26 minute read
Soul enterprise
Starting at the bottom and cleaning up
Derek came home one night to two inches of water from a burst pipe. The company he called at midnight to mop up the sodden mess was ServiceMaster, and he was pleased.
When he checked their mission statement, he was intrigued. It said, “to honor God in all we do, to help people develop, to pursue excellence, and to grow profitably.”
ServiceMaster cleans up — both literally and monetarily. “We have made a great business out of mundane tasks and services,” says the company’s former CEO, William Pollard, in his book Serving Two Masters? Reflections on God and Profit. “We do things like cleaning floors, carpets, and commodes; and killing weeds and bugs, things people don’t usually enjoy or want to do themselves.”
How do they develop people in a business of ground-floor tasks? By elevating lowly jobs to the level of calling. Many of their employees have begun at the bottom (cleaning toilets) and have gone on to own their own franchise.
“No matter how mundane the task, a person can achieve dignity and self-worth if the job is done well and if there is recognition for what has been accomplished,” says Pollard.
Every ServiceMaster executive, no matter how high up the corporate ladder, is required to spend at least one day a year performing front-line service work with mop and bucket.
Pollard says, “Our work should be an investment in a greater cause — the cause of developing people. This is the grand experiment of ServiceMaster. As a firm, we seek not only to excel in serving our customers and growing our profits, but also to be a moral community for the development of the human soul.”
This means, among other things, helping people to understand themselves and their strengths, as well as their weaknesses and what is beyond their capabilities. In the end, the goal is “a community that works at shaping character and providing an environment where people can grow and develop into all that God wants them to be.”
Malaria’s swat-meister
On a desk in an office at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) there’s a sign that says, “If only Noah had swatted those two mosquitoes.”
The clear religious reference may seem out of place in a secular agency, but it’s righton for the man who sits behind that desk. Tim Ziemer, a former navy pilot and church executive, knows malaria well. Too well. He caught the sickness as a child when his parents were missionaries in Asia. He’ll never forget the blinding fever, the burning lips, the deathly shakes.
Today he is America’s malaria czar, head of the President’s Malaria Initiative, a $1.2 billion program started under George W. Bush and continued by Barack Obama. (Being a Bush appointee reappointed by President Obama makes him a bit of a rarity in Washington.) He came to the post following a stint as executive director of World Relief, an arm of the National Association of Evangelicals.
The program he heads aims to halve malaria deaths in Africa by next year, using preventions such as insecticide-treated mosquito nets. Ziemer believes the target will be met, and hopes to have the program extended.
In an interview with World magazine, Ziemer commented on the role of mixing faith and work in the high reaches of government. “Those of us who are working in the secular community, when it comes to administering programs we have to be neutral, open, and objective,” he said. “The faithbased NGOs must not abandon that spiritual component to what they do. Their big challenge is to make sure the world doesn’t see their engagement as a means to an end. They don’t exist to proselytize, they exist to show the whole reason for their faith — that is to reach out, just like Christ did, to love the poor and suffering, and be Christ to them in body, soul, and mind.”
Retirement? You’d never notice
Some people just don’t know when to quit.
Like Delmar Rempel of Saskatoon, Sask. After nearly three decades as a professional photographer, you might think it would be time to hang up the camera. But Rempel keeps on, using his photographic and artistic skills to help others.
He and his wife, Betty Brown, just returned from two weeks in Uganda. They were there to work on a documentary for a church agency on young girls who have been rescued from the streets. They brought back 8,000 images and 30 hours of video, working at a pace that would test younger people in better health.
As they told a reporter recently, they don’t endure the rigors of travel, jetlag and sickness just for the fun of it. For years they have poured their hearts and skills into helping the poor in developing countries.
MEDA can take a bit of credit. When Rempel was on the MEDA board a staffer in Haiti told him of a need to help struggling artists. As a former owner of a framing gallery, Rempel knew a thing or two about papermaking. He saw possibilities of making boutique paper from banana fibres and ended up building a papermaking machine and returning to Haiti to teach the locals and establish Haiti Papermakers International. The products from that enterprise ended up providing food, clothing and education for 2,600 children.
