{"id":15,"date":"2015-07-22T13:40:14","date_gmt":"2015-07-22T13:40:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/?p=15"},"modified":"2015-07-22T13:40:14","modified_gmt":"2015-07-22T13:40:14","slug":"mzungu-in-the-crowd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/2015\/07\/22\/mzungu-in-the-crowd\/","title":{"rendered":"Mzungu in the Crowd"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Jibu<\/a>
Jibu franchise in Kawempe, Uganda<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Walking through the streets of Kampala as a Caucasian male it is challenging to not hear that word hollered at you, followed by a sincere \u201cHow are you?\u201d. Although this initial description sounds as if it would be insulting, throughout my experience here both in Rwanda and Uganda I have never felt as if that was the case. I have heard multiple interpretations of the word from locals and foreigners alike, but without a doubt my favorite is \u201cHe with a pale face who wonders around aimlessly\u201d. To be honest, that could not be more spot on. Everyday spent here I am enamored which outwardly appears as aimless wandering;, whether it be the immense traffic jams, exhilarating boda-boda rides, or the sheer kindness of the people in which I am able to interact with on a daily basis. That is why I have chosen the subject of this post to profile those in which I have interacted with that have left the biggest impression. Although my experiences here have been great, the work that these people have done and continue to do have been far superior.<\/p>\n

Charles <\/em>Gatete-Scientist turned Businessman<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Charles<\/a>
Charles in front of his franchise in Kimironko, Rwanda.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The first plane flight of his life was complete as he landed in Boston, Massachusetts direct from Kigali International airport. Little did he know that his trip would be much shorter than he had planned. His final destination would be Worcester, Massachusetts at the campus of Clark University, the very place where Sigmund Freud had given his five famous lectures regarding psychoanalysis. Charles was not here to study in the field of psychology, he was in pursuit of his PhD in physics. Growing up in Uganda, as a refugee of the Rwandan Genocide, Charles always felt a connection to his homeland of Rwanda, and it was this connection that would determine his early withdrawal from his program in order to pursue something greater.<\/p>\n

We had the amazing opportunity to have many interactions with Charles, my favorite in which he explained quantum mechanics in depth along with the possibilities of Super conductivity and String Theory. I have never been one for physics, but the way in which he explained the concepts with so much excitement made it seem far more interesting than I had previously thought. In his own words, he thinks that math involved with these ideas is \u201creally fun\u201d.<\/p>\n

After hearing of his time in Worcester interacting with the subject he loved so much, one would wonder why he would ever want to forgo the opportunity to become a master in the field. He explained that although he did in fact love the work he was doing, he often felt as if the pursuit of his dreams was a selfish endeavor. He couldn\u2019t help but think about the constant issues that continued to plague his homeland, and as a result of this internal battle, he left the program without completing his PhD, back home to Rwanda in order to work to achieve the social improvement his country desperately needed. He had never had any experience in business so he began his career as an investment analyst for Crystal Ventures, one of the top companies in all of Rwanda. After gaining the skills and experience necessary to make an impact, he found the very venture that could provide him with that opportunity, Jibu.<\/p>\n

As of recently, Charles is a Jibu franchise owner at the Kimironko location. It is safe to say that he encompasses all that Jibu is. He believes that education is necessary in order to serve the public, and that Jibu is solving one of the many problems that lured him back home, safe drinking water. The energy in which he brings to any situation is amazing, yet his desire to forgo his dream in order to help his country is truly remarkable.<\/p>\n

Galen Welsch-THE Social Entrepreneur<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Galen<\/a>
Galen Welsch<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One thing that is very specific to our (Tom & I) experience in contrast to the other fellows is that Jibu is the first GSBI Online candidate, and the smallest in regards to size to host fellows. If I recall correctly, I remember being told that we were \u201cguinea pigs\u201d in a sense, seeing if other GSBI online candidates could follow suit in the coming years. All I know is that the early stage of Jibu has given us amazing access to the man behind the mission, Galen Welsch. Hearing of Galen\u2019s path to where he is now, one would automatically assume he\u2019s a pretty remarkable guy, but since interacting with him on a near daily basis I have realized that he is far more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Although I have only met a handful of social entrepreneurs, and even though there is no direct science to doing what he does, I believe he should be a role model for all those who are working towards and aspire to achieve the difficult task of intertwining profit and impact.<\/p>\n

The first trait I have observed that is essential to success and keeping your sanity while leading a social enterprise is patience. It seems as if Galen has more patience then someone who watches the shifting of tectonic plates. This patience does not inhibit his ability to accomplish amazing things, for he has a work ethic that I have never before witnessed. I say this patience is integral because all too often do things go wrong whether it be business operations, supply chain, or employee management. No matter what happens he somehow take everything in stride partnered with a sincere chuckle.<\/p>\n

This chuckle that he does even after the craziest of experiences brings up another trait necessary for all social entrepreneurs, attitude. Like mentioned above, he somehow always finds to continue working toward his goal: Providing affordable, safe, bottled water to all those who were never able to purchase such a thing. From problems with imports to corrupt public officials, I can see how easy it would be to want to simply give up, move home, and start working in a place where there is not so much uncertainty. Not only does he continue to persevere despite all the setbacks, he does so smiling with an attitude that continues to amaze me.<\/p>\n

Overall, my experience here has been amazing. The awesome part of being able to work with a social enterprise is that even though developing countries are enshrouded in a veil of uncertainty, I know for a fact that there are people on the ground here that will continue to progress and expand the great work that is done here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Walking through the streets of Kampala as a Caucasian male it is challenging to not hear that word hollered at you, followed by a sincere \u201cHow are you?\u201d. Although this initial description sounds as if it would be insulting, throughout my experience here both in Rwanda and Uganda I have never felt as if that … Continue reading Mzungu in the Crowd<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":849,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"qubely_global_settings":"","qubely_interactions":"","kk_blocks_editor_width":"","_kiokenblocks_attr":"","_kiokenblocks_dimensions":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"gutentor_comment":0,"qubely_featured_image_url":null,"qubely_author":{"display_name":"avpascale","author_link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/author\/avpascale\/"},"qubely_comment":0,"qubely_category":"Uncategorized<\/a>","qubely_excerpt":"Walking through the streets of Kampala as a Caucasian male it is challenging to not hear that word hollered at you, followed by a sincere \u201cHow are you?\u201d. Although this initial description sounds as if it would be insulting, throughout my experience here both in Rwanda and Uganda I have never felt as if that…","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/849"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions\/31"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/gsbf\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}