Days 5 - 8

6-12-13

            Juice. Join us in creating excitement. That is what Vuyile Msaku says every morning when he opens Department of Coffee before making his daily delivery runs. That is the proof that Vuyile is not running this business for profit. He is running it for the community that surrounds him and that is why he has so much promise in my eyes. After listening to Vuyile tell us about his incredible dedication to his business I felt even luckier to have him assigned as my teams client. What I felt that was exceptionally powerful was that fact that Vuyile and his partners understand the importance of putting all of the business earnings back into the business even if it meant they would have to go hungry for a night. They realize that if you do not sustain the business then the business has no future. While he does understand that he must eat he has figured out a way to sustain the business and eat enough food to make it to the next day. Vuyile sells coffee products and muffins to the township of Khayelitsha but the problem is that his primary customers do not live in Khayelitsha. My team and I believe that we can help him determine his target market and potentially convince the township residents that they do, fact, need coffee in order to increase coffee sales. We also believe his pricing is much too low since a cup of coffee is only 65 cents and a muffin is only 30 cents, even though both of which are really tasty. I am very excited to begin working on helping Vuyile’s business and watching his business grow because I know that it has to the potential to do so.

6-13-13

            A small note about yesterday, one of my partners had asked Vuyile what was his inspiration for wanting to start his own business. His answer was quite coincidental given the nature of our second client. Vuyile asked us if we had heard of a man by the name of Luvuyo Rani. We obviously had and we told him this but we chose not to tell him that Luvuyo was our second client. If Luvuyo is inspiring people in Khayelitsha to start businesses and completely dedicate themselves to said businesses then I can only imagine what I will learn from him by the end of this program. I'd like to take this time to correct myself of something I previously said. This is actually Luvuyo’s fourth time participating in this program so that means the bar is set extremely high and there is no room for error. Instead of requiring four deliverables like every other client participating on this program our task for Luvuyo only requires two deliverables that will take as much or more time than everyone else’s four deliverables. Luvuyo is currently in the process of determining a viable franchise model for his business so that he can bring his idea to all of South Africa and eventually all of Africa. He also needs to develop a way to measure the social impact his company has on the people that have participated in his computer training courses. Our team’s two deliverables will be to develop a successful franchise model that he can use to expand his business and to determine a way to measure his social impact on society. If you’re wondering how a few college kids from around the world that have never consulted before will possibly help this company then you and I are on the same page. Luckily I really enjoy the people in my group and I am excited to see what we can all bring to the table.

6-14-13

            Now that I can say I have officially been into the heart of Cape Town, although some may consider the townships the true heart, I can surely agree that Cape Town is a wonderful place. Even though the waterfront was built for and is sustained by tourism it was still cool to finally go into the city. This was the first time that I had brought my camera out and I am so glad that I did. I handled it carefully as too much sure no one could yank it out of my hands while somehow racking up over 200 photos. Hopefully I will be able to post some of them soon. When I initially decided to come on this program I knew that time for fun would be scarce but having been here for almost a week, I believe this scarcity will help me cherish it so much more. It is so great to let loose at the end of the week and really get to know our teammates and everyone else on the program. From sitting in class to meeting with clients to working with our team it’s almost impossible to squeeze in some time to be with one another and learn about each other. Having spent more time with different people tonight I believe that the people on this program are some of the youths brightest and I know will all do great things in their lives moving forward.

Now let me explain just what the waterfront is for those of you who have never been here. It’s an American mall. Well, sort of. It's a mall but it is surrounded by some of the most incredible scenery in the world. On one side you have the gorgeous ocean looking out onto Robben Island and other parts of South Africa and on the other side you have Table Mountain towering over you. Its pretty impressive and the ocean and mountains can lie directly next to one another. I don't believe I have ever been to such an amazing place. Even though there is little time to soak it in, I am somewhat optimistic that I will be returning here a few more times. And if I am unable to, then at least I went tonight. If you have never been here then I definitely recommend planning your next vacation to Cape Town as soon as possible. Hint Hint, Mom and Dad.

6-15-13

             Well today was nothing short of exceptional. Visiting Robben Island is probably one of the coolest experiences I have ever had and is a definitely a top five museum I have been to. I had the opportunity to see the maximum security cell where Nelson Mandela had been kept for 18 years as a political prisoner, where rapists, murderers, and other criminals were kept in a medium security prison because they were seen as less dangerous than political prisoners, and where prison wards babies were born while prisoners were not allowed to see there children till they were 18. I am not sure how to fully put in words the impact of this experience but what I do know is that while there has been an incredible amount of progress since the end of apartheid in terms of equality there is still a lot of work to be done. That is where we come in. Obviously we will not be able to change Cape Town, but progress is done in increments, and this program is definitely a solid increment. From reading about the history of Cape Town and Nelson Mandela, then seeing his cell and reading more about his effect of this country, I must say that it is humbling to have this opportunity to further assist in Mandela’s dream for complete equality.

"Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another…" he said during his inaugural address in 1994. This quote struck home with me because everywhere I look I may not see oppression, but I definitely see huge traces of apartheid through the horrific poverty. While apartheid is officially over, the effects of the past are amazingly visible now and will be for a long time. That is why it is hard to grasp the fact that apartheid is “over” with so much work still to be done. This country will be rebuilding from the past for a long time and I don't believe a complete recovery may ever happen. The entrepreneur in me says that it is possible but the logic in me struggles with this idea.

I wonder everyday how a few Americans are supposed to come to South Africa and supposedly make some sort of impact on the people here. I realize that we do make a large impact on our clients and it is wonderful that we have this chance to help them but it is tough to walk through Khayelitsha and not want to offer everyone help. If only I had the time and resources in order to do so, which I obviously do not. It is a beautiful thing there are so many other people with this same belief that do have the time and resources to create businesses that primarily focus on township development and programs like the one I currently participate on.