On another MEDA trip, this time to Egypt in 2007, they were moved by a community of 2,000 women who scrounged garbage to stay alive. This led to a project of doing needlework on scraps of fabric.
Seniors or not, Rempel and Brown are living proof that retirement doesn’t have to be a time to sit back and take it easy. (Canadian Mennonite)
Photo by Betty Brown
Delmar Rempel, right, teaches papermaking skills to women in Cairo, Egypt.
Making life work in a small town
Theologian Barbara Brown Taylor stood impatiently in line at the smalltown post office as the elderly woman in front of her lingered at the counter, engaging the clerk, Elaine, in what seemed to be small talk. “There were six of us behind her, but Elaine never rushed her, never stopped smiling,” says Taylor. “When my turn came I raised my eyebrows as I slid my package across the counter.”
Elaine knew what those raised eyebrows meant. “She lost someone close to her a while back,” Elaine explained quietly, adding, “I like hearing the stories. Plus, I learned a long time ago that people aren’t going to stop talking until they have said what they want to say.”
Taylor remembered the book by oral historian Studs Terkel – Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do. The book led her to think about all the jobs she had held, and about all the working folk who make daily life work.
“I have learned to stand patiently in line as Elaine greets her customers by name,” she says.
Faith can be more than religion, Taylor concludes. What may matter more than religion “are the everyday ways we rise to our work, serving one another with gladness and singleness of heart, so that the life we share goes on working, not for any of us alone but for all of us together.” (Christian Century)
What’s so healthy about business?
In some of the world’s poorest countries medical experts are writing prescriptions that only business can fill
Carl Hiebert photo
When it comes to health in Africa, a touch of business may be just what the doctor ordered.
Unlike in the U.S., where business has been the villain of feverish healthcare debates, Africa is quite the reverse. There, it’s “business to the rescue” as public officials struggle to extend healthcare to scattered populations. They are finding that MEDA, though not by definition a public health organization, is an important ally in the business of saving lives.
Several years ago
MEDA staff discovered an unexpected health niche for its business expertise.
MEDA was contracted by the Tanzania Ministry of Health to ramp up retail distribution of insecticide treated mosquito nets (ITNs) to battle malaria, the country’s number one killer of children. The “business genius” of the concept was to distribute discount vouchers to pregnant women which they could apply toward the purchase of a mosquito net. It turned out to be a winwin transaction — the women acquired a net at a discount, while retailers, many in remote regions, gained an incentive to keep a steady supply of nets on hand. Eventually some 6,900 retailers and 260 wholesalers — from tiny village kiosks to large urban dealers — signed on, making the life-saving nets available to mothers everywhere. Being one of the first agencies to use a commercial approach to the distribution of healthcare products has given MEDA a high profile in the African health field. Its success turned heads in a continent whose economies continue to be wracked by endemic diseases (HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis) and high maternal death rates that can be substantially reduced through improved availability of drugs and health services. MEDA showed how private sector innovations can make a difference. Until then, the healthcare industry had not grasped how important a business partner could be in improving access to healthcare solutions. For MEDA, the foray into health provided a new way to address poverty. When a family suffers from malaria, poverty is sure to follow or get worse, as economic productivity falters.
It also positioned MEDA for new opportunities as global funding for health rose.
Since the launch of the first mosquito net
voucher program in 1996, MEDA has become a major
player in using incentive systems to distribute health commodities. Since 2004 it has been the Tanzania logistics contractor for the only national scale voucher program for ITNs. It developed a similar voucher program in neighboring Zanzibar, and helped a Ugandan firm, Quality Chemicals, to develop commercial links for ITN promotion and distribution.
MEDA also played a key role in raising standards for drug dispensaries in Tanzania. The country had thousands of little pharmacies that were unregistered and were not governed by national standards. MEDA was hired to be part of a project that sought to provide training and accreditation for these informal pharmacies. When a pharmacy passed the training it became an Accredited Drug Dispensing Outlet (ADDO). At that point MEDA stepped in with business training and microfinance loans to increase their inventory.
