We are well into our Summer Associate program at Samasource.  We have four full-time Associates spread across Haiti, India, and Kenya and five more Associates in our San Francisco office – Samasource’s largest Associate class ever.  Our roles vary as much as our experience.  We tackle marketing, fundraising, quality, client management, and engineering, and plenty of other side projects.

As a Senior Associate in San Francisco, my main goal is to evaluate and revamp the training process for our workers located all over the world.  The potential scale of the project (codename: SamaSchool) can be intimidating; I’ve found it can be sometimes an extremely complex and other times a simple problem.  Large companies can spend many years and millions of dollars to develop an effective training system, and yet perhaps every small business which has ever employed more than a few people has had to decide how to train its new employees.  More than once I’ve agonized over making a key decision, only to learn later that much larger, more resourced companies have made similar decisions in their early days with just as limited information.

An important consideration in designing our training is our audience.  Some Samasource workers have never previously typed on a computer, used the internet, or heard of a spreadsheet.  And yet we sometimes train these same people within a few weeks to be able to process volumes of complex, sensitive digitized information.  Perhaps because our primary objective is to help ease poverty in the communities where our workers live, a misconception is that a non-profit organization like ours would provide only simple kinds of work.  However, Samasource’s ultimate goal is to use for-profit business principles to deliver valuable services to our clients even when that client might not necessarily understand our mission.  Our workers’ jobs have real value in the marketplace and the work can be far from easy.  Muhammad Yunus describes this vision of a social business:

Perhaps for some consumers, the social benefits created by the social business will be an additional reason to buy from it — just as some consumers today prefer to patronize companies with a reputation for being worker-friendly, environmentally conscious, or socially responsible. But for the most part, social businesses will compete with PMBs [profit-maximizing businesses] on the same terms as we see in traditional capitalist competition — and may the best company win.

When a leading technology company asks Samasource to process millions of pieces of information in order to ensure the continued relevance of its most important product, would it let us deliver a lower level of quality as a kind of “social donation”?  As a former liberal arts major I feel it would be hugely generous if they did, but as a current MBA student, I also know this is just as hugely unlikely to happen.  Samasource is striving to win and be what Yunus refers to as “the best company,” so we can continue to bring more jobs to our workers who need them.

Finally, as I mentioned in the first paragraph, each Summer Associate has many projects, and I have the fun responsibility of coordinating several short Samasource documentaries. We have two different film production companies coming into the office to meet our staff and also visit the field.  The early footage looks extremely promising, and we plan to share the finished videos soon.  Next in our blog:  more updates from our Associates!

Interviewing Chelsea at nearby Dolores Park

Interviewing Leila in the office

Social Change 2.0 – Using the Web for Good

Curious to find out more about how the web is shaping the future of the “social change” movement? Come find out on May 3! Hear from an exceptional group of speakers who are using the power of information technology to achieve social impact offline.

Date: Monday, May 3rd, 2010

Samasource’s engineering team (Eric Nguyen and Alex Onsager) travelled to Haiti at the end of April to establish our first microwork center in the country. Read about the earthquake, Samasource’s investment in Haiti, and our workers’ part in an innovative emergency SMS system.

The Aftermath

The human toll of the January 12th earthquake is staggering, with over 200,000 dead. As Alex and I travelled in Haiti, our everyday interactions would often belie this tragic fact. On the surface, people were doing their best to piece together their lives. Only on occasion would the recent tragedy break through to the surface. People we were speaking with would sometimes suddenly find themselves telling us about a lost child, neighbor, or lifelong partner.

The trauma is ongoing. A huge number of people have had to abandon their homes, since even buildings that are still standing can’t be trusted. Vast encampments have sprung up in all of the city’s open spaces. In the meantime, huge numbers of people have left Port-au-Prince, seeking the relative safely of neighboring towns.

Unfortunately, the Haitian government is struggling more than ever to serve its people. Aside from the vast neighborhoods that were leveled by the earthquake, there was nearly uniform destruction of all of the government institutions in the center of town. This included the national palace, supreme court building, government ministries, and police headquarters. Almost every institution struggling to serve Haitians today was reduced to rubble.

