CREATIVE. MARKETING. PROFESSIONAL.
Second hand clothing is a major industry in the developing world (for better or for worse). This amazing story reminds me of so many of the 1010 partners in Nairobi.
If your dream was to become a doctor and you ended up uneducated and living in a slum, would you just give up on life? Some of us might have, but not Jane Ngoiri. Jane dreamed of being a surgeon, but she was too poor to finish school or go to college. However, today Jane is a Mitumba queen from Nairobi’s Mathare Valley slum. Mitumba is the business of selling second hand clothing that arrives in Kenya from European and American regions in massive bales.
via AfriGadget » Blog Archive » Dreams can come true – Janes miraculous Mitumba story.
We had these challenges too
Recently a friend asked about African culture, and specifically our Kenyan Social Entrepreneurs: “does their laid back attitude actually contribute to their poverty?” Now I know this friend well enough to know he was genuinely asking, not trying to pass judgment. In answer to this question, I present to you: a washing machine.
When I see that pile growing in my laundry basket I feel a dread come over me. I will have to budget time to address the burgeoning pile or risk wearing gym shorts as my underpants (not that I’ve ever done that).
I will have to throw the clothes in the washer, be around an hour later to move them to the dryer, and…the part I always screw up…remember to take them out of the dryer before they are a wrinkled mess (sorry honey). Oh ya…and folding. So, all in all about 30-45 minutes of work spread out over a 3 hour period.
Now let’s contrast this process with the work of a prototypical Kenyan social entrepreneur named Joy:
All in all, I have to guesstimate, a 6-8 hour process spread over 3 days. “Ok,” you say, “they have a harder time washing their clothes.” But this isn’t an isolated incident, this is every basic task of living
Now imagine you are trying to run a social venture with the rest of the time you have left? If you are trying to be productive and task-oriented, how long would you last? Is being strictly task-oriented unquestionably a good thing, even in our culture? The fact is, the utter lack of what we would consider “basic infrastructure” conspires to complicate every basic task.
Every time you throw some clothes in a rinse cycle, remember the cycle of poverty and ask yourself how you can responsibly intervene.
I’m still in a bit of a jetlagged daze as I attack my email inbox this morning. I’m so grateful I had this note waiting in my inbox about the business training seminar we put on in the Matopeni neighborhood of Nairobi for our partners
Dear Brian, this is Peter, we met at the candlelight ministries where Chuck delivered a very motivating talk on business.This is to thank you for the good work that your org is doing in our country and also to assure you that the seminar was not in vain.I have tried to pass on the message to my peers at komarock and we really are trying to change our approach to business so we can register better returns.Please keep in touch and kindly inform us when you next visit.God bless you.Regards-Peter.
In the seminar Chuck covered:
It is a problem that plagues all businesses worldwide: you get a $100 check from a client and think “Yay I have $100!” Not so, as Chuck explained using the metaphor of selling eggs. You have to factor in costs of buying more eggs to sell, transporting the eggs to a market, broken eggs, employees, refrigeration, and so on. Only after those costs, and after taking the income you need to live on, do you have your actual net profit.
It was incredible to watch the light bulbs go on in these social entrepreneurs heads. One attendee said “this changes everything…now we know why our businesses have been failing.”
These brave entrepreneurs are truly my heroes, it is a privilege to serve them and support their work.
“Moving at the speed of business.” “Moving at the speed of light.” “Always on the move.”
Ours is a culture on the move. My life is always in motion. I can scarcely keep pace with my own mind, let alone the activities of each day.
When I stepped into Heathrow Airport I felt like a cow in a Masaai herd. Reentering “the west,” everyone is so serious, so busy, so hurried.
I tend towards an anxious personality. I have a variety of nervous habits. Despite the heartbreaking poverty, and times of culture shock, I’ve not been so relaxed since…well I don’t know when.
In Kenya I always knew I was the priority of whoever I was with. The relationship, the friendship, the moment is what matters. It was a powerful sense of presence.
It wasn’t always deep life-changing conversation. I watched a lot of Mexican soap operas (translated into English…Kenyans are obsessed…I know, weird right?).
I now reenter a world where expectations are different. Showing up late to meetings because I was “in the moment” won’t fly, and would be disrespectful in the US culture. How can I create a balance and retain the slower pace of life I loved in Kenya?
In a world moving so fast, how can I move at the speed of friendship?
My experience in Kenya has created gratitude about my homeland, the US.
It has also created envy about some of the treasures they have here.
The women sang around my wife, Shannon, gave her a green “Mama Bidii” shirt, and wrapped here in their black and white skirt. Then we looked at their truly beautiful handiwork, and bought Christmas gifts for the year!
A truly beautiful experience.