Peace Corps Guest Speaker: Phoebe Crowe

 The Global Scholars program hosted Guest Speaker Phoebe Crowe on December 13th.  Phoebe is our first guest speaker who is actually a Mukwonago alumni.  While she is not a graduate of the Global Scholars program she seems she could be an honorary Global Scholar, we simply did not have the program yet when she graduated Mukwonago in 2015.

 

  Phoebe got her taste for global citizenship when she was at Mukwonago when she completed her junior year as a study abroad student in Italy.  She loved the experience and shared with other students upon her return by speaking to International Club, World Geography classes and really anyone who would listen.  After graduating and moving to Arizona, Phoebe completed her college degree and just recently joined the Peace Corps.  This was the focus of her talk and students really enjoyed her presentation style and experiences she shared.

    Phoebe is currently serving in Fiji as a Peace Corps volunteer.  She completed her three month training and was then relocated on Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji.  Her role within the Peace Corps is to help improve economic development within her local community.  This will involve getting to know the small business owners and help them set goals, plan financing and work on business plans to help them make well informed economic decisions.  One aspect of this is she will be teaching financial literacy classes to help encourage people to keep track of their finances so they can budget their spending and plan for their future.

    Phoebe spoke with us from her home in Fiji through her computer, which gave students the great opportunity to see her living conditions.  Phoebe made it quite clear her conditions are very good in comparison to many areas other Peace Corps volunteers are placed. She walked around her home with her computer see we could see everything.  Her living space (bedroom, living room) was all one room.  A second small room with a hot plate for cooking and a bathroom with a real toilet and shower with an actual shower head (cold water only).  She mentioned the importance of always having extra water on hand in case the water gets shut off so she would still be able to cook and wash.  Some of the other luxuries that she had, thanks to a generous Christmas gift from her parents was an electric blender and small refrigerator that would be common for a dorm room.  The source for her electricity is an extension chord that runs from her neighbors house (important to keep a good relationship with that neighbor).  

    The cultural challenges/adjustments that Phoebe is adjusting to are many, and it sounds like community members are not afraid to let her know when she commits one of these errors.  For example, when walking through a room and walking around somebody

Haiti Made Guest Speaker - Will McGinniss

 One of the perks of receiving the Global Scholar certificate and completing the program at Mukwonago High School is that students also receive a travel journal from Haiti Made.  The product is great - we love the fact that the students receive something that can be used rather than just sit on a shelf - and the story behind the project fits perfectly with the Global Scholar process.

In mid April, Global Scholars were able to meet with one of the cofounders of the company that makes the journal - Will McGinniss.  He discussed his background, the impact the company has made on the Haitian communities and the challenges of helping run an international company in a country like Haiti which is currently a "Failed State."

Students listening to Will McGinniss during the presentation

Will McGinniss started by explaining his background and how he got recruited as the Bass player in the band Audio Adrenaline (long story short, mothers have great ideas and create opportunities for you).  His involvement in the band sent him across the country and around the world playing across Europe, in Brazil and other venues.  The band won two Grammys in the early 2000s evidence of their success.  At this time they also believed they should find a way to use their platform to do something good for those in need.  Their lead singer grew up in a family of missionaries and had many stories about living in Haiti which persuaded the band to open up the Hands and Feet Project Orphanage in Haiti.  However after a few years of running the orphanage Will described their realization that they were creating a huge problem in Haiti.  Because the orphanage was able to provide food, shelter and education for children, families began abandoning their children and their work was actually breaking families up.  This lead them to establish the company Haiti Made - a leatherwork company making leather goods and creating jobs for the people in the community.  The result is that the company (which pays workers two to three times the minimum wage of Haiti) employs between 45-90 workers (depending on customer demand) creating economic stability for families and the ability to reunite and keep families together. 

Since its founding, Haiti Made has teamed up with other artisans and also sells metalwork, paper mache products, wood products and bone made jewelry from their website and at various boutiques across the United States.  Between the orphanage and Haiti Made, their investments into the work in Haiti supports a few hundred jobs - in turn supporting many families and their economic independence.

Red Star identifies Jacmel, one of the locations Will works out of.

However Will also discussed the risk analysis of working in Haiti, and when it comes down to international business, Haiti is on the bottom of the list of countries to invest in.  Primarily because of the uncertainty and instability of the politics of the country.  Recently, in 2021 the President of Haiti was assassinated (still has not been replaced).  The Prime Minister traveled internationally to seek help from other countries.  While Kenya has agreed to send military and police support, the country will not allow the Prime Minister back in.  This is because gangs have taken over about 80% of the capital city - Port Au Prince - and have shut down the airport, control the port and threaten violence toward anyone who works to bring outsiders into the city to stabilize the government.  So what does this mean for Haiti Made?

According to Will, the control of the gangs is limited to the capital city, and truthfully most internet searches focus just on Port-au-Prince.  Since the assassination in 2021 Will has ventured into Haiti and despite the turmoil, plans to travel back there in the next month as long as the airport reopens.  For the workers and the products?  Work is able to continue.  Will explained that the workers are still taking orders and are also displaying great bravery and perseverance to keep their company running.  While the port in Port-au-Prince is closed, it is not the only way to get products out of the country.  Their drivers find other routes to get products out of Haiti and to their customers.

Global Scholar students posing with Will.

The story and work of Haiti Made continues to keep my interest.  Some of the advice Will gave in regards to working in other countries and trying to help others in need seems so simple.  When you want to help, be sure to listen.  Billions of dollars have been spent in Haiti from other organizations to give people things they don't want and don't need resulting in a failed effort.  However, groups that talk to the people and ask how they can help, and then listen, those are the groups that find success, are accepted and truly make a difference.  

For Global Scholar students who were interested in hearing from Will but were not able to make the presentation, a video recording is posted on your google classroom page.  If you would like to see their products to support the workers of Haiti - check out the website here.  The journal our students receive is identified as the Kreye Journal in their leather products.

For more on Haiti Made check out their story on their website.