My First Trust Group ExperienceWe rose early today and split into two groups with ours visiting a trust group in kampala which is the bustling capital of Uganda.We meandered down the shopping district winding our way through an orderly confusion of shops, street vendors and a sea of humanity.  It was hot and dry and the red dust rose over the marketplace like a cloud mixing itself with the heavy smell of outdoor cooking and fumes from the ” boda bodas” as they streaked by.We found our destination which was one of two wooden covered shelters made from four tree branches and a piece of rusted tin which I am sure had it’s birth as part of a building.  We sat on benches too short for our stature and last seen by me in a kindergarten class of my daughter  Katie.We waited a few minutes and soon they filed in taking seats facing us with big smiles dressed in their most colorful Sunday best.  Our interpreter asked us to introduce ourselves which we performed in rapid fire as we tried to explain in a few words our place in the world.The chairman opened the meeting with a strong resolve and the meeting began. He was a man of  4.8 feet, dressed in matching green attire, missing a few teeth but laser focused, in command of his audience, and totally in control of the meeting at hand. You could see in his weather worn face the intuitive ability to articulate a vision and the presence to lead others. I leaned over to Kevin, a traveling companion and said ” if they open this meeting by reading the last meeting minutes, I will be very impressed”.     And with that a member stood up with his 11x14 note pad, hand written,and standing military straight presented the minutes of the last meeting…… Everyone nodded and the first order of business was the monthly payment of loans, including the young boy who appeared with a black plastic bag to make the payment for his sick mother in cash.   We then proceeded to hear stories of their success and the beaming appreciation they had for our support.  We had a woman who ran a retail banana store, a man who was a banana wholesaler, an owner of a boutique, although I wondered where in this world he latched onto this phrase, and  a few others who I must admit I missed still being flabbergasted at the wall street structure of this event.  Our chairman who began as a shoeshine stand,owned a retail store and had educated seven children , three in politics and four others who had also attended the university and who beamed like the north star as he told us his story.The next order of business was the discussion of old business which began with the contingency fund they had created on their own for a possible default of one of their membership, and then moved into the current operations of their “bod a bod a messenger (motorcycle) who the group had funded as a new venture and a revenue source.  Another member sprang to his feet to suggest that they needed to find and own their own meeting site, a real property investment, and paint it the color of opportunity bank. He suggested they mandate the wearing of t-shirts in trust group colors, and create their own brand.  He was the marketing officer who any CEO would cherish .This whole process was well organized, carefully thought out, executed perfectly and given their environment, their total lack of education, operating in the African version of the wild west, an accomplishment that would have rivaled a Harvard business school graduate. You could see in their beaming faces an clear understanding of the necessary process to be successful.  It’s only the “luck of the draw” of their place of birth that they were not sitting in an office high above Madison avenue.Anyone who is working with opportunity international or planning to, you must take the time to make this trip in order to understand the complexities of the system it’s challenges and successes, the winners and losers, and those persons whose only crime was being born into a society where opportunity and the entrepreneurial spirit are ill defined and bursting to be released.It was truly one of the great experiences in life … Bruce, Insight Trip Traveler, San Francisco, CA

My First Trust Group Experience

We rose early today and split into two groups with ours visiting a trust group in kampala which is the bustling capital of Uganda.

We meandered down the shopping district winding our way through an orderly confusion of shops, street vendors and a sea of humanity.  It was hot and dry and the red dust rose over the marketplace like a cloud mixing itself with the heavy smell of outdoor cooking and fumes from the ” boda bodas” as they streaked by.

We found our destination which was one of two wooden covered shelters made from four tree branches and a piece of rusted tin which I am sure had it’s birth as part of a building.  We sat on benches too short for our stature and last seen by me in a kindergarten class of my daughter  Katie.

We waited a few minutes and soon they filed in taking seats facing us with big smiles dressed in their most colorful Sunday best.  Our interpreter asked us to introduce ourselves which we performed in rapid fire as we tried to explain in a few words our place in the world.

The chairman opened the meeting with a strong resolve and the meeting began. He was a man of  4.8 feet, dressed in matching green attire, missing a few teeth but laser focused, in command of his audience, and totally in control of the meeting at hand. You could see in his weather worn face the intuitive ability to articulate a vision and the presence to lead others. I leaned over to Kevin, a traveling companion and said ” if they open this meeting by reading the last meeting minutes, I will be very impressed”.     And with that a member stood up with his 11x14 note pad, hand written,and standing military straight presented the minutes of the last meeting…… Everyone nodded and the first order of business was the monthly payment of loans, including the young boy who appeared with a black plastic bag to make the payment for his sick mother in cash.  

We then proceeded to hear stories of their success and the beaming appreciation they had for our support.  We had a woman who ran a retail banana store, a man who was a banana wholesaler, an owner of a boutique, although I wondered where in this world he latched onto this phrase, and  a few others who I must admit I missed still being flabbergasted at the wall street structure of this event.  Our chairman who began as a shoeshine stand,owned a retail store and had educated seven children , three in politics and four others who had also attended the university and who beamed like the north star as he told us his story.

The next order of business was the discussion of old business which began with the contingency fund they had created on their own for a possible default of one of their membership, and then moved into the current operations of their “bod a bod a messenger (motorcycle) who the group had funded as a new venture and a revenue source.  Another member sprang to his feet to suggest that they needed to find and own their own meeting site, a real property investment, and paint it the color of opportunity bank. He suggested they mandate the wearing of t-shirts in trust group colors, and create their own brand.  He was the marketing officer who any CEO would cherish .

This whole process was well organized, carefully thought out, executed perfectly and given their environment, their total lack of education, operating in the African version of the wild west, an accomplishment that would have rivaled a Harvard business school graduate. You could see in their beaming faces an clear understanding of the necessary process to be successful.  It’s only the “luck of the draw” of their place of birth that they were not sitting in an office high above Madison avenue.

Anyone who is working with opportunity international or planning to, you must take the time to make this trip in order to understand the complexities of the system it’s challenges and successes, the winners and losers, and those persons whose only crime was being born into a society where opportunity and the entrepreneurial spirit are ill defined and bursting to be released.

It was truly one of the great experiences in life …

Bruce, Insight Trip Traveler, San Francisco, CA