Challenges, challenges, challenges... This place is full of them. I am a marketing intern... I'm supposed to be coming up with ideas on how to generate demand for AVOH's products, but they don't even have a functioning production department. How do I go and sell their product to big hotels and chains knowing they will never satisfy that demand in their current state? In that regard, I find myself continuously taking on the role of management/HR advisor. After the executive meeting on Thursday, we decided that there is an immediate need for a clear hierarchy and chain of command at AVOH... So I proposed that they create a diagram (for starters) and finish it for Friday... Which didn't happen. It took one weekend and two days for Herve (production intern) and Mme. Drabo (president) to figure out a production hierarchy and who is where on it. Then I asked them to put down the specific tasks required of every position on the hierarchy and that took another hour, with me there beside them giving pointers. Although I would say Herve is the most progressive of the bunch, he seemed quite resistant to the thought of putting down specific tasks beside the positions. I literally had to explain to him four times that roles must be clear within any organisation right down to the last minute detail – so if any problems arise they know exactly where they started and can take corrective action immediately. Finally, Herve plunked a torn off piece of paper complete with scribbling, scratches and arrows on it (and what I later made out to be people's names) on my desk... It reminded me of my days working at Mercedes-Benz. (hee hee... learning experiences, n'est-ce pas?)
This week I finally got started on the logo and brochure and product labels. Between me, my brother, his business partner (thanks, Rob!!) and other connections, I have a good five logos for Mme. Drabo to choose from come Monday next week. Since she's out of the office this week on seminars, it gave me the chance to really plug in and go nuts on the marketing side. I had Ismail search the internet for different packaging suppliers in and around Burkina-Faso and put the data into an excel worksheet... I have to make him practice his new skills, after all. I then touched up the brochure some more with him, created a few different versions, and translated it into English so we could communicate to a wider demographic. After that I started on my mid-internship report, since Mme. Lakaonde (WUSC representative for the HIV/AIDS sector) will be coming next week to conduct the mid-internship meeting. Which reminds me. I got my hopes up earlier this week because Mme. Drabo asked me to go to Ghana with her next week to meet with a customer and packaging manufacturer for dried mangoes... I was so excited to finally be going on the field that I immediately wrote to Angele Touchette, the WUSC coordinator here in Burkina, asking what I need to go. I quickly found out that I need to get two different visas: one multiple-entry for BF and one single entry for Ghana, which would cost me close to $30, or 15000fcfa's... And both of which I need to send to Ouaga, 350km's away, to receive the visas. It's unfortunate, but AVOH cannot afford to pay for it and neither can I, so Mme. Drabo will be going to Ghana alone next week.
Comparing my expectations before getting here and the reality of my being here is interesting. In my letter of motivation (the letter I had to submit to qualify for this internship), I specifically asked for a field job with little to no French writing at all, seeing as my written French skills are at the grade nine level (which is when I stopped taking French in high school)... Since my spoken French is decent (and the plan was to perfect it here, which is thankfully happening!), I thought I was going to be interacting with people and going out to villages and spreading awareness about AVOH's cause. But here I am, stuck behind a desk typing the association's hierarchical structure – in French – on a Word spreadsheet... Thank goodness I have friends here who write French beautifully to check over my work. On the positive side, however, I get to practice my written French - which I will eventually have to do if I plan on truly being able to work in both languages.
Another expectation I had before coming here was that I would have more tools available to me – say... Internet and a working office... and a coherent operation that was ready to be marketed before I got here. But once again expectations did not meet reality, which is actually okay for me – I am always up for a challenge and this one, I think, is really going to pay off. And tomorrow, after finishing at AVOH, I've been asked by Axelle, my roommate, to go to her placement (FDHO – Femmes et Developement du Houet) and teach the secretary how to use Excel. I can't wait – I never realised how much I enjoy teaching... I now understand why my high school teachers – after all the abuse they got from us kids (you know who you are...) – enjoyed their jobs so much.
Now that I'm almost half way through this experience, I'm beginning to really feel the pressure of my mandate. I have to finish drafting a concrete list of confirmed packaging suppliers (which I started from scratch) and I also have to draft their marketing plan, based on local and national events they will be attending for publicity. I'm also getting a mission statement ready with the help of one of my friends over here, and before all of that I have to finish and confirm the new logo and brochure for AVOH... They're going to be using it on all of their official documents and labels for a long time, after all. I then have to write a final report for WUSC quantifying my work over the last few months... After all of this is finished, I still have to write a 25 page (minimum) report on this internship for school (thank goodness I've already started writing it) and then go through three weeks of intensive courses after I get back to Canada. Should be fun! I have to say that I am SO ready and I can't wait to ace this thing...
So I guess what I'm really saying is that throughout all the challenges, I will emerge with AVOH victorious... By the time I'm gone they will be armed with a comprehensive marketing plan and will also be fully competent running an office (computers, filing systems, organisational charts, accounting, chain of command, etc...). I'm also writing a list of recommendations for the next time they ask for an intern... They would really benefit from two different interns: Accounting and production. Although I was able to help them with basic accounting sheets on Excel, they were just that... basic. If AVOH grows like I think it can, they will eventually need a certified accountant to go in and teach Ismail and Nathalie everything about the profession. With that said, they could also benefit from a production volunteer who can go in and tweak their factory so it runs more efficiently... and to reinforce the chain of command we just created.
Here's to the next five weeks of gruelling, fun, hard work!
A
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