March 2020: A lesson from Africa

A few weeks ago, I traveled to South Africa with 22 Villanova MBA classmates and faculty for our Global Practicum Capstone. The Capstone course puts business students in a brief study abroad program so we can see culture, industry, and history from a different angle. The immersive experience intends to be as entertaining as it is educational, and serves as the exclamation point at the end of our graduate program. And I will confidently say, it was all that and more.

I will forever cherish the memories I made in Johannesburg and Cape Town. The safari, the sunset cruise, the Apartheid Museum, mentoring Soweto’s entrepreneurs, the Thokozani winery, the top of Table Mountain, the Cape of Good Hope, brunch in Camps Bay, the good times back at Riffs, the bongos in DeWaal Park, and of course nights out on both Bree and Long Street were all incredible. And I will also always have a special place in my heart for all the new friends that I got to experience this adventure with.

But as I sit here quarantined at home with the world turned upside down from Covid-19, I’m realizing the lessons we learned from the kids in Kliptown and the cookies in Khayelitsha were far more important than any of the fun that we had along the way. We learned lessons of gratitude, joy, community, and hope. We witnessed the purest examples that life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain. And I hope the following lessons also ring true for you as we get through this unprecedented time together.

After a rainy morning in Johannesberg, we walked around muddy puddles and loose garbage on the path into Kliptown. To my left, there were dangerous homemade wires connecting the electricity from a nearby train platform to parts of the community. To my right, there were tiny tin shacks with scrap metal roofs. Behind me stood a rusty public tap that provided scarce running water to the crowded town. Next to the tap, sat an old porta-potty that served as the daily bathroom for 15 to 20 families. But right there ahead of me was a group of young people that I’ll never forget.

Despite all of the despair that appeared to surround us, I saw smiles everywhere. As the kids from the Kliptown Youth Program* lined up for a hot after school meal of chicken and rice, I was greeted by each of my new friends with a warm “Sawubona” (Zulu for “I see you”) and an occasional high five or fist bump. When I walked into a classroom of 6 and 7 year olds doing their homework, I was quickly swarmed by the adorable students excited to show off their reading skills or the butterfly that they just colored. I saw young girls and boys fully engaged with assignments and projects in the new computer lab. And to cap off our visit, as a token of gratitude, several teenage boys from Kliptown’s renowned “Gumboots Dance Group” made the crowd go wild with an amazing and enthusiastic “step and stomp” performance.

We left Kliptown that day excited, inspired, and honestly a little confused. How could a group living under such conditions show so much gratitude, express so much joy, and inspire so much hope? It came down to the shared values and commitment of the community. Within the Youth Program, they “Ubuntu” or stand together, look out for each other, celebrate each other, and lift each other up despite scarce resources and constant setbacks. Part of this community approach is driven by hope for a better future, but most of it’s because they frankly have no other choice.

Days later, at a factory outside of Cape Town, I chomped on a delicious Choco Chunk Khayelitsha Cookie** and sipped on a hot coffee. We watched dozens of talented and spirited women in color coded uniforms work on an assembly line in a rhythmic process to produce delicious baked goods at an impressive rate of speed. As MBAs, we quickly saw an opportunity for automation to enhance efficiencies on the line and produce 40x what they can do by hand. But that’s not what this business was about. We listened to Adri Williams tell us about the purpose and dream behind her growing company: to employ and empower thousands of previously unemployed women in the impoverished Khayelitsha community. Adri painted a picture of her employees’ dire living conditions and the challenge and pressure of running a sustainable business that these women depend on to provide the basic needs for their families. Adri makes the hard choices every day to compromise traditional measures of fortune in pursuit of a deeper impact. As we listened to Adri’s story and later had the chance to bake a few cookies alongside the women, we left Khayelitsha that day excited, inspired, and once again a little confused.

How could a group living under such conditions show so much gratitude, express so much joy, and inspire so much hope? It came down to the shared values and commitment of the community. Within the Khayelitsha Cookie factory, the women take care of each other, look out for each other, celebrate each other, and lift each other up despite scarce resources and constant setbacks. Part of this community approach is driven by hope for a better tomorrow, but most of it’s because they frankly have no other choice.

And now we find ourselves here. Day 8 of quarantine from Covid-19 in our own adverse conditions- obviously not Kliptown/Khayelitsha level- but certainly more than we’re used to. More than ever, we must take care of each other, look out for each other, celebrate each other, and lift each other up despite scarce resources and potential setbacks. We must take the lessons from the kids of Kliptown and the women of Khayelitsha and find it within ourselves to express gratitude, find joy, and embrace our community. In this period of uncertainty, I’m hopeful we’ll see a better tomorrow, but right now, we have no other choice. Living with these values is the only way we get through this together as family members, friends, neighbors, classmates, coworkers, Americans, and global citizens. After all, life’s not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain. So let’s keep dancing, just like they do in Africa.

Sawubona, friends. I see you, Im grateful for you, and I’m thinking of you. Ubuntu…we stand together. Stay healthy and keep in touch.

To learn more about Kliptown’s Youth Program or Khayelitsha Cookies, please visit:

https://www.kliptownyouthprogram.org.za

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