DukeEngage | Duke Center for Civic Engagement

It’s hard to believe we’ve reached the half point of our work with Acción Emprendedora. On Friday, we had a meeting with a few of the directors to present our work thus far and plans for the future. Here are some excerpts from our presentation and the one-page handouts that we prepared:

Elana and Karna’s field research project:

-Their project consists of interviewing micro-entrepreneurs and gathering qualitative and quantitative information about the successes and failures of the micro-enterprises. Karna is also working on developing a template for web profiles for ideal candidates.

-As of July 2nd, they had conducted 15 interviews and have many more scheduled. The interview questions focus on descriptions of the micro-entrepreneurs’ businesses, their monthly profits, revenues, number of workers, etc. They also ask questions about hypothetical services that AE could offer in the future. The interviews are filmed using flips cams, while the results are complied in an excel spreadsheet.

-Eventually, Elana and Karna plan to statistically analyze the data once they have a bigger sample size and report their findings to AE.

-The process isn’t always easy. Many times, they don’t have the correct contact info for the micro-entrepreneurs. Other times, micro-entrepreneurs don’t show for their interviews. To combat these problems, the group now phones the micro-entrepreneurs to remind them about their interviews, or they interview people already at the Puente Alto center.

Liz and Rachel’s alumni association project:

-Liz and Rachel are in charge on planning the 2nd annual alumni party, as well as improving current AE alumni relations. They hope to establish a collaborative sense of community, where alums can share ideas and mentor micro-entrepreneurs currently enrolled in AE courses.

-Working with Elana and Karna, they are creating a video to show at the banquet. This video highlights AE’s work and the advice of micro-entrepreneurs. They are also creating an alumni directory, which can aid projects like Elana and Karna’s in the future.

-In addition to contacting micro-entrepreneurs about the reunion and creating the video, Liz and Rachel are hoping to attract some sponsorship and speakers for the event.

-Like the other groups, they have faced difficulties, including editing videos and deciding what content to include in the videos.

Grant and Jordan’s educational consulting:

-The primary aim of Grant and Jordan’s project has been to create an instructor’s manual for the course on production, which includes lesson plans, examples, practice problems, and an accompanying PowerPoint.

-To begin, the two designed a questionnaire to send to former teachers of the production course. Additionally, they attended several classes to meet micro-entrepreneurs and study the style of teaching. Finally, they researched various aspects of production online to gain a better understanding of the material and how it can apply to micro-enterprises.

-Now, they have completed a preliminary, 35-page draft of the instructor’s manual in Spanish. Currently, they are working on the PowerPoint slides.

-Progress has moved along quicker than they anticipated. The former volunteers replied fully and prompted. Unfortunately, there have been a few problems with accessibility and compatibility. Some computers have trouble dealing with the sheer size of the document, as well as some of the graphics.

Overall, all three groups are progressing quite well in their respective projects. There is quite a bit of overlap between the projects. Elana, Karna, Liz, and Rachel work together in their interviews, even though they are searching for different data. Grant and Jordan collaborate with Elana and Karna to find useful case studies for the production course. Additionally, there are many other projects that the DukeEngage group is working on, including Acción Emprendedora international (incorporating in the U.S.) The next four weeks will certainly continue to be exciting!

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Yesterday was the most rewarding day of my service work. The day began with a rocky start. I arrived to work right on time at 9 am. The door was still locked. I immediately noticed a phrase spray painted on the clean white wall next to the entrance. As I waited for the office to open, I watched strangers walk by and glance at the graffiti. I felt almost embarrassed as I stood outside. I still don’t know why I felt embarrassed, but that was how I felt.

When Ximena finally arrived, fashionably on time in Chile, at 9:25, she took one brief look at the graffiti and continued about her normal routine of unlocking the four locks that protect the center. I asked her what the words meant, since I had never heard most of them before. Apparently they don’t have much significance. They are simply names with “A la [C]alle” at the end.

The day was long. Jordan and I planned to stay for a class that didn’t begin until 6:30 pm and concluded around 9. I’m glad I finally attended a class.

