By Matthias de Larminat, Global MBA student 2012-2013, France
Entering a business school I never thought that I would get so close to poverty; I was more prepared to meet Bill Gates or other rich and successful leaders. But our team, driven by great interest for a sustainability course, went to Indonesia to visit the Bottom of the Pyramid: a powerful life lesson!
From books to terrain
While planning our Hult Prize competition, which aims to addres food issues in slums, two other students (Matthew and Reita) and myself took advantage of our six weeks in Singapore to leave the luxury shopping malls of Orchard Road for the poor slums of Jakarta. Very concerned about having a clear picture of what is happening on the ground, our goal was to identify needs and the opportunities. The realities faced required us to test our ideas, born in a comfortable office in Paris. The goal of feeling what daily life is like in a slum was more than fulfilled, and we came back fired with motivation to address the issue of food.
Not your typical tourist junket
Did you know that Indonesia, and Jakarta especially, are famous for having initiated tourism into slums? Making money from exposing people struggling in life was not an appealing concept, so we opted for a totally different approach as we wanted to experience this life fnot as tourists. We went for a real immersion, benefiting from the fact that Reita, our teammate, is originally from Jakarta. Her two brothers took us, offering real insight. Given security issues, we were also escorted by a friend of the family, very familiar with slum dwellers, who acted as a bodyguard.
This immersion turned out to be an amazing experience. As soon as we entered the slum we were surrounded by a crowd of kids. Unlike many touristic locations where they are used to seeing foreigners and harass them for some coins, here there was no begging, just curiosity and joy at seeing “different people” coming to see them. It was a totally disinterested attitude. We felt strong emotions seeing their smiling and very warm attitude in spite of their extreme poverty, which differs so much from the often blasé attitude of kids in developed countries. There were no complaints. They take life as it is, and this a valuable lesson for us. At the same time, this image of extreme poverty was very meaningful and impactful for us.
While walking through piles of trash and waste, we suddenly met a dancer from East Java. He happened to have won many international dancing competitions. Excited by our arrival, and proud to share his skill and culture, he gave us a private and passionate performance. Looking at such a hard worker, full of the desire to perform well, we realized how poverty is not a matter of people but a matter of circumstances.
Finally our trip ended in the traditional market. There, drawn by colorful fruits, we started to taste the so-called "snake fruit" which revealed an unexpectedly tasty flavor, but our attention was rapidly diverted by a great gathering. Getting close to the place, we found an internet café in the midst of the destroyed houses, full of young kids connected to Facebook or playing online games with other kids all over the world: a surprising but accurate picture of globalization!
This trip will remain a major landmark of our GMBA, the will, joy and courage of these slum dwellers reminding us of the burden of responsibility to be borne by future managers.
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