Roxanne Miller’s Blog

It was an energizing week!  Social Capital Markets 2008 turned out to be a fantastic conference…fabulous attendees and brilliant conversations. I hope that this will be the first of many conferences for the SoCap team!

I was thrilled that Haas was so well represented at the conference.  As someone who worked with the conference organizers to secure Haas as the primary source for volunteers…it was great to see the my classmates in action!  Christy Martell and Lauren Bergeson did a great job coordinating the volunteer effort (over 25 Haas volunteers — we were well represented compared to other bschool programs) and creation of the SoCap wiki.

The highlight for me was getting to blog about the experience for nextbillion.net.  I am a huge fan of that blog started by WRI and now co-led with Acumen Fund…it was one that I used to read everyday when I was working out of a cubicle at Yahoo! and dreaming of a career at the cross-section of social enterprise and international development.  (The other key influential blog for me was socialedge.org).  So it was an absolute honor to get to work with Rob Katz and Francisco Noguera and contribute to the nextbillion conference coverage along with so many industry professionals!

We had 5 bloggers from Haas working with the nextbillion team!  You’ll find blog posts from key Global Initiatives members like Champa Gujjanudu, Cindy Chen and Charlene Chen.  You can also find my blog post there too.

I have had so many wonderful experiences during my first full year of grad school, and attending SoCap08 and blogging for nextbillion was another to add to the list.  That list is getting pretty long!

Don’t miss the events this week for Social Impact week at Haas.  Global Initiatives is co-sponsoring the session on Monday afternoon and Thursday afternoon keynote!  We look forward to seeing you there!

Great article in today’s Wall Street Journal entitled “Starting Up: Funding Your Social Venture” that reports on the difficulty of financing non-profit social enterprises and giving a basic introduction to different funding options.  The organization it highlights, Vision Spring, is one that we’ve been discussing quite often in our Enterprising Solutions class.  Check it out.

I just finished watching a 60 Minutes piece on Paul Farmer. Excellent. Must see.

When you watch something like that, you only want to share it. It is absolutely inspiring.

I also think of his amazing speech at closing plenary of the Skoll World Forum. I think of meeting him briefly in Oxford in a tent in the rain.

But most of all, I think how I can follow in his footsteps. I better make use of my life to make as much of a difference as I can. Because as a woman born in this country I am so lucky. So blessed. It would be shame if I wasted that blessing.

I’ve only lived in Dar for a few weeks and only know a handful of people but each week I’ve been here someone I know has lost a family member of friend without warning.

First my roommate’s uncle lost a daughter at the age of 2. She went to sleep and didn’t wake up — no symptoms, no warning. The worst thing is that this is his third daughter to die before reaching the age of three.

The following week my colleague’s friend’s father died instantly of a heart condition. The next week someone I met at dinner told me about his neighbor who was instantly killed in a car accident. The list goes on, six weeks and six sudden deaths. The life expectancy for Tanzania is only 44 years according to the UN. If my experience is any indication, I have plenty of examples of people who did not live to beyond that age. It’s quite different than the 79 year life expectancy for the US.

This week, the death hit closer to home. Yesterday Cecy told me that Anna, the woman who owned the food shop on the corner, had died the night before. This loss was more personal because I had gotten to know Anna and her husband over the past few weeks. I had purchased many things from Anna and always enjoyed exchanging Swahili greetings with her. Her eldest son was old enough to learn a little English and she would always prompt him to greet me with “Good Morning” or “Hello.” Sometimes he would say “Hello, Muzungu” in the cutest voice and wave. Her youngest son was still breast feeding, and one time she interrupted his meal to take care of my order. The little one looked up at me, slightly forlorn, probably wishing he could return to his meal in peace. I tried to make that transaction very quick! Anna’s husband and I also were on friendly terms and had shared a few beers with other men from the neighborhood one Friday evening. I really couldn’t believe that this young woman could be gone.

Cecy told me the story of Anna’s last evening. She wasn’t feeling well so she closed the stand at 7pm and went to a friend’s house. She decided to go to the clinic to see if she had malaria. So she strapped her baby on her back, left her eldest boy with a neighbor, and set out with a young friend for the clinic. She hadn’t made if far when she suddenly collapsed, hitting her face as she fell to the ground. The friend picked up the baby and ran back to the house screaming that “Mama Anna” had fallen and was unconscious. Friends found a car and picked her up and took her to the hospital. She had blood coming out of her nose and mouth. Shortly she was pronounced dead. The doctors said she had had a heart attack. She wasn’t even 28 years old.

All of this sudden death starts to wear down a person. It seems like there is more death here than I experience in my day-to-day life in the U.S. Life is hard in Tanzania. The tropical climate and limited access to medical care can make small illnesses life threatening. And then there are the other conditions that cause premature death that may have been found and treated with access to the right medical care.

I think about those boys who lost their mother so suddenly and I get very sad. Tonight Cecy and I will go over to pay our respects to the family. It’s tradition to give money to the family as well. But I know all too well that no sum of money can replace a beloved family member, wife or mother.

Oh, July 4th. My favorite holiday, really. I love watching fireworks on a warm summer night with family and friends. I was lucky enough to spend five 4ths in Washington, DC during my 20’s – and the fireworks over the mall are just the best! Two years ago I was in Dayton and spent time with Dan and his parents. Last year I was in Florence, Italy for the 4th and missed the celebrations back home. And now this year I’m abroad again. I’m fortunate to get to travel, but I wish I could be home for the 4th. I miss celebrating with other Americans! I think the US Embassy here is having a party on the 6th to celebrate, so maybe I can figure out a way to join in on those festivities.

Wow…Tanzania must be hot, hot, hot on the list of destinations for international traveler’s these days. I got word this week that I’ll have two more visitors. Josh, a friend from Penn, will be flying into Dar on July 26th and spending a night before heading to Uganda. Jen, a friend from SF, will be in Zanzibar from July 29th – August 1st. I’ll most likely go and join her and her friends for a little time on the beach before Amy arrives on August 1st.

Both Josh and Jen just finished their MBA programs in the states. I teased my roommates that they should start a travel agency for bschool students wanting to come to Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda — since they have experience living in all three places. Who knows, maybe we’ll get a website up before I leave. Goodness knows they could plan a great trip and could use the extra money to buy their diet pills!

I’ve recorded a few more posts for the Kiva Fellows Blog. If you’re interested, you can read them here:

Everything is Connected
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2007/06/30/thousands-of-small-businesses-%e2%80%93-everything-is-connected/

Meet a Seriel Entrepreneur
http://fellowsblog.kiva.org/2007/06/24/meet-a-serial-entrepreneur/