Africa thus far: Beautiful weather, hospitable people, broken people, and cockroaches.

My friend Paul Storms and I arrived in Kampala, Uganda on Tuesday! We had two flights that were about 8 hours each, with a stop in Amsterdam in between. I think this was a very fair amount of traveling, considering that it took 40 hours to get to our destination when I went to South Africa in 2007!

Here we are at an Irish Pub (Murphy's) in Amsterdam, Holland. I got an Irish Shamrock and some Amsterdame Bitterballen and Paul got a Murphy's Red and some Fish+chips+mushy peas.

Uganda is beautiful, to say the very least. I'm a big fan of puffy clouds and there are a bunch of fluffy white clouds. Right now I'm in the offices at Pilgrim in Kampala, which is right next to Lake Victoria, the biggest lake in all of Africa! Paul just left for Soroti to do some farming work with Aaron Ruud and I'm in Kampala for about another week working on a project with the finance/accounting department here. It's been a humbling experience so far; Angella, the head accountant at Kampala, has a bachelor's in Finance and an MBA in Accounting and Finance. Jane, the bookkeeper, has her degree in Accounting. I haven't even finished my senior yet! But I think this means there are a lot of opportunities for me to learn from them.

As much as I'd love to pretend everything is happy and dandy and perfect, it's not. Don't get me wrong, I've loved my time here thus far. But yesterday we went into town (downtown Kampala) and spent four hours trying to withdraw money from our accounts and get SIM cards and airtime for our cell phones. Barclay's, a large bank, ATMs only accept VISA cards and both Paul and I had Mastercards so we had to see a cashier. The debit/credit card authorization system at Barclay's was down so we had to wait. And... weren't able to access our accounts anyway because our cards are embossed (as opposed to flat) so we had to buy shillings (Ugandan currency) and pay a $25 processing fee. Then we spent at least another hour trying to get a SIM card to work with Paul's phone. Our guide, Simon, waited very patiently throughout the whole thing. He never uttered a word of complaint and was respectful and straightforward when driving and asking people questions and directions. For four hours. Wow.

While we were walking to and from all our destinations, I saw a whole lot of broken people - literally. Many were missing limbs, several were crippled. I saw one lady lying against the wall around Barclay's and there was a baby sitting next to her wearing a beaded thong. Neither of them looked happy or healthy. (I don't have photos because I think it would have been rude for me to gawk at them and treat them like photographic fodder.)

I'm never sure how to reconcile the disparities I see in Africa. I've only been here three days and have ridden in vehicles ranging from a beater van to a brand new compact car with a camera in the back to see what's behind. I've seen people who are broken and in desolate positions and people who are looking fresh, clean, and very wealthy. It is all very interesting to take in.

On a completely different note, last night when I was talking to Paul we found a cockroach in my pants. Thankfully, the pants were hanging on a bedpost and were not on my person. Paul courageously hunted it down and flushed it down the toilet for me. The brand of toilets here are called "Hindware" and the models of sink are "Vitreous." This amuses me.

This post may have been really scatter-brained.. but I just wanted to update as soon as possible. Next time I will make a more sensible, organized post!

Blessings from Uganda,

Jessica K. Nguyen

Senior - Accounting

Michael G. Foster School of Business

University of Washington, Seattle

accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com

accountantforAfrica.blogspot.com

The Big Picture

I was just thinking about all the chaos that being a full-time student at the Foster School of Business entails. (Accounting students get an additional dosage of chaos because we need to take four classes to be FT, since our acctg courses are only three credits each.) Someone emailed me to compliment my blog, which lead me to re-read some of the posts I'd written. Then I remembered....

IT'S NOT ABOUT me.

What?

It's not about Jessica. This whole accounting career thing... pulling all-nighters, trying to build an impressive resume.. I've been working for myself, for my glory, for only my own satisfaction, out of stress/paranoia about MY future... It seems that in the midst of all the things to be done and stress to be had I had forgotten that the whole point of me being in school, the crux of my efforts, is for these kids. I say that all the time... but when one says something so often, it's easy for the statement to lose its power and impact.

[photo credit: Agathos Foundation]

This is a starving child in Zimbabwe. I don't know if it's a boy of girl, its name, its story, or specifically how the Agathos Foundation has helped it. But I know that Agathos is making a difference in this baby's life.

