Hey readers, I’m Kenzie. Jama is growing like crazy, and I joined the team back in early June following a fantastic post-graduation trip (we’ll get to that in a second…) but I have been enjoying my time split between the marketing and sales teams ever since. I’ll be helping contribute to the blog with posts about industry news and the buzzing world of start-up companies, like Jama!

Jama was curious to hear about the month I spent in Central America following graduation, so they decided to put me in the hot seat and fired away with questions. Here is a glimpse…enjoy!

Following graduation, you recently went to Nicaragua.  What was the trip about?

I spent three weeks on the Nicaragua Immersion, a service/learning trip through the University of Portland.  In total, there were 18 students and two faculty members who ventured down to experience the people, places, history, politics and U.S. influence in one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, second only to Haiti.  Our group worked with two different NGO’s founded in the U.S. but operating within Nica.  Witness for Peace (WFP) is an organization who focuses on the economic and political policies sanctioned or initiated by the United States that deeply affect Nica – primarily focusing on the incredible amount of debt Nica owes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank (WB) and the skyrocketing unemployment rate and restrictions Nica has encountered since signing the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).  On the ground in Nica, WFP has a large network of contacts in Managua and the rural villages outside the capital city that are responsible for providing first-hand experiences for the conditions they are facing in the devastatingly poor country, while in the United States WFP has a growing presence in Washington D.C. where they work diligently to educate voters and politicians about the conditions of the country and lobbying for reform.  The second nonprofit we worked with was Seeds of Learning, who emphasizes the importance of quality education for Nicaraguans and promotes cross-cultural education by bringing in American delegations to work with locals who together build schools for rural communities.

What did you get to do while you were there that you’ll remember 20 years from now?

As part of our experience with WFP, we visited the rural community of Ramon Garcia.  This small village is almost entirely self-sustainable growing its own food and raising everything from chickens and turkeys to pigs and cows.  We spent three days, two nights in the community living the lives of locals, meaning we walked to the well twice a day for fresh water, bathed in the river where we also washed our clothes, helped prepare tortillas and gallo pinto (rice and beans) at sunrise and cooked them over burning sticks and twigs, and picked fruits for fresh juice.  It was a refreshing reminder of the simplicity of life, found outside the hustle and bustle of a city and the desire for possessions.  This community did not have much to offer in terms of material goods, but the opportunity to join their families, hear their stories, and feel their love for those few days will not be soon forgotten.

What did you learn that you weren’t expecting?

Prior to my trip to Nica, I had NO idea about the incredible amount of debt the country faces.  The IMF and WB place heavy Structural Adjustment Programs (SAP’s) on Nica forcing them to pay back large amounts of their debt every year, but the catch is that so much money is being used to pay back debt that they are having to take out new loans to keep their country operating.  This is an endless cycle that Nica cannot break on its own.  Education, health care, utilities, employment, and agriculture are all areas suffering from a lack of funding and need financial initiatives to boost productivity.  The government does not suffer from poor legislation on their part, but from the lack of enforcement of laws regarding these noteworthy areas.  There is no guarantee that if the foreign debt was forgiven that the government would allocate the funds to these areas of need, but at least their money would not be going to pay off debt any longer and could be reinvested into their own country for economic and social development.

What are you most excited about in working at Jama?

The culture at Jama is incredibly enthusiastic and upbeat.  I am so excited to get to know everyone better and learn from the young, successful crew here!  It should be quite a journey and each day brings something exciting and new, which I love.

Bonus question, what’s your favorite band of all time?

This is a toughie…I change my answer to this question constantly, but given I just returned from a month in Central America I have to go with Bob Marley.

Check out the video documenting all the preparations prior to departure and the journey we took while we were in Nica.  Created by Michelle Chang, of the University of Portland’s Moreau Center, who accompanied us on the trip: http://www.youtube.com/user/MoreauCenter#p/a