Matthew Brady, Our “New Medicine”
Matthew Brady, a member of the band New Medicine, joined us again in Ghana this January (2011). Matthew is one of the most affable young person I have met recently. He is truly a gift to Joy2theWorld and to Ghana when he is there. Within minutes he is everyone’s best friend and has even learned the local language to fit in.
I got a call from Matthew in November about joining us on our January trip. Not wanting to let a good opportunity slip by, I offered Matthew a serious assignment while he was in Ghana. Matthew happily accepted the “Mission/Possible” (see below) and he will be posting his report on this website in a few months. Here is his assignment:
1. Discover a minimum of 3 forms of distribution the women use to:
A. Get product/inventory
B. Or, how they deliver product (to Accra for example)
C. Accompany at least 3 women on their route.
*take pictures
*prepare a report, including cost, time, etc.
2. Investigate alternative means to speed delivery, pickup, reduce costs, etc.
3. Create talking points to teach negotiated distribution systems.
4. Identify 3 women/3 products (no services) to possibly market their products internationally (not necessarily the U.S.)
5. Determine manufacturing costs (producing large quantities) including # of employees required)
6. Include shipping routes, costs.
7. Be prepared to present to financial investors.
Note: check Ghana Chamber of Commerce at at least one of your resources.
8. Create a descriptive story of this whole process to post on our website once you return.
Clearly not for the faint of heart! But Matthew took it on cheerfully and I watched him throughout the process. So Matthew is not only talented in his creative music, his ambassador-like ability to create global friendships….but, darn…we may see a business consultant under all those tattoos! Of course, Matthew managed to slip in some fun while in Ghana (see pictures)
Don’t miss Matthew Brady and New Medicine while they are on tour! Their new CD “Race You To The Bottom” is great! (My neighbors who heard it are really confused about me, I’m sure.) But Matthew, I thought “Little Sister” was about your sister??
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Slippery Rock University Students Make a Difference
Intern Nita, from Slippery Rock University (SRU) read a story to the children at Rebecca’s school. School was out for the summer, but we asked Rebecca to contact 10 students to come to school in their uniforms to participate in a classroom study. Well, the first 10 students told their friends and by 10:30, the count was 130 students showed up in uniform to hear the stories and learn about Sesame Street characters! Yikes! Some students in one class listened to stories as another full classroom watched videos of Sesame Street!
SRU Interns Kara and Ashley also read stories to students. They focused on teaching about farm animals. I walked away for a few minutes to see what was happening in another class and suddenly I could hear “oink, oink!…quack, quack”… The kids were having fun, but it looked like the interns were enjoying the moment too!