In three weeks (6/15) I'll be on a plane to Uganda. Three days prior to that (6/12) I'll take my last final exam. Finals begin Saturday, June 6th. It is vital that I stay focused for the last two weeks of the quarter so I can finish as strong as possible. It is also vital to keep the BIG PICTURE in mind. I only have one year left... this time will fly by.

In lieu of getting distracted by all the typical "noise" that business students face, I need to remember that the better I do in school and work, the more I can help these kids. It's not for my glory... it's not for my fame... it's for the kids. It's so kids like Kwanele can get free access to ARVs to treat his HIV. It's so young men like Zamani can get their education paid for and go off to college so he can become a civil engineer and make his community better. I just need to remember that - at a heart level and not just a slightly-conscious level. I've got to keep the burden visible. Remembering this completely changes my motivation and makes things that would otherwise seem like toilsome annoyances worthwhile because everything I do in the next year will (at least indirectly) affect my ability to help nonprofits become more efficient so they can help more kids.

I hope these words aren't just empty phrases and promises. I hope that these words come from a genuine heart. I hope that my life and decisions will change and get re-calibrated to be rightly motivated. I hope this burden won't die and this dream won't fade. And I hope this with everything I have, however little or much that may be...

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior - Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com

Send Jessica to Africa, help orphans/widows/refugees! (updated post)

Dear Readers,

Some day I’d like to be a nonprofit tax accountant working for an accounting firm like Clark Nuber, Moss Adams, or Sweeney Conrad (who all have significant nonprofit clients). Some day further down the line I’d like to start an association of accountants to provide accounting services for nonprofits working in third world countries. Ultimately, I want to use my skills and degree to enable nonprofit organizations to become more (financially) efficient so they can help more kids in destitute situations.

One of my stepping stones toward these goals is to spend six weeks in Africa this summer to learn more about how nonprofits operate and how administrative decisions affect program work. This summer I’ll be spending three weeks in Uganda doing admin work with two accountants at Pilgrim Africa [http://www.pilgrimafrica.org] and possibly working with students at Pilgrim’s Beacon of Hope College [http://www.pilgrim-uganda.org/soroti.htm]. Then I’ll spend three weeks working at an orphanage in South Africa with the Agathos Foundation [http://www.agathosfoundation.org] loving on kids whose parents/relatives have been murdered or otherwise affected by HIV/AIDS. This trip will directly benefit orphans, widows, refugees, and former child soldiers. My work will also serve these nonprofits AND provide me with priceless insight into issues they face so I can know how to better serve them.

The only problem is… I’m about $3,000 short of my goal ($4,300). This amount covers airfare, housing, food, travel insurance, and other travel expenses. Personal/recreational expenses are on my tab. My payments are due on Monday, May 25^th, and if I don’t make this deadline… I don’t know what I’m going to do (other than, you know, cry). So I need YOUR HELP.

If you know ANYONE who is willing to support me in my endeavors to practice accounting for the sake of kids in Africa, please pass on this letter! Any amount helps; every dollar counts! I am willing to provide administrative, basic accounting, child care, organizational, and manual labor services in exchange for contributions.

Tax-deductible ways to give:

1) Make check(s) payable to Agathos Foundation and send to 702 N 128^th St Seattle, WA 98133 (preferred)

2) Agathos' Secure Online Giving: Please note "PT - Jessica Nguyen" or else the money won't go to my trip!

3) Let’s meet up for lunch/coffee; I can tell you more about my trip/vision and you can give as you feel led =D

OR: 4) PayPal (NOT tax-deductible)

Screenshots of my brochure (hard copies available): Click to enlarge

Kindest Regards,

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior – Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforafrica.blogspot.com
accountantforAfrica.blogspot.com

Mullings over

Phew... it's been a busy week. Lots of planning, lots of deadlines, lots of talking over ideas with lots of different people. But it's been a good week, and I'm surprisingly a LOT less stressed than I expected to be. Got a divine refill in my proverbial tank of productivity/endurance.. =) Here are some highlights since I last updated:

Finance Option. Decided to drop it. Bill Wells, my good ole acctg 215 professor, told me to look at my options (Accounting, Finance, French) and see which one was least beneficial for how much work I put in. I process things verbally, so I talked for a while and at the end of it he said, "It seems like you've already made your decision." "Oh.." I muttered, realizing that he was right. And suddenly, I felt a whole lot less burdened.. =)

