the gap with the field. The Daughters
of Charity are an incredibly invaluable resource and we shouldn’t
attempt to over burden the loan applicants by requiring constant
communication, but being able to communicate with the loan
applicants even once would be an incredible experience. I believe
this is very possible in the future. Next I think in the future we
will be able to move beyond simply microcredit. With the
innovations brought about by mobile banking I believe we may be
able to go into micro insurance or another similar field. St.
John’s University has a very good actuarial science program and I
believe with closer contact with the field we could create a fifth
team in charge of insurance. Finally I believe that different
schools all around the country could imitate the GLOBE program. We
could become the Grameen Bank of University run microfinance
programs. I believe all of this and much more is within our reach
if we continue working towards new sets of goals every semester and
continuing to be innovative.
Marketing and Fundraising Team
Log # 7
By Tiffany Wong
This semester continues to fly! There are only a few more weeks
left until I graduate from St. John’s and I am extremely grateful
that I was able to be a part of GLOBE. GLOBE is one of the most
fulfilling programs that I am pleased to say I was a part of. I’ve
learned so much about myself as well as others. It was genuinely an
eye opening experience. But we’re not done just yet; we still have
a few more events planned for the rest of the semester!
This week is our Phone Campaign. GLOBE managers will be
participating in the campaign starting on Monday, March 26, 2012.
Some managers will also be participating on Tuesday and others on
Thursday. Depending on how comfortable people may feel during this
week, we will begin planning the second week of the campaign. I’m
really nervous about the phone campaign because I’m afraid that I
may mess up and fumble on my words. But it is something that must
be done and I will do my best! Even though I’m nervous, I’m a
little excited to see how it turns out. I’ve never participated in
a phone campaign before, but this will definitely be a great
experience for GLOBE and its current managers.
What makes me feel less frightened by the phone campaign is the
fact that I’m completely comfortable when it comes to talking about
GLOBE. I think that GLOBE is such a wonderful program and I
honestly love talking about it. Because I am passionate about GLOBE
and what it stands for, I’m afraid I may take it personal if
someone was to, for example, hang up on me. But I will try my
hardest not to.
Also, organizing this phone campaign was a learning experience.
While writing the script, I realized that even though GLOBE may not
be as well known as it should be it still has done a lot to change
many people’s lives. We took a look at some of the current and past
borrowers, and there were quite a handful. I knew that GLOBE
currently has 50 borrowers spread amongst developing countries, but
actually seeing the profiles and reading them more in depth has
shown me that even though 50 may seem like a small number compared
to Grameen Bank, it is still a relatively large number. GLOBE has
done a lot over the 7 semesters and I hope that it only continues
to do well! We were also able to meet and work with great people,
such as Scott and Kristy. They are doing so much to help us with
our planned events this semester. I am really grateful for what
they’ve done and I’m excited to continue working with them!
The past few weeks have been extremely stressful, but I’m hoping
that all of our hard work pays off and we are able to gain more
awareness for GLOBE through our upcoming events!
Technology and Communications Team
Log # 7
By Boryana Yordanova
GLOBE is more than a class, program, acronym, term, definition;
it is even more than a family. It has become a way of life for me.
All of my friends know that I participate in the program and know
what GLOBE stands for because that is all I talk about. Whenever
they see me on my laptop, they sarcastically ask me “Are you
working on GLOBE stuff again?” It may sound funny but I cannot
leave my house without my GLOBE bracelets. My team and I have
gotten along very well from the beginning of the semester and even
though each of us has its own separate task, we are all working
together towards the same goals – identifying the technology needs
for GLOBE in order to spread awareness easier and in a more
efficient manner.
Within the first couple times we met, we became very close and
had to quickly devise our team objectives that we will follow as a
guideline for the rest of the semester. I think we have been doing
a great job so far with meeting our objectives. I am very satisfied
with the design of GLOBE’s website because it is coming out exactly
the way we wanted it – more visionary and more memorable. Nirveeta
has been amazing with organizing the web design and communicating
with Asia. We still have a lot of work though; I am in the process
of sending pictures of the promotional items, as well as adding few
more pictures of the class itself. I have scheduled various updates
and reminders on Facebook and Twitter about the upcoming
Information Session and International Buffet. While at work
yesterday, I distributed 25 flyers all over the resident halls and
I hope we have a good turnout of the events. Another thing that I
have been working on is creating a template for the final
presentation so that we all look professional. However, I am trying
to think of a more unique and artistic design, rather than
something plain and simple. Aiden will start shooting videos of the
different teams, which he will later edit and create an
advertisement for GLOBE. Luis is currently putting together a
timeline that we want to upload on the web site representing the
history of the program and all big events that has happened
throughout the years. Anastasia has been doing a wonderful job as a
team liaison. I am very happy to be part of the IT team and most of
all, I am happy to be a GLOBE member. It makes me feel good that I
am helping people escape the cycle of poverty, raising awareness
about microfinance and changing the world. GLOBE is a learning
experience for me. And I do not only mean the academic part of the
program. As a part of GLOBE, I learned how to work in a team
environment; I developed time management and organizational skills;
I broadened my horizons and met incredible people, who are now my
friends. While reading Muhammad Yunus’ books and watching videos
about microfinance in class, I have come to realize that social
business is something that I am highly interested in. I see myself
in the future as an entrepreneur of a non-profit organization that
will work towards enhancing the well being of people.