Samasource’s Part

The resource that remains in abundance in Haiti is human spirit. It is here that Samasource is investing in Haitian recovery. Our newest digital work center is being built by our service partner in Mirebalais, 1000 Jobs/Haiti. Mirebalais is one of those towns many Haitians have fled to. This underdeveloped region is a particularly important long-term focus for Samasource, because a stronger economy here will draw more people from the overcrowded city of Port-au-Prince. By bringing digital work to this area, Samasource is creating high-value jobs where they are needed most.

Alex and I spent four days in Mirebalais, helping 1000 Jobs/Haiti plan out its physical computing infrastructure and negotiate high-speed internet access for the town. We also taught, mentoring the team leaders and conducting classes for our new workers. Their new skills will be the foundation for the expanding numbers of digital tasks that our Haitian workers will be able to handle over the years.

Throughout the training, we were constantly impressed by the workers’ motivation to work towards improving their future. Despite the unreliable internet connection, they faced their computers all day hoping to catch the trickles of network activity that would allow them to complete a few tasks at a time. It was actually a challenge at times, convincing them to pause working so we could explain new exercises.

These are people with big ambitions. Conversations during breaks were filled with talk of dreams for the future. A number of our workers asked us how they might receive a scholarship to attend school in the United States. Alex has even received a Facebook friend request from one of the workers, followed shortly after by an inquiry of how to start building a website.

Mission 4636

Our Haitian partner hit the ground running with its first, critical mission. In the aftermath of the earthquake, a coalition of non-profit organizations (Mission 4636) established a free SMS shortcode (4636) that all Haitians could use to report their emergency needs. A sophisticated human processing chain translated and categorized the torrent of incoming messages and, where possible, located them on a map of the area. The many NGOs and foreign aid services in Haiti were then able to receive targeted reports of the situation on the ground and deploy services in real-time.

Samasource workers were brought in last month to handle this large volume of human processing tasks. They are uniquely qualified to do the Haitian-Creole-to English-translation. Mission 4636 has matured into a critical piece of infrastructure in Haiti, and is now evolving to handle post-crisis needs. Reports of earthquake-related emergencies were supplanted last month with calls for aid and security-related issues. Today, the service is beginning to be integrated with Haitian government services (police, traffic services, medical emergencies) that are getting back on their feet.

Our workers in Haiti are incredibly proud to be doing what they’re doing. Not only are they developing valuable skills, they are doing work that assists people in need. We at Samasource are, in turn, incredibly proud of them.

A typical day of work in Nairobi for me starts with the commute to work using a matatu (usually a minivan/minbus). The roads are pretty bumpy and the traffic jam is quite heavy, no one can predict when the bus will reach its destination. By the time I make it to the office (a shared space kindly donated by one of Samasource’s service providers) most people are already at work.

While the official business language in Kenya is English, a good thing for foreigners like me, most Kenyans are trilingual (they fluently speak their tribal language, Swahili and English). The dress code is rather strict and most people doing business in Kenya wear a suit.

The aspect of time takes getting used to especially when scheduling an appointment in Kenya where it is common work on Swahili time. On needs to program this extra time to the initial appointment and be very patient for your contact to show up. Personally, I did not experience this problem during my work, because I am not a local. In fact, Samasource partners were kind enough to adapt to US culture and were always timely. But I had to deal with African customs when scheduling personal appointments and learned to be very flexible about time.

The mornings usually go by very quickly and tea is served frequently. A habit that I think was introduced by the British and carried on by the Indians and now a staple of work life for the Africans. Most of Kenyan workers that I met are welcoming and relaxed people, I feel very secure and comfortable when visiting Samasource Service partners. They usually have a positive opinion of Westerners and are mostly kind and respectful. The lunch break is around one o’clock and that’s when most of the team indulges in chicken curry with chapattis (large tortillas) at the local restaurant.

