- List ten things that make you feel human.
- Laughter
- “I appreciate…”
- Sharing food
- Physical touch
- Music
- Teamwork
- Being listened to
- Being invited into conversation
- Name acknowledgement
- Being surrounded by diversity
- Articulate your philosophy of engagement as it pertains to your work with the GSIF / LVSIF.
When I think about my philosophy of engagement, I believe one thing I want to reinforce is a new way of building the community up. In order to engage an entire community, I believe we have to question how we spread an idea that is convincing enough for one community member to tell their neighbor about. Individually for mothers, it is tough to juggle daily duties alongside having to provide the food for their children to eat. I intend to engage them as the primary messenger for their communities because they are seemingly more responsible for the welfare of their children, so they . By introducing food products that aim to tackle nutrient deficiencies that are produced, transported, and sold completely by recognized community members, we launch a system that leverages the connections they/we have established to provide goods that retain familiarity. Whether this familiarity is using local ingredients or complimenting local cuisine with our food products, I want to maintain consistent authenticity that dignifies the work they do and creates genuine recognition within the community. If we could engage local schools by offering samples of our product, I think we can capture the appeal of our priority consumers (children) and capture the attention of their mothers and teachers alike, we reinforce the idea that our products are not just needed to tackle malnutrition, but are desired by those raising the next generation. If they recognize a food product their children are especially fond of and provide them health benefits other foods cannot at a competitive cost, I believe only then do we engage our customers in understanding and supporting a cause bigger than the food itself. Growth stunting is something that can be prevented if the community becomes aware of a new food product. Challenges to consider include sustainability of our products as part of a daily diet and operationally after we leave. We need this to be a product that continues to garner sales and new attraction, so our observations in the country will be crucial in understanding customer behavior, quality control within our product, and how to create accountability and transparency between bakers and vendors. We can add a salary incentive for the yield of quality food products our bakery creates, ensuring our bakers are careful with their resources and create the best possible products for our children. To extend the shelf life of our peanut butter banana pudding, we intend to bake the pudding prior to going to the vendor site, and having vendors cut fresh bananas to be added into the pudding. This simple engagement allows the browning of the bananas to begin at the point of sale rather than earlier made with the peanut butter pudding. The question of extending the shelf life is also something I am attempting to address by creating bouillon powder that can be used as a seasoning for a variety of foods. If I find that moist bouillon is preferred in taste tests, that will help create servings consistent with consumption habits. Allowing a lower shelf life should reflect consumption time that is short relative to the time of the purchase. Another factor to consider is how the actual nutritional value from the ingredients we use locally may vary from what we calculate. This can only be addressed in a clinical study that a future team conducts to study the effectiveness of our products.
For my epitaph, I hope for it to identify me as someone who empowered disadvantaged communities to overcome domestic issues. I want solutions that don’t reflect the work I put in, rather the design that the community members bought into and then worked to make the envisioned change a reality. In foreign cultures, I believe the best way to immerse oneself is to communicate as much as possible with those who welcome you. While I can do my best to tweak the food products and plan in the months leading up to August, the most meaningful feedback will be reflected in our fieldwork, which should only open up more questions for our team and future fellowships to address. The perspectives of Sierra Leoneans matter the most in addressing a systemic issue the community will be responsible for maintaining. If we create competition amongst distributors of Maggi cubes or other food products, how may our workers be perceived by others? If our competition can motivate them to consider join us, how can we ensure they advertise our product to customers?