When a family gets sick, more poverty always follows as
wage-earners are idled and productivity falters.
MEDA has also
gained a global reputation for adapting microfinance programs to communities affected by HIV/AIDS, such as in Mozambique and Zambia. For the past four years it has been co-facilitator of the HIV/AIDS and microenterprise development working group for SEEP, the global microfinance industry association. It has carried out numerous consultancies in Ghana, Nigeria and Uganda for clients such as the Malaria Consortium.
“Our programs are saving 30,000 lives a year through these activities,” says MEDA staffer Jerry Quigley, the architect of the original mosquito net voucher program.
MEDA’s current pipeline of work includes longterm and short-term assignments worth $45 million for clients ranging from USAID to Johns Hopkins University.
A new contract focused on two regions in Tanzania will help to expand maternal health services using insurance.
The strategy is to give pregnant women a health card that allows them access to a menu of services that can include anything from an uncomplicated delivery at a clinic to a cesarean, to be managed by the country’s national health insurance fund and paid for by the German government.
In a country with high birth mortality, the plan aims to increase the number of women using formal health services rather than unskilled village practitioners.
“The health cards may use the technology and systems that MEDA learned through the voucher scheme, but for a different service,” says Quigley. “They want MEDA’s expertise on how we distributed and redeemed the vouchers and how we tracked and stored the information.”
Beyond specific skills, the mere presence of a business mindset is helpful.
“The business focus is unique in a room full of doctors and scientists,” he says. “They often need the reality check of a practical component.”
He notes that the importance of healthcare in development is evidenced by numerous new global initiatives focused on Sub Saharan Africa. Three out of eight Millen-
nium Development Goals are related to health, so there’s plenty of ongoing developmental attention to this field.
“The private sector will play a significant role in the provision of healthcare in developing countries,” he says. “There are huge opportunities for MEDA to increase its presence in the sector. Within five years, business solutions to health problems could represent $20 million per year in business activity for MEDA, spanning across a diversified portfolio of products and with funding from a variety of donors.”
As it ramps up its Business of Health activity, MEDA will focus on two areas: distribution of healthcare products (such as mosquito nets and pharmaceuticals to battle malaria and HIV/AIDS) and healthrelated financial services.
Distribution is a growing field that could become a $2 billion investment opportunity over the next 10 years. Current distribution channels are highly frag-
mented and could be a strong market for MEDA to develop improved supply chains and brands associated with product quality.
“We have some good market niches,” says Quigley. “We can use our experience and expertise to apply our value-add to a variety of health problems, such as HIV/ AIDS and distribution of medications through retail kiosks or other market mechanisms.”
There is also a clear demand for credit and savings products for microentrepreneurs dealing with healthrelated challenges such as HIV. Many microfinance institutions (MFIs) working in health-impacted communities are unable to offer formal savings products. This presents a significant opportunity for MEDA to work with MFIs to better serve this market.
A business focus always stands out in a room full of medical practitioners. They need the reality check that business offers.
Giveaway programs, while well-intentioned, remove the incentive for a retail store to stock mosquito nets. What then, does a mother do when her free net wears out.
Meanwhile, the “giveaway mentality” found in much of the development community continues to plague programs like MEDA’s. While well-intentioned, programs to hand out free mosquito nets, for example, have serious longterm limitations. Without a commercial component, there’s no incentive for a small store in a remote village to stock nets, and what does a mother do when her free net wears out? “It’s not going to go away,” says Quigley. “It’s pervasive.” An added obstacle is that most people in public health come from a social medicine background, with little grasp of the need to integrate commercial solutions.
“People may readily understand that agriculture, for example, needs markets,” says Quigley. “But when you cross over into healthcare, that’s always been the domain of public systems where enormous amounts of money and power are tied up in bureaucracies whose very existence depends on getting the money and controlling the money. They are very resistant to giving up any of that money or power to a commercial option.
“And that’s really no different than in North America.” ◆
Keeping safe
As it increasingly works in volatile regions, MEDA takes steps to enhance security awareness
Buckle up. Stay healthy. Keep a low profile.