Visiting the Partner sites can sometimes be challenging in that there are no bus maps to indicate locations or times. Sometimes the partners are kind enough to pick me up. Others do their best to send me as much information as they can to help me locate their store or office.

The workforce at the Service Partners comprises roughly of equal amounts of men and women. I found the Kenyan women to be very hardworking and ambitious: They are usually multitasking, switching from their job to family matters and home activities with ease. They are astute entrepreneurs, and many are in highly regarded positions are handled by women. Adept Technologies is a good example of a Samasource partner founded by highly efficient women entrepreneurs. Indeed, both the CEO and the president of the company are women: Diana and Mercy. They have an excellent background and have “joined forces” to create Adept Technologies, a small but stable company employing 15 people.

Since my initial task to create the worker’s profiles for the Samasource website is now complete, I am now assisting with the greeting cards project. In this endeavor I am training Samasource workers to create greeting cards www.samasource.org/gifts The greeting cards include beautifulful pictures from Kenya as well as greetings in English and Swahili. This project will allow our partners to earn an income while giving them the ability to work in a new and creative way: Make sure you participate in their efforts and enjoy one of these cards yourself!

July 15, 2009 (San Francisco, CA) — My internship began in early June as I boarded a plane for Kenya with Leila Chirayath Janah, Samasource’s CEO and Founder.

What I experienced on this two-week trip was life changing. I have previously traveled to developing countries and witnessed phenomenal economic growth juxtaposed with abject poverty, but I was not prepared for Kenya.

Nairobi, a city of contradictions

Nairobi, the nation’s capital, is a bustling city with many apparent contradictions — wealth and poverty, Muslims and Christians, nature and pollution, advanced and antiquated. Yet those descriptors do little justice. After all, how can I adequately summarize a city that is home to high rise office buildings, a week day market filled with goods from Maasai tribeswomen, a sophisticated cultural museum with the world’s oldest human fossils, a rotting cattle carcass next to a main thorough fare, trustworthy cab drivers and questionable hoteliers? The city streets were filled with vehicle exhaust, a healthy fear of carjacking, entrepreneurs (e.g. individuals walking between vehicles to sell things such as posters and car fresheners) and speed bumps –- some by design, some not. While navigating these streets, Leila and I had a whirlwind of meetings.

First, we attended the AITEC Conference, sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation, focused on outsourcing and shared services for NGOs and development agencies. Information, Communication and Technology Services are a top priority for Kenya’s economic growth, especially with the recent arrival of the fiber optic cable in East Africa. Conference attendees included U.S.-based consulting firms Accenture and McKinsey, which made me realize just how big of a market opportunity this must be.

Subsequent meetings included site visits to our existing service partners. From Adept Technologies to Preciss International, I was able to meet bright, qualified youth who are working for Samasource’s partners to provide quality services to U.S. clients (note: English is an official language in Kenya). Many of the employees are current college students, who use their salaries to pay for school –- ranging from engineering to nursing studies. Leila and I conducted a training session with the service partners to review Samasource standard policies and procedures as well as to garner feedback on the existing partnership. A photo from the training session, held at Enablis offices, is below.

Pictured (L to R): Nicholas M. (Beeline), Lakshmi M. (Ken Tech), Lucky V. (Ken Tech), Amos K. (Styles), Benson K. (Preciss), Mwangi M. (Beeline), John S. (Ken Tech), Eunice M. (Styles), Andrew K. (Flytech), Mugure M. (Preciss), Stephen M. (Daproim), Diana G. (Adept) and Leila

Dadaab, the world’s largest refugee camps

After a week in Nairobi, we departed for Dadaab Refugee Camps. The camps are located in eastern Kenya, near the Somali border. We traveled by guarded convoy with CARE International. Various check points along the way reminded us that we were in dangerous territory. Our Kenyan hosts were incredibly generous and patient as I snapped endless photos and asked a plethora of arguably naïve questions.

Some 12 hours later, we arrived in Dadaab.