Registration/Grad plan. Registered for Winter quarter last Friday morning. Taking:
ACCTG 302, 3 credits, Donna Shores = Intermediate Accounting II: "Concepts and principles of financial accounting. Analysis of controversies and problems related to the measurement of enterprise income and asset and liability valuation."
ACCTG 311, 3 credits, Larry Du Charme = Cost Accounting: "Introduction to the theory of cost accounting; job order, process, and standard cost systems; overhead accounting; problems in accumulation and allocation of costs; decision making with cost data."
IS 300, 5 credits, Izic Chong-Kwon Chon = Introduction to Information Systems: "Fundamentals of information systems, what they are, how they affect organizations. Technical and organizational foundations of information systems, building information systems, managing information system resources. Laboratory emphasizes using computer to analyze, coordinate, solve organizational decision-making problems."
MUSEN 100B, 1 credit, Phyllis Byrdwell = Gospel Choir!
OPMGMT 301, 4 credits, Mehrdad Karimi = Principles of Operations Management: "Examines problems encountered in planning, operating, and controlling production of goods and services. Topics include: waiting-line management, quality assurance, production systems, project management, and inventory management. Computer and quantitative models used in formulating managerial problems."

Upon dropping Finance, I also decided to re-do my graduation plan, which is basically a document where I map out the classes I plan to take and when I'm going to take them. Ultimately, it tells the B-school when I plan to graduate. It's great for accounting majors like me who like to have every single little thing planned out.... Anyway, I ended up finding a TON of classes I like and scheduling myself for 5 class/quarter until I graduate. Unfortunately, I am human and have limits and later realized that.. that's a really INTENSE schedule and probably wouldn't be good for me.

Additionally, if I do a full-time winter internship next year.. then I'll need to do a lot of rearranging. I think I'll draft a few alternative grad plans after my Finance quiz on Monday.

A3W. A3W - Accountants for the 3rd World. It's the (FAKE) product I "made" for my Business Communications project (press kit), which was supposed to be a new product from a company or a joint venture type of thing.. Anyway, the basics of my "product" are that it's a campaign launched by Worldvision International in partnership with the Washington Society of Certified Public Accountants (WSCPA). The product is a service provided to nonprofit organizations doing work in the third world, particularly those in desperate need of technical accounting help and can't afford the work they need done. A3W would come in and do tax preparation, auditing, consulting, and help with paperwork for a very, very low price - some times even for free. It was a really fun project and it was also really cool because this is something I'd actualy like to do someday! I don't know how plausible the idea is, especially considering how in my kit I said we only work with 501 (C)(3)s but I didn't realize that 501(C)(3)s don't pay taxes until my old acctg prof mentioned it to me a couple days later.

BUT.. some day, I would like this idea to come into reality, because I believe that this service would indirectly help NPOs. I chose ones that work in the 3rd world "because every dollar counts." The reason we'd provide the service at such low costs is so the NPOs can focus their monetary efforts on accomplishing their mission, instead of paying huge administrative costs.

Informational interview - more? Yes! Yesterday, I had an informational interview with two nonprofit tax managers at Clark Nuber (!!). They gave me a lot of really great advice and challenged me to think about and reevaluate a lot of things, such as whether I want to go into internal or external (private vs. public) accounting to help kids. They told me about the recruiting process (both of them are involved with recruiting) and gave me some good tips, including a few "what not to do"s. They were very thorough and honest in their answers and I really appreciate them taking time out of their schedules. One thing that made me smile? One of them told me I am "a very unusual accounting major" in that I know precisely where I want to go in the field of accounting. Sometimes, though, I think I can get a little too focused/narrow-minded. I'm working on that part, 'cause I do believe there is a healthy balance between being focused and being open to whatever comes to my doorstep.

Conclusion. I think that's all I'll say for today. I've got some internships lined up for the next couple quarters, but I'll wait until we've got more details sorted out to write about it. Hope everything's well on your ends! =)

Jessica K. Nguyen
Junior - Accounting
Michael G. Foster School of Business
University of Washington, Seattle
accountingforAfrica.blogspot.com