March 7, 2011
Susan, my site mate and I have been working on a community project since February, helping five school students to prepare their Junior Achievement Award competition. For the first time, I feel like a REAL Peace Corps Volunteer. I enjoy spending less and less time in the bank, and take pleasure in helping those ambitious and certainly bright and cheerful Azerbaijan youngsters.
Our job is to help those students to develop a business plan for their project, an Art Shop. The final product will be a PowerPoint presentation both in English and in Azerbaijani. The students will deliver their plan orally in front of the judges and answer questions if needed. The competition will be held in Baku mid May. Working for AXA, the French insurance company for nine years, I spent most of my working years preparing quarterly financial results in a PowerPoint format for the CEO, CFO and other senior executives. My knowledge in this area was once considered by my colleagues as highly skillful, an “Expertise” in a way (sorry to be so cocky). I cannot wait to share my knowledge with them.
Five of them have lots of great and interesting ideas, just need to be more focus on their thoughts. We meet once a week, Susan and I go over what they prepared and give them some feedbacks. They are really a group of delightful teenagers. I enjoy seeing how their faces lit up when Susan and I praised their work.
This country has frustrated me in many ways. There are lots of things needed to be changed but unfortunately the necessary reforms have not yet be recognized by its people, or encouraged by its government. Only with better education and more open policies from the top, there will hope and brighter future for the Azeri people and generations come after.
I am not a politician and I hate to be one. I just know that if there is a budget line for “bribery cost” in a company annual plan, shamelessly and conspicuously be included in a pie chart with bright red color, something does not sound right.
The future of Azerbaijan lies on these young men and women, I hope they will excel and continue to excel when Susan and I leave them behind after Peace Corps.
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