We spent the majority of our time at Dagahaley and Ifo Refugee Camps –- over 90% of the people there are from Somalia and include many women and young men. We trained them on the internet and gauged their interest in completing remote internet-based work, as a way to generate income. Many of the camps have very limited job opportunities and those that do exist (e.g. butchering and ice making) compete with limited resources. This leaves many of the youth susceptible to recruitment by militias. Similar to youth in Nairobi, many of the trainees indicated they would use the funds they earn to pay for schooling. As Leila blogged earlier, we met with one of the Lost Boys of South Sudan – Paul Parach.

After one of the training sessions, a young woman named Abdiyo insisted upon buying me a soda. This woman lives in a refugee camp where the average annual income is extremely low. It was the most generous and delicious soda I have ever received. To learn more about our innovative launch of the Refugee Worker Program, take a look at the following presentation:

Go fish

Two weeks and thousands of miles later, I found myself back in Palo Alto, California. As I commute to Samasource’s San Francisco offices, I reflect on the things this trip has taught me. Nairobi and the refugee camps are very different from my experiences in investment banking and private equity. While I am a novice when it comes to international development, I wonder if the some of the capitalism I practiced on Wall Street is applicable there.

And perhaps the only way to world peace and prosperity is through the creation of opportunities for sustainable, dignified employment.

Our slogan at Samasource, until about a week ago, was “Give Work, Not Aid”. The last portion is a bit controversial and we have wrestled with the unfortunate fact that it may be turning away potential supporters. Our new, simpler slogan, “Give Work”, is open to the idea that countries in Africa and other developing nations may require a two-fold approach. One of aid, to supplement “traditional” government services such as infrastructure and health care, and one of work – a way for individuals to financially support themselves and their families.

Samasource focuses on the latter part. Give Work.

As the proverb goes, “Give a man a fish and you have fed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime”. By leveraging technology to create jobs for the next billion, Samasource is teaching individuals how to fish. Fishing … I can’t think of a better way to spend my summer.

Samasource is partnering with the Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology and Appfrica, an NGO, to host two more Facebook Garages in Africa. These events help young software and web developers learn how to use their skills to create applications for Facebook, the fourth-most trafficked website in the US.

To learn more:

>> Visit the event pages on Facebook: Ghana Uganda

>>Download a flyer for each event: Ghana Uganda

Samasource has a spiffy new design!

The new site is parked at www.samasource.com. We’ll keep what’s currently at the .org up as our blog; if you want to stay up to date on Samasource news, please become a fan on Facebook.

Last week, Samasource’s brokerage service scored our biggest contract to date– a book validation pilot project with Bookshare.org, one of the many technology-driven projects initiated at Benetech, an award-winning nonprofit based in Palo Alto and led by veteran social entrepreneur Jim Fruchterman. Bookshare provides print disabled people in the US access to over 40,000 books and periodicals via large print, digital to audio, and braille formats.

The service provider that secured this project, Daproim, is a Nairobi-based firm headed by Steve Muthee, a dynamic Kenyan entrepreneur who strives to create opportunities for young people in his hometown through socially responsible outsourcing. We’re very proud to include Daproim in our portfolio of service providers, and look forward to building lasting partnerships with more organizations like Benetech.

Wilfred Mworia, a 22 year-old employee of Samasource vendor Verviant in Nairobi, and winner of Samasource’s Facebook Developer Challenge in April, discussed Kenya’s growing technology community in a New York Times article over the weekend. The piece also covers Google’s activities in Kenya and highlights Skunkworks, a local community of software developers.

Check out the full coverage on our Ethical Outsourcing blog post.

One of Samasource’s vendors, rural outsourcing company Drishtee, was featured recently on CNN IBN (CNN’s sister organization in India). Drishtee’s model is intriguing – by linking villages across India in a distributed network, the company can tap thousands of skilled rural workers to scale client projects rapidly. If your enterprise has data entry, transcription, or text conversion needs, please write to info <at> samasource.org to find out if Drishtee would be a good fit for you.