Sloan Optional Essay

1. Discovering Yendi, Ghana
Sloan Optional Esay
Jenny (Xi) Cheng
January, 2015

2. My interest in development economics led me on a
volunteer trip to Yendi, Ghana
During the fall of 2013, I volunteered to travel aboard with
Videre, a faith-based microfinance organization, to Yendi,
Ghana. The trip’s mission was to provide funding and
business training to local entrepreneurs.
I was very eager to be part of this program as it presented me
an opportunity to use my professional skills to directly help
and impact others.
I am very fortunate to live in the United States
where resources are plentiful and jobs are
accessible. However, not all parts of the world
are as prosperous. I believe it is my
responsibility to help the underprivileged.
In college, I learned that a significant factor of
poverty in developing countries is the absence
of a stable labor market. Self-employment has
been proven as the most efficient way to escape
poverty.

3. I worked with a group of Ghanaian entrepreneurs to
improve their businesses
The local economic dynamic was very different from what I
am used to:
• Ghanaians live in a closed net community; the success
of a business often relied on personal relationships.
• The main source of income is farming. The level of
disposable income is seasonal and varies heavily each
year based on crop yields.
With a fabric shop owner, a seamstress, and a head-gear
seller, I saw opportunities for collaboration. I encouraged my
entrepreneurs to set up a referral system among themselves to
help each other drive business.
The locals do not have a habit of saving. We worked together
on creating saving plans that would help entrepreneurs
quickly pay back loans received from Videre, cut down on cost
by buying in bulk, and establish a rainy day fund.
Martha, Paul
Fabric Seller
Rose Kroadom
Seamstress
Martha, Jeremiah
Head-Gear Seller

4. Living among the locals, I also experienced the
authentic Ghanaian culture
Fufu is the Ghanaian equivalent of bread. It is
prepared by tirelessly pounding a bucket of
yam. During dinner time, you can hear the
pounding sound echoing throughout the village.
Ghanaian children are very responsible and start
helping out around the house at a young age. I
am their biggest fan!
At the end of the trip, we were invited to visit the regional king of Western
Ghana! Apparently, the king’s entourage was spying on us during our
stay and reported on our work with his constituents. Due to cultural
tradition, we were told not to look at him in the eyes, as it is a sign of
disrespect. Additionally, communicating with the king was a complicated
process. Even though the king speaks English, he would only speak to
his spokesperson. His spokesperson would then talk to our translator,
who interpreted for us.

5. The people I met have and will continue to inspire
me
My entrepreneurs showed me a
different world. I admire them for
their resilience in hardship and
determination to bring their families
out of poverty. They strengthened my
passion for economic development
through entrepreneurship. In the
future, I will continue to seek
opportunities like this to make a
global impact.
This trip was a blast also because of
my amazing team. We tried our first
bites of Fufu together, swapped
stories of entrepreneurs’ crazy ideas
over dinner(one of the participants, a
butcher, allegedly transports cows by
bus!), and most importantly, we
shared a passion for helping our
Ghanaian friends.

6. Ghana will forever hold a special place in my heart