This week, I packed up my laptop and worked remotely from my family’s house in Curacao. I set up my work station on our well-worn deck, under the slight shade of a palm branch (only slight shade since I felt I should probably take advantage of all the vitamin D here, since I’ll be back in London soon) and spent about two days reviewing applications for the 2014 Grameen Foundation Fellowships.
My "office" in Curacao.
While reading through the candidates’ expressing their passion of joining the fight against poverty and the ways in which they see their skills advancing Grameen Foundation’s mission, it’s hard to resist thinking about all the potential impact we can have by connecting these talented professionals to our work in the field. I was in the midst of one of thinking about possible future accomplishments of the potential fellows when all of a sudden- WAAAAP!- the palm branch smacked me in the forehead. I took it as sign that maybe, before I get too carried away with what could be, I should take some time to reflect on the great accomplishments of our current fellows. Thankfully my awesome intern, Elyse, was already pulling together a list of our 2013 fellows’ accomplishments based on their mid-point check-ins. So I went through Elyse’s list with a big smile (and slightly sore forehead), feeling very proud of the this long list of our fellows’ accomplishments.
So today, in honor of our tremendous 2013 fellows, in celebration of National Volunteer Week and in anticipation for the high bar I am confident our 2014 fellows will reach, I want to share a small sampling of the 2013 fellowships mid-point accomplishments list:
Thomas prepared Grameen Foundation LAC for the implementation of a mobile app called “Mis Puntos Financieros!”
Abby travelled to the Phillipines to put on an event called “Savings Seminar” and also assisted in the planning of the same event in Washington D.C.!
Hailey conducted deep-dive analyses into moblile health (mHealth) and mobile Agriculture (mAg) strategies, and begun development of integrated Ag-Finance strategy, and helped develop global mHealth strategy which she then presented to the Board.
Howard attended to Nairobi-based technology conference and networking events and was selected to speak at its sixth annual ICT4D conference (this year in Nairobi) during which he’ll conduct two workshops for attendees interested in learning more about data collection and analysis as well as field force management!
Jason meets with new and exciting social enterprises to conduct initial screen and diligence for potential investments!
Laura assisted in the rollout of the CKW model with a partner cooperative in Colombia.
Soji facilitated the adoption of Lean Processes into Grameen’s Uganda office’s cost management and CKW organization review. He also developed new structures along value streams.
A big thank you to all of our Fellows!
Until next time,
Samantha Haviser
Program Officer, Bankers without Borders
*Note: Florence began her fellowship later in the year and therefore did not have a mid-point review yet. I hope to share great news about her accomplishments in Indonesia soon!