Blog 1

I enrolled in this course because it will allow to positively impact the world we live in while helping me grow as a person and professional. Nothing annoys me more than to hear people on social media voice their support for various social movements and yet do absolutely nothing to help these movements along. The mushroom project has the potential for large scale impact that is actually measurable and can clearly be seen in the daily lives of those impacted. This is in stark contrast to those who like to talk about the issues more than solving them. My experience in Sierra Leone was vital for me. There is nothing more motivating than actually meeting the people you are working to impact and getting an idea as to what you can help them do. That’s another aspect as to why I am doing this. It really is a partnership between us and the people we are trying to help. That will create a more sustainable impact while also promoting a greater understanding of Sierra Leone and it’s people. We aren’t just handing out money, we are helping them help themselves.

This course already has and will continue to make me a better student. This project requires a deep consideration all potential results from decisions we make. It’s not enough to come up with a solid idea and assume it will work. For the MPS business model for example, we must consider every aspect of not just our own finances, but of all stakeholders involved. This end to end analysis of everything involved with any part of our enterprise is not something that can be practiced effectively with just academic exercises. An impact focused course also promotes a more positive mindset that can be helpful in any professional career. What we are trying to achieve is difficult and it make take several tries before you get something right. Having this ability to just keep working until you do finally get  it right is vital to any successful career. I also think that this class has helped me to think more broadly about the consequences of choices that I make. Traditional academic classes promote this consequence evaluation, but only within the framework of the class. A good example is my accounting class today. We are taught in the business school to utilize the “AREA” framework to evaluate ethical decisions. We also must utilize specific ethical test such as the “golden rule” “front page test.” This very specific framework provides very little in terms of depth of thinking. We must learn to consider ethical issues more closely but only within the confines of the framework. Being able to take a broader view of your potential choices in making a decision and the resulting consequences is a vital skill that most academic courses simply cannot.

This seems more like a distribution problem than an income problem. Even if we could figure out how to get glasses to people in need we would still have the problem of specific prescription. The question is than, instead of needing a legitimate eye doctor, could you have a little kiosk with some really easy to administer eye test in order at least get a good guess as to the exact prescription. I am unsure as to the cost of contacts but maybe it would be possible to have a lower cost version of them at these kiosks. The prescriptions don’t have to be perfect. Maybe there could just be a few different levels. I would assume as long as its close it would still be a help to a person who has never used any type of eye glass in the past. It could be possible to run this through CHWs but with the quantity of people in need and its not being an illness it might be best suited for someone external. It seems feasible that an individual entrepreneur would have enough customers. Its just a matter of cost and ability to match the right product with the right consumer.