Michèle Malejki
Michèle Malejki is a senior at the ILR School. She is from Red Bank, New Jersey and graduated from Middletown High School South.
“Just sitting down and making the beads, translating brochures, speaking Swahili—it was just surreal. I also have a deeper respect for the Masai women I worked with, and how hardworking yet hospitable they are. No matter how busy someone was, they always took the time out to make sure I was okay. I don’t think this is always the case in America.”
Michèle conducted her student research program in Tanzania, Africa.
“I had always been interested in Africa, especially the countries on the Eastern Coast. I was doing some research on-line and I noticed that they were looking for volunteers to work with a women’s group and help them to obtain a better market presence in Arusha, Tanzania. I thought this was a fantastic opportunity and that I could tie it in to my past ILR classes and research. I applied to the student research program and won two grants to help with travel costs.
“Once I arrived in Tanzania, I became involved with the women’s group on the very first day. I met them, and they greeted me by standing and singing a traditional welcome song. I lived in a hut and did both chores and volunteer work alike. The women showed me how they were currently making money, what the current situation was. At that time, they were simply growing crops and then trying to sell them, for very little money, in the markets.
“I tried to go in with no expectations and to just see where it would all lead—and it turned out to be completely unimaginable anyway! There were a lot of obstacles along the way that I was not aware of when I submitted my proposal.
“The women I worked with were from the Masai Tribe, and they’re well known for their fantastic jewelry. The project that I worked on was setting up a stand along the main (and only!) road from Nairobi, Kenya to Dar-Es-Salaam, where there are a lot of buses and tourists. We worked on making a roadside stand and brochures in different languages that the tourists could read. We wanted to show that this was a legitimate program and that the money would go directly to the women’s group so that they could better the life of their family and community.
“It was difficult in the beginning. The women didn’t know what I wanted to set up. They couldn’t understand why taking precious hours out of the day to make jewelry rather than tend to the crops could be better, or that the tourists would want their jewelry and not jewelry that was cheaper from places like airport souvenir shops. Everything was new for them. It was interesting to see this different mind set and the way that family work is passed down from generation to generation, with no changes along the way.
“I was surprised at how long it took to get things done. I had heard about ‘African time’ and how things would be slower—nothing is going to be on time. Even something as simple as buying the beads for women to start making the jewelry would take half a day. In America, you could just drive to a store and you could find what you want. In Africa, you would go to different stores and they would tell you, ‘No, go to this place.’ Then, the next person would tell you that they had never carried beads in their store. It was a very different process and sometimes there was a language barrier (I studied Swahili for just one semester beforehand)... but at the end of the day, I often accomplished what I needed to.
“The women that I worked with were very surprised with what I wanted to do. They had not thought of anything but selling their vegetables because that was what they had done in the past. They never thought they could sell the very beautiful jewelry they made.
“Right now, the women in Arusha are teaching one another and making the jewelry. It’s taking longer to set things up than what I originally anticipated, but I know this project will come together eventually.
“I feel good about what I did there because I think that in the future it will help entire families. They can have food and be able to send their kids to school and pay for their school fees. These are things that we sometimes take for granted here.
“I really learned a lot from being there. I learned a lot about patience. Here in our culture, we are always ‘on the go’ and thinking about tomorrow and where life’s taking us. When I was in Tanzania, it was great to live every minute and see what you can get done with what you’ve got. It was nice not sweating the small stuff.
“I wanted to see if the way those in developing countries approach the market is similar to those in developed countries like America. I predicted that the basic methods—even how to go about setting up a small business and approaching customers—was similar. I learned, however, that it is very different.
“I highly recommend this program for our students. It makes you come back and look at things differently and realize how lucky you are:you get in your car and go buy food; you don’t have to walk five miles to get water so you can take a bath. The program itself and working with the women there, it was so different than anything you can simulate here. Just sitting down and making the beads, translating brochures, speaking Swahili—it was just surreal. I also have a deeper respect for the Masai women I worked with, and how hardworking yet hospitable they are. No matter how busy someone was, they always took the time out to make sure I was okay. I don’t think this is always the case in America.
“After I graduate, I will be working for J.P. Morgan in New York City in the Corporate Banking Division.”
