Accounting and Program Audit Team
Log # 8
By Hua Yong Jack Chen
For today’s class, I had the pleasure of listening to Susan
Kageni Saiyiorri, who was a former National Outreach Coordinator
for Jamii Bora. As a student manager of GLOBE, it is sometimes
difficult to see the positive impacts that microfinance has on
people. Thanks to people such as Susan, it provides an opportunity
to see what’s happening on the ground.
One consistent thing that I have seen with people in successful
microfinance institutions is that these institutions provide more
than a loan. They provide support, education, and a positive
attitude when serving their borrowers. What makes these
institutions so wonderful isn’t based on the successful repayments
that people make; rather it is based on the personal commitment and
devotion that they have to their community. This is generally what
makes microfinance institutions much more successful than
commercial banks.
As a member of the Accounting Team, I was a little concerned when
Susan mentioned that training their clients to understand the
basics of business was costly and time consuming. One of the
Accounting Team’s projects is to update the Business Lexicon and
promote Enterprise Development. Considering the time constraints
that this semester has because of discrepancies in a few loans, I
hope that it will be completed another time. Once the loan tracking
is completed, the team should be able to create a database of all
the loans.
Finally, I would like to address the psychological aspect that
was mentioned in the speech that would relate to GLOBE. The first
one was that group loans tend to fare better than individual loans.
I assume that because of peer pressure, people are more inclined to
repay the loans. However, this is dependent on whether the group is
more individualistic or collectivist. The second thing that might
apply to GLOBE is that we could split loans into smaller pieces.
Susan mentioned that smaller loans tend to have a higher repayment
rate than those who take out larger loans. Psychologically, I would
assume that large loans are difficult to repay only because it is a
large number. Breaking it down into smaller pieces might be more
beneficial if this is the case.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation that Susan gave.
Not only did it provided a ground view of how microfinance has
helped people, but also it showed me that there must be more to be
done before poverty can be fully eliminated.
Finance and Risk Assessment Team
Log # 8
By Megan Lane
What a successful week!
My GLOBE tee shirt is working overtime, as we’ve accomplished so
much in the past week. Most importantly, we’ve managed to track
many existing loans. We’ve put together all the information we have
about our borrowers in one spreadsheet and contacted the Daughters
of Charity for updates on their businesses. It was a long and
tedious process, as this information was scattered on loan
applications, student write-ups and spreadsheets, wire transfers,
and past reports from the Daughters in the field. However, now that
we have the data in one place, we know exactly what information we
still need. We have sent our questions and update forms to the
Daughters of Charity and have already received a response from
Nigeria with good news, as our borrowers are repaying their loans,
some have already paid in full, and one borrower is almost done
paying off a follow-up loan that she received after successfully
reimbursing her initial loan. We are anxiously awaiting an update
from the Congo, and hope to hear similar success stories.
In addition to loan tracking, we held a successful information
session for potential future GLOBE managers. The turnout was
impressive, proof that the program is becoming better known and
recognized on campus. The students had a lot of great questions and
showed a genuine interest in our mission. I was especially proud to
see that so many non-business students came to find out about the
class. GLOBE is usually made up of students mostly from the Peter
J. Tobin College of Business, even though the course is open to all
majors. It is great to see interest in social justice coming from
students studying all disciplines, with many coming from St. John’s
College or the College of Professional Studies. The Marketing and
IT teams this semester have certainly done a great job educating
the student body about GLOBE and getting the word out in the St.
John’s community.
I can’t talk about this week without mentioning the incredible
success of our International Buffet. We set up tables in Marillac
during lunchtime and each cooked a food from our ethnicities. As a
very diverse class on a very diverse campus, there were so many
different cultures represented. We had food from Italy, India,
Brazil, Guyana, Bulgaria, Trinidad, Korea, Haiti, Mexico, England,
and many more countries. The spread was well received by students
and faculty and we were able to raise a lot of money to fund loans
for borrowers. It was also a bonding experience for us, as we got
to taste the kinds of foods that our classmates eat at home. I
tried my first Brazilian coxinha and my first Bulgarian banitsa,
both of which were homemade by my classmates and delicious. The
buffet was a hit and was enjoyed by everyone.
This week was hectic, but it was filled with success. Weeks like
these make me proud to be a member of GLOBE. The work can be
overwhelming at times, but each accomplishment makes it
worthwhile.
Marketing and Fundraising Team
Log # 8
By Stephanie Pereira Lima
Last class, we discussed the differences between a Microfinance
Institution (MFI) in a developed country versus a developing
country. Naturally, the circumstances are different in each country
given the societal infrastructure. Factors such as culture,
government and politics, and the way the economy is made up come
into play, as well as the actual stability of the environment.
Creating an MFI in a developed country such as the United States,
for example, would require more work and hurdles to jump through,
but it still makes a difference. After we viewed the short video in
class, we were able to see how a small amount of US Dollars really
goes a long way (both nationally and internationally). It was
really touching and left a deep impression on me.
On an even more positive note, we raised $500 at our
International Buffet to Fight off Poverty event! We had an amazing
turn out and the participation from each GLOBE Manager was even
more remarkable. Everyone pulled their weight, which really
facilitated the overall production, in both cooking and working the
table at Marillac Terrace. The concept of the event goes
hand-in-hand with the workings of GLOBE, which in my opinion is why
it was such a hit amongst the St. John’s student body and faculty.
Especially when taking into account the diversity on our campus, we
had a dish (well, close enough) for almost everyone. I would highly
recommend that future GLOBE Managers host at least one
International Buffet because it is not only an effective
fundraising method but also a great and memorable experience. I
feel extremely proud of our class.
Technology and Communications Team
Log # 8
By Aiden Eun Gee Min
As part of my responsibility in the IT Team, I have finished
half of the video log. As I have mentioned in previous logs, the
project will focus more on inspiration rather than global poverty.
To give the general idea, the log will look similar to an
advertisement in order to appeal to the viewers.
Everyone in the program will be in the project. This is to
provide the information about each department’s dedication towards
the whole program and its objectives. I have filmed the accounting
team and finance team today. I was very pleased with their
informative and inspiring speeches. Both teams explained exactly
what their objectives and responsibilities are and how their
dedication affects the entire program.
I will also include pictures and videos taken during the events
our class has produced. So far, we had bake sales, information
sessions, the phone campaign, the UN event, networking events, film
day, and the list goes on. I have more than five hundred pictures
taken from these events, and they will be included in the video log
in order to visualize what we do. I believe this is also inspiring
to the future candidates since many people would like to join a
well-organized and active program.
Dr. Sama gave me a very important, and yet, obvious fact about
GLOBE Program: Many students tend to join the program for benefits
provided by the program. However, most of the participants get more
interested and active in building a world without poverty. Thus, I
believe the promotional events and sessions should introduce the
benefits of the program first, then the objectives. Once the
students join the program, it is no doubt that they will start
looking at the world differently.