Questions for: Pontus Pettersson
In spring 2007 you traveled with classmates to east Africa on a service learning trip. What was the most memorable experience? I spent a day walking around the small village in western Kenya where we were staying with the woman from my host family. We probably talked for six or so hours straight with intermittent interruptions as we ran into her friends and relatives from across the village.
What really struck me was how well we connected, what a great time we had, and how much she reminded me of my own grandmother - who lived in a small village in western Sweden.
And now you're heading to the western part of Africa. I am spending five weeks as a Kiva volunteer in west Africa traveling through Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Benin. The first two weeks, the Mali part, Kiva co-founder Jessica Flannery, (MBA '07), will be joining me as well.
Our objective is to try and build new local microfinance partnerships in francophone west Africa where Kiva historically has found it more challenging to build relationships despite substantial success in Togo.
To that effect, we will be meeting with a handful of organizations in each country. My trip is supported by the Public Management Program which has covered my airfare as well as a daily stipend.
How do service learning trips prepare GSB students for the future? To my mind, the service learning trips should primarily aim to serve two purposes:
- Reinforce the participants' understanding of a particular social problem and create a personal imperative to try to constructively engage it;
- Illustrate the avenues whereby the problem is currently addressed and through which a student or recent graduate might personally be helpful.
Ideally, each participant should come away with a willingness to help and an understanding of how they might be able to do so.
What is the difference between being a tourist and going on the service learning trip? If you're on holiday in Kenya you don't go off the tourist infrastructure. While it's very beautiful, it doesn't expose you to the people who live there. The benefit [of the service learning trip] was a much more personal and concrete understanding of conditions that people live with.
How active in volunteering have you been in the past? The trip to east Africa was my first real exposure. I wanted to engage in it much more. When I came back from east Africa I really wanted to do something with my summer. It will be more difficult to do volunteering in the future with my [upcoming] new job.
What has it meant to you on a personal level? It's hard to talk about it without sounding corny, but it was a really transformative experience. The defining element was the personal connection with rural Kenyans. I have a much richer understanding of development, and respect for how challenging it is, and it's instilled a personal sense of trying to do something if I can.
Pontus Pettersson is a 2007 graduate of the Graduate School of Business.