#2014team

[extratwist]

World Team Speculation: Take 7

Note: team will be announced on September 17. Wow, the players have changed since this winter. 

S. Biles

K. Ross

M. Skinner

A. Locklear

M. Kocian

M. Desch

A. Baumann (1st alt.)

B. Dowell (2nd alt.)

The top three are locks, and then it gets tricky. I think that they would be nuts not to bring Locklear for bars only, given that she won Pan Ams and can break 15 internationally (and that was without her max D-score). Biles made the event finals last year, and the US might be deep enough on bars for her not to compete them in team finals. Crazy.

Speaking of Kocian, she was on my speculative team five months ago. She would be a lock if she did the AA, I think. Or if she had won the beam finals at Pan-Ams. But as is, the team needs a lead-off beam routine in the final and she is the most obvious option. Plus she's strong on bars, and it's worth it to amp up the scores there as much as possible.

Then it gets tricky. In my opinion, Baumann is actually on the team if she can do the AA, or three events (no need on bars). If so, she's great on beam and solid on floor and even vault. She would be an excellent fit. But if she only has beam, that would be an issue on a six-athlete team. They get a bigger one-event boost from Locklear, and Kocian can at least do two events. Thus ...

Desch is on my team for now because she does the AA. If Baumann does not have floor and vault, the US would have to put up only three athletes on those events in prelims. Doable, but so risky. It's one thing to have an athlete who is not ideal on vault -- it's another to have an athlete who does not currently have a vault. Plus Desch was solid at Pan-Ams. She was 5th in the AA, top 6 everywhere but beam, and a floor finalist.

Now, Desch likely would only compete in prelims at Worlds, but it's worth it to have someone in this back-up role. Often due to injuries, the USA has gone to Worlds with two gymnasts who could not do the AA (Liukin and Sacramone in 2006, Sloan and Sacramone in 2010), but not with three. And I don't think that they want to start now. 

Dowell could mix things up by competing AA at camp, which she did say was a possibility, I think. But given that she hasn't done that since the American Cup, she's my non-traveling alternate for now.

I actually came up with this scenario before looking at the nominative list (which can change, but tends to be predicative). The main question mark is that sixth spot of course. It's possible that Locklear is the alternate, like Anna Li in 2011, but that wouldn't be my choice.

Assuming this is the team, I would do this line-up for finals:

VT: Ross, Skinner, Biles

UB: Kocian, Ross, Locklear

BB: Kocian, Biles, Ross

FX: Ross, Skinner, Biles

[saudersocialentrepreneurship]

Recap!

As this year’s program came to an end, we all left Kenya with countless stories and a refreshing experience. The last five weeks were insanely busy. A typical day consisted of each team going to their assigned location to deliver the day’s lesson. Later we spent a considerable amount of time in Nairobi’s traffic to get home and prepare for the next day. If time permitted, we usually had dinner at one of Nairobi’s fine restaurants, trying a new cuisine every time. We made sure to keep our weekends just as busy, so we had different plans arranged to visit different places in Kenya.

Through out the course: As the days went by, we were finishing one workshop after the other and working with the class on different activities and lessons. The participants started to look deeper and more critically into their ideas and businesses through the business model canvas. They also had to complete market surveys and researches. We were then able to understand their prospects better and that helped us to become more effective in helping them. I particularly enjoyed delivering the finance topics and lessons. Most of the Kenyan participants, especially the current business owners, knew they had to do more bookkeeping and to keep track of their financials in order to borrow money and grow, so they were keen on the finance parts of the course. Throughout this part though, we noticed a significant drop in people’s momentum, and I started to wonder how would the course end in relevance to our expectations.

The End – Regroup & Adapt: The last few days of the course were exciting and challenging at the same time. We got to the part where the participants were supposed to write their business plans, and we were very excited to read through the executive summaries and see how our work has helped them thus far.

I have to admit though, reading through the first few executive summaries made us realize that the expectations we had were not exactly met by each of the participants. That said, we had to go home, regroup, and figure out the best way to help everyone as much as we could. 

What we ended up doing was to split our class into two main groups. The first group had participants that either had existing businesses that they wanted to improve, or ones that had very solid, implementable plans. The second group consisted of participants that had ideas that required some market research and significant improvements. Iain Verigin took over the second group were he essentially led it through a similar approach to what he does in Lean LaunchPad. The participants had to leave our location during the day and complete different researches related to their business ideas. For instance, one of Philip’s objectives was to visit the leading DVD store in Mathare, and to find out the services they provide (Philip wants to start his own DVD store). The rest of us worked with the first group, where we helped them to design a plan for their new expansion ideas, and to help them put together financial models that incorporated the details of their required loan and the financial forecasts as a result of the cash infusion.