Those are the safest things you can do when working in a conflict zone, MEDA staff were told by a seasoned security analyst recently.
For much of its 57 years, MEDA has had little need for security policies. When it began working in areas of higher tension (Afghanistan, Pakistan), it decided to formulate a set of security procedures and guidelines, which have been in place since 2005.
“The industry has evolved since then,” security expert Charlie Watt told MEDA staff in March.
Watt, an independent security and intelligence professional from New Zealand, has more than 20 years experience in security design, risk analysis and audit compliance. He has seen combat in Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Georgia and Pakistan and has led hostage-rescue operations in Chechnya. He also has hands-on experience with several development organizations and understands the cultural and spiritual outlook of individual agencies and the flexibility they require.
In working to update and formalize MEDA’s security procedures, Watt stressed that danger is not confined to conflict areas. Safety was not only a military issue but also reached into seemingly mundane issues like personal health and accidents.
“It’s not just bombs and bullets,” he said.
Ray Dirks photos
What kind of emergencies were staff likely to
face? The most common were vehicle mishaps, a lost or stolen wallet/passport, or getting sick in transit.
For most development workers, the most dangerous thing they’ll do is drive a vehicle, Watt said. Accidents are
the main cause of injury and fatality among people who work for non-government organizations (NGOs). In developing countries, roads are often in poor shape. Traffic laws are nonexistent or unenforced. Police are limited in rural areas.
MEDA has never experienced a terrorist threat, though staff have occasionally been mugged or threatened in other ways.
But other development agencies have, Watt said, and the more MEDA takes the risk of working in failed states, the more important it is to have guidelines in place, even including the highly unlikely contingency of requiring staff extraction from danger zones.
Watt’s workshop, and the introduction of a new staff security and safety manual, was intended as a safeguard rather than a response to any direct or immediate threats. Yet it was sobering for staff to hear of “incidents” involving other benign agencies that, like MEDA, work in countries that are “spiraling into chaos.”
Much of his counsel was basic nuts-and-bolts advice, like providing travel itineraries to head office 48 hours before departing on a trip. Every staff member was issued a laminated card with a 24-hour hotline number to call in case of emergency.
Following is a sample of advice from the 31-page safety manual:
Personal security
Keep a low profile. The lower your profile, the less benefit is gained by an organization that might do you harm. Some agencies use armored vehicles and armed guards. “My advice — don’t go there,” said Watt. “Once you’ve stepped up to that level, you can’t come back.” He said barbed wire, big walls and armed guards make people in the neighborhood wonder, “What is going on there that they need this extra security.”
Establish several routes to work and vary them, as well as the time you depart for work and return home. Most incidents take place as the individual either leaves or returns home.
It’s impossible to always know where you are going, but at least behave as if you know where you’re going. There’s nothing worse than being lost — and showing it.
Rehearse what actions you would take if you were confronted. There is no right or wrong way to respond to an attack. Each situation will be different. Generally, your options are: talk your way out of it; give in to the demands made of you; shout for help; flee.
Your life is more important than material possessions, MEDA’s property or your project. Is someone breaking in? Let them. Your life is worth more than a photocopier or a laptop.
Personal conduct
Treat police and military with respect — their orders may seem stupid, but that doesn’t mean they are. Never “take sides” or express solidarity with any faction or political view. Respect local culture and mores; follow the advice of local staff. Fatigue is a primary enemy. Get adequate sleep and proper nutrition. Maintain a realistic work schedule. Staff who are over-tired become over-stressed, and are then of little use. Do not bribe officials or offer gratuities to officials for carrying out their work. One bribe leads to another and advertises that money is available. Reduce the likelihood of theft by being aware of the substantially increased value of money and materials in impoverished societies or communities impacted by war and drought. “Don’t bribe Dress inconspicuously — neat and clean without jewelry, expensive watch or fancy or imofficials. One modest clothing.
bribe leads to Travel
Wear your seatbelt and insist that others do, another and too. This is essential. Far more expatriates fall victim to routine traffic accidents than to security advertises incidents. Consider carrying a dummy wallet, with that money is some money in it, to give away in a robbery. If you attend a conference, remove your available.” name tag as soon as possible to avoid being identified. Avoid staying on the ground floor or in a room facing an outside corridor. If possible, book a room between the second and seventh floors
Armored vehicles
above ground level to and armed prevent easy entrance from outside and low guards? “Don’t enough for fire equipment to reach in an go there. Once emergency.
