While spending the Christmas-New Year’s week in Tanzania and Uganda, I met a group of Americans who were on vacation from their assignments with the Peace Corps in Kenya
Wipe With Your Left,
By Mike Halpern
Shake with your right. That’s right, EA members, future VC-types and other assorted megalomaniacs. Listen up, because this may not sound like the type of advice the good Prof. Cockrum dispenses to the masses in 231E, but it might come in quite handy (no pun intended) if you follow the advice in this article and go to Africa to advise entrepreneurs.
As any of you who have suffered from being in my relative proximity during the course of this quarter are undoubtedly aware, I recently took a little spin through Tanzania and Uganda and LOVED it.
While spending the Christmas-New Year’s week on Zanzibar (the infamous “Spice Island”), I met a group of Americans who were on vacation from their assignments with the Peace Corps in Kenya. Aside from Tom Hanks’ masterful performance in Volunteers, I really didn’t know too much about the Peace Corps up to this point, and was fascinated by the opportunities the Peace Corps offered which might be of interest to the Anderson School population. (Now’s the part where we actually get to the point of this article.)
The modern Peace Corps has numerous sub-programs, each tailored to a different mission. For instance, many of the people in East Africa are working on traditional community health programs. This is where I learned the main piece of advice that is dispensed. That’s right: “Wipe with your left; shake with your right.” Believe it or not, this advice has saved thousands of lives. You see, the vast majority of East Africans are not acquainted with toilet paper—it is simply too expensive. So, they use what is at hand. (Sorry, I know these puns are really bad. It’s just so hard to resist.) As any of the MD-MBAs running around in the first-year class can explain (probably in much greater detail than you would ever want to know), this is the first step in the insidious fecal-oral pathway—spreader of sundry and various diarrheaol diseases. And, sadly, diarrhea remains one of the great killers in developing regions of the world.
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably wondering what the connection is between diarrhea and the EA. (While that could probably be a whole article in and of itself, this article is written to inspire, not irritate; so I will resist the digression.) By reading between the lines, however, you should see that, while apparently simple and straightforward, the medical advice offered by Peace Corps volunteers has had significant and lasting effects for the people of this region.
It is now appreciated that similar effects can be had if advisors are provided for emerging businesses in developing regions. As in many other places, following years of flirtation with socialist policies, many African nations have now embraced free markets as the path to success. And, there is great appreciation both in local governments and in Western aid agencies that entrepreneurial ventures will lead the way toward any sustainable prosperity that is to be achieved. As a result, the Peace Corps now offers a program which matches volunteers with entrepreneurial ventures, allowing the volunteers to match their knowledge and experience with the enthusiasm and market awareness of local entrepreneurs.
I would strongly encourage anyone considering programs such as the MBA Enterprise Corps (which will match you with businesses in Eastern Europe) to consider this possibility as well. As part of this same trip, before heading to the warmth (both literal and figurative) of Africa, I was freezing my butt surrounded by the crankiest people I have ever met while in Eastern Europe. There is no doubt where I would rather be for 2 years.
So, for any of you that are interested, please feel free to contact me. I have contact information for the program and some of the participants who are there now. And for those who are interested, but unsure about the hardships involved with living in rural Africa for 2 years, I will put you in touch with Carl. Carl is in his mid-60s and a self-made multi-millionaire. He left his successful business and comfortable lifestyle behind for two years to work in this program, has never been happier, and would love to tell you why.
Postscript: I wrote this before the recent massacre of Western tourists in Uganda. Last month, I was in the same area in which this incident occurred. (I was actually closer to the border, in an area which is, technically, even less safe, and had no problems.) While personal safety must always be a concern, please realize that Peace Corps volunteers are generally in much more stable areas. As a result, please do not allow this incident to dissuade you from this program if you are otherwise interested.