During the day, most micro-entrepreneurs are working other jobs. We mainly interact with each other, the other Chilean interns that come several days a week, and the office directors during lunch. For the first week, it was difficult to see how our work could be useful.

At 6, the micro-entrepreneurs began to roll in. It was the first accounting course of program for these people. We met the volunteer teacher, Sergio, and took a seat at the small desks. The classroom was split fairly even between men and women, the old and the young. Most of the micro-entrepreneurs were energetic as they asked Sergio questions and clarifications. The Chilean Spanish was quite difficult to understand. The teacher and students interacted rapidly full of Chilean slang. This was quite a contrast to my class in the fall at a Madrid University. For the most part, I was able to keep up with the class without difficulties.

Halfway through, we took a 30 to 45 minute break (quite long!), where Jordan and I had the opportunity to interact with the micro-entrepreneurs for the first time. We talked to a nice older man, Fernando, for the whole time. In his spare time, he’s trying to start a business that makes alpaca sweaters, which, according to him are up to five times warmer than cotton sweaters. He told us about his sons and daughters, his expected grandchildren, and his niece in Chicago. He even asked me for my cell phone number because one of his sons loves speaking English and meeting foreigners. It was refreshing to see someone so excited to share his story with us gringos. The other micro-entrepreneurs chimed in about the usefulness of the courses and how diverse the businesses are. I was glad to see that my work this summer in improving the courses will help make a positive difference in these peoples lives and for many micro-entrepreneurs to come. These courses are practical. Even if the micro-entrepreneurs never really start their businesses, they learn skills that are useful in life, such as accounting, computation, and the production process. Ultimately, these micro-entrepreneurs are the reason why I am here, even if some days are long, cold, and solitary.

Afterward: I came to work today to discover the graffiti somewhat painted over. You can still see it, but it doesn't immediately draw attention. 

View many more entries at http://dukeengagechile.blogspot.com/

Today, during our orientation, I found out my summer project. I, along with Jordan, will work at the Santiago Norponiente office on creating a course guide for a chapter of the Acción Emprendora program. Fortunately, the office is near my house, unlike Puente Alto, which is at least an hour away.

Jordan and I will begin our project by studying a chapter from the current student manual. After becoming “experts” about our chapter (most likely regarding production), we will learn the vocabulary for our chapter. Then, we will conduct interviews and research with former and current teachers and students of the course to find out how to best design the courses. We’ll also attend several classes to get a better idea of how the courses are generally run.

After conducting research and familiarizing ourselves with the AE model, we’ll compile our course manual. It’ll include PowerPoint presentations, practice problems, case studies, and a well-outlined guide that will help enable consistency throughout the AE centers and between course instructors.

In addition to designing the manual, all interns are aiming to raise awareness about AE in Chile, South America, and the U.S. We are especially looking for grants to help AE grow or form partnerships that could aid AE.

I’m excited and nervous for my project. I was originally looking at another project, but after learning more about this project, I think I’ll be a great fit. It will certainly be a challenge. The Norponiente office is nearly entirely Spanish speaking. I hope to build upon my skills and background as a Teaching Assistant in Public Policy. I am sure this will help my abilities when I return to Duke.

I have so many other subjects to talk about after just three days here, but they will have to wait. I’ve never lived in a city that is as large and chaotic as Santiago. My host family is extremely well educated and interesting. Already, we’ve discussed issues ranging from public versus private jails in Chile, to the recent divorce law (divorce became legal in Chile just three years ago), to the judicial system, to the levels of poverty in Chile.

I encourage you to check out my full blog at http://dukeengagechile.blogspot.com/

¡Hola todos!

In less than a week, six of us will depart for Santiago, Chile until August. While in Chile, the six of us will live with host families, volunteer at Acción Emprendedora, and learn more about Chilean culture, history, and politics through tertulias (tutorials) with famous artists, writers, and political figures. Acción Emprendedora seeks to alleviate poverty through entrepreneurship. 

We have an exciting and challenging summer ahead of us! Our official blog has already begun with more information about the trip and the preparation we've gone through over at:

http://dukeengagechile.blogspot.com/

¡Hasta luego!