Be especially alert you’ve stepped up when you are at a red light or a stop sign. to that level, you Develop the habit of adjusting driving speed to avoid stopping at traffic can’t come back.” lights. Be prepared to drive away, sounding the horn, if you are threatened.
Observe what’s known as the “Bosnia rule” — if any person in the vehicle, local or international/expatriate, is unhappy about the journey on security grounds, then abort the trip. “If you are going from Kabul to Parwan and really feel it’s not safe, tell the driver to turn around,” Watt said. “In MEDA, you have that right.” Discussing this policy is a good way to make sure your drivers and translators feel part of the team and trip.
Never, ever drive through a road block/checkpoint — there have been too many incidents of vehicles being shot from behind after passing through. Make sure your driver knows this policy — always stop.
Watch for signs of surveillance
While surveillance was not often an issue, it was good to be prepared, said Watt. Some tip-offs to be alert for: seeing the same stranger in several places; being followed, either on foot or by vehicles; office inquiries by strangers; and suspicious “wrong number” phone calls.
If you are abducted
Being taken hostage is probably the most devastating experience a staff member can undergo. The first 15 to 45 minutes of a hostage situation are the most dangerous. Follow instructions. Your job is to survive.
Do not be a hero; do not talk back or act tough.
Avoid appearing to study your abductors. If hostagetakers are attempting to conceal their identity, give no indication that you recognize them (but make mental notes if you can do so unobtrusively).
Be cooperative without appearing servile or antagonistic.
Try to keep cool by focusing your mind on pleasant scenes or memories or prayers. Try to recall the plots of movies or books. This will keep you mentally active. Positive thinking will lessen anxiety.
At every opportunity, emphasize that as a MEDA staff member you are neutral and not involved in politics.
These latter scenarios were highly unlikely and were not intended to fuel paranoia or prompt fear, said Watt. Most development workers, even in conflict zones, were most vulnerable to the same safety threats they’d face at home. Nonetheless, he felt obliged to at least mention extreme possibilities.
The best way to be safe was to avoid trouble in the first place, he said. His message was to develop a strong sense of security awareness and adjust behavior to take into account the environment and the possible risks related to it. ◆
Mama Kikwete and Me
The ups and downs of serving as a MEDA intern
by Dan Albrecht
This is the story of how I met the first lady of Tanzania while on my MEDA internship* in Tanzania ... and then what happened Photos by Dan Albrecht next.
Malaria is the leading cause of death in Tanzania. It’s also a major contributor to the continuing cycle of poverty and stifled economic performance. That makes it not only a critical health issue but also an important developmental issue. Since 2004 MEDA has been a leader
* MEDA has run an active intern program since 1997 and has posted interns on MEDA assignments around the world. Learn more about the MEDA Internship program and view currently posted positions at http:// meda.org/WhoWeAre/Internships.html in the battle against malaria by expanding the availability and use of life-saving mosquito bednets. The setting for this story is a trip to the southern highlands to witness the latest chapter in this campaign — Tanzania’s Under 5 Catch-Up Campaign (U5CC), which is a one-time, free distribution of Long Lasting Insecticide-treated Nets (LLINs) to all children under the age of five. I was eager to see how the theory and policies I was working with on a daily basis in the headquarters office were really playing out in the field.
I was excited to learn that the first lady of Tanzania, Mama Kikwete, would be on hand to officially launch the U5CC program and hand out the first nets.
On launch day my colleague and I headed out in our
white Toyota truck to the village of Madaba which would host the event. Upon arrival, we found out just how unoriginal we really were as the tiny village was absolutely invaded by an army of white SUVs and trucks for the launch event!