The end result was amazing!

Each participant had to present three main topics on the last day: the business model canvas, a financial plan summary, and timeline of their plans as entrepreneurs for the next 12 months. This would summarize the work they have done in the last few days through the stuff they have learned through out the whole month. They all did very well in their presentations, and all of them had clear plans of what they should do in order to get to their goal of starting their own successful businesses.

The Final Result: Though not everyone had a full business plan towards the end, the participants certainly walked out with three things. Firstly, the knowledge of what they should do, and what to find out in order to start a business that will have decent chances of success. Secondly, a timeline plan that includes the consecutive milestones backed up by financial data that will help them to get where they want to be in a year. And finally, an overall increase in their business acumen as entrepreneurs. Carol told me that she’s finally able to make estimates and keep records of her financial performance. Kennedy explained how the market research he had to do throughout the course made this course unique in its practical approach. 

SSE was truly an enriching experience on multiple levels. My entrepreneurship and business knowledge was greatly influenced by this trip and by the number of people we worked with. That includes our UBC team, the Strathmore students, and the Kenyan entrepreneurs. Apart from work, a blog post can’t describe the beauty of the places we saw and the good times we had in Kenya. Maasai Mara was beyond fascinating. The rest of Kenya was nothing short of breathtaking. And the locals were nice and friendly. Their smiles will not be forgotten and hopefully we’ll get to see them again soon!

Posted by Shadi Bahou

[saudersocialentrepreneurship]

Thank You Mathare

Wow! I can’t believe it’s all over. Seems like it was just yesterday that we went to check out Mathare for the first time and now it’s already graduation time. It’s interesting how time flies! Anyway, let me put all this nostalgia aside and say a few things… 

In reflection, I had a splendid time teaching in Mathare even as much as it was fairly brief. This experience is definitely one for the books. It has helped me grow personally, and has changed my outlook on life as a whole. 

My Team...

The Students...

I got the pleasure of meeting amazing and extremely hardworking students. They all had different businesses and business ideas and were eager to learn how to make their ideas a successful reality. During the course of the program I truly enjoyed listening to each one of their stories, jokes and backgrounds. I admired their hard work and it was all very rewarding to see them understanding the various concepts we had taught them. My favourite teaching moment was when some of the students would jump in to help me explain a concept to another student. To me, this was the magic of the classroom, because I got to see how they understood the concept in their own way, and as a result, I also got to learn from them.

To add onto this, recently I had a student in my class challenge me as to why I did not have a business idea of my own. To be honest, at first I was taken aback by his question and I didn’t know how to answer him, but when I really thought about it, he was right. I promised him I would get back to him in due time with an idea, and so now this is the next thing on my agenda.

Thank you Mathare for showing me another side of life and more importantly another way to look at life. Despite having lived in Kenya for virtually all my life, I had never been to Mathare. This experience has truly made me appreciate all the blessings we have in life, even the little ones. As much as it sounds like a cliche, it’s true. Being in Mathare for the past few weeks, has shown me what optimism is like, the value of family and friends that care about you, and basically just the joy of waking up to live another day. This was truly an experience to last a lifetime.

Posted by Rosemary Kamau

[saudersocialentrepreneurship]

It's A Wrap, Guys!

The first day was a bit difficult especially for team Kibera because we had very few people who were actually willing to go forth with the program. However, as days went by these students really surprised us. They were hard workers, always asking questions on how to improve on their business skills. Majority of them essentially already had a plan of what they intended to take up as their business plan. The best thing was they all wanted to be self-employed!! This is something that majority of Kenyans are being encouraged to do because of the high unemployment rate. Many Kenyans usually wait to be employed especially by the government but it is really encouraging to see many people willing to start–up their own businesses.

Personally I was challenged by two students who did stuff that I could not possibly do. One student joined the program almost two weeks late but somehow he managed to do all the assignments he missed as well as catch up with all the work done in class in such a perfect way. I was so surprised how he did it that there was no way we could have said no to him graduating today. He personally came to me today just say thank you for the chance given to him to graduate.

The other student was also one of the most hardworking students we had and I say so because he always completed his assignments really well and he always asked questions where he did not understand. He has a family and he does a nightshift as a guard yet every early morning he showed up with all his work well done. I simply could not understand how he managed to do it so well. He wants to start a small hotel within Kibera and honestly speaking given his discipline, hard work and ambition in a few months he will be able to start his own business.

Yesterday was an exciting day for all our students, you could easily tell that they could not wait for it to start. Some where all dressed up for their big day. To some it may have been a casual day but to some it meant change in their lives. It meant that they had a small credential showing that they did something worth their time. They all enjoyed most of being presented with their certificates. They really felt proud of themselves as we did. It was really fun playing soccer with them as well as dancing with them. It was really a day to just sit back and enjoy the hard work we all put in.

