Our trip to Panama is approaching quickly and there is still so much to be done. Everything from getting our itinerary set, to compiling more research, to even just picking up some extra bug spray – this next week will be hectic. For everyone who hasn’t heard about us, Global Business Brigades is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to helping various micro-enterprises around the world. There are about 30 clubs all over the country on different college campuses and this school year we decided to start a USC branch. I was extremely excited to get this organization on campus because it is truly something I have never seen before. GBB is different than any other program at USC because it mixes practical business skills, philanthropy and traveling abroad together in a very ambitious way. I am anxious to see how our pilot trip runs this Spring Break.
It’s crazy to think that we’re a week away because we’ve been planning this trip since back in October. It has definitely been a long process, but hopefully it will be well worth the work and anticipation. The process started early on with figuring out which micro-enterprise we’d be working with. This is determined with the help of the parent organization, Global Brigades, which oversees each student organization on the various campuses. Global Brigades actually works with non-government organizations (NGOs) in Central America to identify where the need lies. In the beginning, we were directed to a few struggling businesses in rural areas. After discussing our options, we decided on a honeybee farm in El Bale, Panama. This honey farm is currently struggling to make profits; they have a lack of communication with their distributors and they are highly dependent on a local church to help them make money. What we want to do is visit the village, take a look at how they are running their business, and then make suggestions as to how we think they can improve their current situation. It’s pretty much an opportunity to work on a real life case, while practicing valuable business skills.
We’ve tried to prepare in the past few months, but we keep hearing the same things from our advisors – you’re going to have to be flexible and learn as you go. What we have done so far has been breaking up into four groups – operations, marketing, sales and finance. We have also been doing research on how a honey farm works, how micro-enterprises run in Panama, and just general information about the location. Hopefully this will help us really make a difference during our time in the community. I’m really excited to go to Panama, especially since this is my first time abroad. I don’t really know what to expect, but I am excited to take everything in and throw myself into a new experience.
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