The organizers had planned for Mama Kikwete to give a speech and issue the first nets of the campaign inside a tiny room in the health clinic which could fit only the invited guests but left out the crowd which had gathered outside. After we all entered the clinic room and were seated, Mama Kikwete nobly asked that the event be moved outside for benefit of the crowd, and everyone promptly filed out.
Everyone, that is, but yours truly, who was fiddling with his camera and, having not understood the Kiswahili instructions, stayed sitting. By the time I realized that everyone had left, I stood — and ran directly into Mama Kikwete herself who proceeded to give me a big smile and handshake and (in English) said “Hello, how are you? Welcome!”
Now, I wish I had at least tried out some of my Kiswahili and greeted her with “Shikamoo Mama” (a proper greeting to a female elder) or at least said something fun that would have made a better story like “Poa kachizi kama ndizi” (rhyming street slang roughly translated meaning “Crazy fresh like a banana”). Instead, I ended up with a rather proper “Very good, thank you,” and she was on her way. (Curse this proper manners reflex!)
I filed out and found myself right on the outside stage directly behind Mama Kikwete, facing a crowd of several hundred people. Clearly I was not
When the country’s first lady (right) shows up for an event, it’s a big deal for local officials, villages, and even MEDA intern Dan Albrecht (left center).
supposed to be up on stage with the first lady and other important politicians but there was no easy way out so I just decided to stay put and try to look like I belonged. (Good luck.)
The ceremony began with speeches in Kiswahili, and as usual I tried to pay attention and follow but I quickly began to lose focus. By the time Mama Kikwete took the stage I had completely lost my ability to concentrate and had slipped farther to the back of the stage to take photos. As I fiddled with the camera I looked up — and there was Mama Kikwete, turned around at the podium, looking directly at me. (Oh crap.) The people in front of me parted to make a path to the podium and someone beside me said, “It’s your turn, Mama Kikwete asked for you.” (This cannot turn out well.) I told them it was a mistake but they started pushing me toward the podium.
By now I was dreading an embarrassing disaster but a tiny piece of me found this pretty hilarious and thought, well, at least it might make an entertaining story someday.
I continued to resist, protesting that I didn’t speak Kiswahili, but they insisted — everyone was waiting and I should go up and greet the crowd.
Now we were at the point where any further delay would make things really awkward. Resigned to my fate, I started toward the podium and desperately groped for something to say. The best I came up with (time and language being major constraints) was “Mambo vipi Madaba? Malaria Haikubaliki! Asanteni sana!” Roughly translated: “What’s up Madaba? Malaria is not acceptable!” (Campaign slogan) “Thank you all very much!” (Exit stage left)
Just in the nick of time another person pushed through the crowd and took the microphone. I managed to slip back to my original place, having barely avoided a very public spectacle of responding to a question I didn’t know and in a language I am just learning. (Phew, close call!)
Later, I found out that Mama Kikwete had made a request directly to another American NGO in attendance as to whether they could provide solar power units for
The program’s launch brought out local dancers and an army of white SUVs — the trademark vehicle of the development community.
the village clinic. Apparently, since I was standing there on stage and had white skin, the people beside me assumed I was that NGO’s representative and hence the whole big misunderstanding. All I know is that I am thankful the real representative stepped in when he did! As we made the drive back through the rolling hills, across bright red soil and through the scrubby forests that blanket the southern highlands of Tanzania, our MEDA truck was running five minutes behind the first lady’s convoy. School children lined the road to greet her motorcade and they waved freshly cut tree branches and colorful flags. When yet another white truck appeared on the road they began to jump, wave and cheer loudly and we honked our horn and waved back, to their delight. The sun was setting around us in that most wonderful East African manner that lights up the whole sky in bright pastels of pink, purple and orange and it gave me a surreal feeling to end yet another surreal day here in Tanzania. I just soaked it all in with a smile on my face and found myself wondering how I manage to get into these crazy situations. But then I realized that this just seems to happen more over here. And that the ordinary has just become extraordinary on a more regular basis. ◆ Dan Albrecht, New Hamburg, Ontario, has been working as a business development and communications intern with MEDA Tanzania since September. You can read more about his experiences on his blog — “Another dusty foot philosopher” — at http://danalbrecht.com