I am very hopeful that each one of our students will be able to achieve their desired business plan and even if they do not do so immediately, they will not give up but instead push on and do much better in the future.

Posted by Linda Wacheke

[saudersocialentrepreneurship]

The Month Has Come to an End...

I now have the chance to reflect on the program and wonder whether or not we’ve really made an impact on the community. I believe we did. When the students came into class on the first day, they were eager to learn.  They had dreams of changing their lives and those of the people in their community. As is always the case, we had a few dropouts, but the ones that hang on have earned my eternal admiration. It wasn’t a smooth ride for them. They struggled with a couple of workshops, but they give it their best and worked on them until they understood them. I can’t wait to see their happy faces tomorrow. I wish them all the best in their future endeavors.

As for the teachers, I’ve had the delightful pleasure to work with an excellent team at Mathare Big. Fran was more or less our team leader. Her lesson plans and emails kept us on track. Katie’s amazing artwork and dedication made this whole program a lot more lively and fun. Cici’s hard work was more than invaluable; she got us through the hardest workshops. Mary was our class translator. She made it easier for the students to grasp the difficult concepts; she also kept jacking all the candy. Then there was Rosemary, who made it her mission to help guys finish their homework every day before class started; I wish more of grade school teachers were like her. And finally Luke, who for some reason was always happy. Check out the pictures, you’ll see him smiling in every single one. Thanks guys, I really enjoyed working with you.

Posted by Samuel Mwenja

[saudersocialentrepreneurship]

Teaching in Mathare

I have been living in Nairobi for the longest time, but I have never been to Mathare. When I got the news that the program would be taking place in Mathare I was excited, and ready to take on the unknown. I love to travel and meet new people so this was an opportunity for me to visit a new place, meet new people and also have the opportunity to teach.

The first day was a little rough, but we managed to get through it because our team was very active and made it easy to get to know one another.

Starhmore students have been a great team too. Those who participated in the program last year have been a big help when we have encountered challenges along the way. The two teams have come together and demonstrated a strong sense of teamwork. This program has not only made me confident to stand in front  of people and teach, but it has also been a great learning process.  I have learned so much, some of which I can apply in the future when I want to open my own business.

Teaching has been fun and I have enjoyed listening to my students and helping them with their business plans. Team work among the students is awesome because they help each other out. They interact with one another in group discussions to better understand concepts and make their work easier.

Being in Mathare has made me appreciate life more and has even given me motivation to start a business of my own in the near future. This program has been a blessing and I hope to teach again next year!

Posted by Melsy

[saudersocialentrepreneurship]

What A Wonderful Experience!

The first time I heard I would be among the privileged to join this program, I never knew what to expect. I was full of anxiety, especially after hearing from past Strathmore University participants that were involved in the project last year. It is so great to see how everything has turned out! The students are willing to learn, and we too are learning a lot. Even the UBC students in the Mathare classroom can testify to the facat that the students sometimes talk to them in Swahili to make them learn the language faster. The most wonderful thing is how we have turned out to be such a family, a Sauder Family if I may say. We work together, eat together, and share our experiences together; especially those concerning university campus and life.

If you were to ask me a few months ago if I ever saw myself lecturing and teaching students, I would have said that I never would find myself in front of people. But this experience has changed my opinion all together. The students are always eager to learn, which is very encouraging. They motivate us to go on and on. I was happy to see that during days where we were going through accounting, no one wanted to miss out on any topic. This was something I didn’t expect.

I am already looking forward to our next class!

Posted by Mary Andati

[saudersocialentrepreneurship]

The SSE Director Gives Her Take on This Year's Program Thus Far

This interesting picture above is near our guesthouse. Corruption is an ongoing problem unfortunately and has a negative impact on doing business here in Kenya. The photo below that was taken in Mathare and is a sight the teams there see every day. It is pleasant to see these lovely children but disconcerting at the same time as the Sauder students wonder how much schooling the children actually get as they always seem to be on break.

The days fly by, jam packed with preparing and delivering lessons, taking in the sites, eating, sipping tea or coffee, and hanging out in my room.  The Sauder students are so excited and want to take in all that they can when they are here. They are an interested, collaborative, and keen group who laugh a lot and entertain Fred and Joe, our drivers, with their laughter, chatter, and other antics.

The Strathmore students get on very well with our Sauder gang sharing a common sense of humour, and talking about music, videos, school, and life on their respective continents. I enjoy listening to their thoughts, ideas, their teaching experiences, and hopes and dreams for the future.

The LMS Guesthouse is the same as it was last year. The people are friendly and welcoming.   It is like coming home. 

Posted by Frances Chandler