tossing and turning.

It's happening again.

My mind is whirring. Ideas are formulating. Fears are irking.

Africa.

I can't get away from it..

Africa.

How do I verbalize this burden? It's on my heart, on my shoulders, on my mind...

I need to write support letters.

But where do I start?

Hi, my name is Jessica. I need $6,000 to help widows, orphans, and refugees in Africa.

Okay. Well, that's vague. What does that even mean?

I want to spend three weeks in Uganda doing administrative work for an NGO (Pilgrim Uganda) that serves refugees through a school, university, and relief work - physically and spiritually. Pilgrim also has an anti-malaria program (Move On Malaria) that has been so successful that the Ugandan government wants to adopt their program as a template to fight malaria throughout the entire country. Pilgrim is also making moves to fight malaria in Congo, which is in a very dangerous state right now. Your money will enable me to enable Pilgrim to run more efficiently and accomplish its goals more readily. Your contributions will bring Pilgrim one step closer to eliminating malaria, one step closer to bringing hope to this nation.

I also want to spend two to three weeks in South Africa at the orphanage I visited in 2007. I spent almost four weeks at the Cottages at Injesuthi and it completely changed my life.

Where do I begin with how it changed my life? How can I iterate the life-encompassing implications of holding a dying child in your arms - not knowing how long the child has left, but knowing that his time will be spent with people who love him unconditionally, fully, faithfully....? How do I tell people about the sobering effects of hearing the stories of horror and redemption in these people's lives? Have you ever heard a grown woman tell you about her aunt sending a witch doctor to rape her when she was a child? Have you heard her story of victory - fighting off the man and being rescued from that life? Have you heard her story of redemption? She used to never know where her next meal would come from - or if there would ever be one. All eleven of her brothers and sisters have DIED - mostly from HIV/AIDS. But now she's staying at a place where she's served three square meals per day, she's a caretaker for several of her nieces and nephews, she's got her own business (Lungile's Cards), and she's using proceeds to build a house so that her family can be together. She has the love of her community and her church and her God, when before she only experienced fear and sorrow from blood relatives.

I left the Cottages knowing that I wanted to do something about what I saw. Staying at the Cottages burdened me to the point where I lost sleep and grade points because I couldn't rest without reacting to the glimpses of redemption I saw. After MUCH deliberation, thought, and prayer, I came to the conclusion that I want to use my degree to help these kids. I want to practice accounting to help organizations run more efficiently and better accomplish their mission of serving others.

But I won't be doing accounting work in South Africa.

The Agathos Foundation's flagship orphan village is located in Loskop, RSA (Republic of South Africa). I spent every single day there with a thirteen-year-old girl (Nothile). While she was at school I hung out with two toddlers: Mfundo and Kwanele (HIV+). I got to know a few other kids, but left regretting not spending enough time/effort getting to know them. Ever since I boarded the plane back to America, I have wanted to go back. I want these kids to understand that people DO consistently think about, care for, and love them. I want to go back and get to know them better, offer any advice they might need, and be a person who can just listen to and pray for them. I want to lead Bible studies and point them to Jesus to remind them to have HOPE - because He is the true Source of HOPE.

But this trip isn't all about me and what I can get out of it. It's about the kids. I just want to go there and love on them - show them Jesus' love through my words and actions. I know that I will learn more from them than they'll learn from me... that's what happened last time.

Do you see Kwanele's eyes? Do you see the hope in them? That hope is there because of God's work through the Agathos Foundation - through the help of people like you.

Will you help me do this? Will you support me in your donations and/or prayers to make a difference in the lives of orphans, widows, and refugees in Africa?

I have a PayPal account, but prefer to not use it because they charge for transactions and that's taking money away from these kids. If you are interested in supporting me or in being part of my email list serve of people to pray for my trip, please contact me at jesknguyen@gmail.com.

Okay, it is 2:17 am and I have class in six hours. (Apologies for grammatical/syntactical errors. It is 2am, after all..) I hope you will join me in efforts to better these people's lives.

Kindest Regards,

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

In Loving Arms

To earn money on the weekends (and sometimes during the week) I take care of two very adorable, lovely children (pictured above, reading The Cat in the Hat for the umpteenth time). The other day I was talking to their mom (Gail) about my time in South Africa. I told her about some of the kids who were taken in with bellies bloated from starvation, dehydrated and bruise and broken from walking miles to find help. She said she couldn't even imagine not being able to feed her children, of all things. I could hear her heart break as she thought aloud.


I assured her that the kids at the Cottages do get fed three square meals a day with all the proper nutrients. It got me thinking, though - reminiscing about the kids and the amazing love they show to one another. When I was there I remember sensing this all-encompassing LOVE... care, hope, concern. And it was contagious.


Even on our first day there, the kids instantly trusted and loved on us. Mfundo (right) insisted I carry him, and was very intrigued by the zipper on my vest. The toddlers (Mfundo and Kwanele) were especially cuddle-prone.

Here is Marissa with Khaye, Kwanele, Zippo, and Mfundo. They loved sitting on laps and playing or reading stories.


This is Levi, with Mfundo (left) and Kwanele (right). The kids primarily saw him as a lifting machine. "Go to Levi and he will give you a ride!"









(Left to right) Asanda, Zippo, and Kwanele wait around as the primary school kids gradually start their two-mile walk to school. Asanda and Zippo get a ride to Crèche (pronounced "kresh")


Ms. Dianne taught at the local primary school for a few months and acted as resident nurse when she stayed at the Cottages. This is on her last day, saying goodbye to Sinethemba. It certainly was no easy task - I think they were there for at least five minutes.

On the team's last day, we walked the kids to school one last time. This is Amber and Nothile.





Nothile and I holding hands and walking to school for the last time. On my first day there, she grabbed my hand and sweetly introduced herself, "Hi, I'm Nothile, what is your name?" I still remember her kind, gentle tone.. and her silly laugh.

Here is Florence, or Flo, the resident cook. She's holding her baby, Kozi. That's not actually his name (I forgot his real/whole name) but they let the outsiders call him that. She usually takes his blanket and wraps it around her back; hard to describe, but it allows her to carry Kozi on her back and still have her hands free. Like this.



Kwanele kissing Kozi.. one of my favorite pics from the whole trip.

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

Beacon of Hope in Uganda

Here's a video on Pilgrim Uganda's school in Soroti, Uganda:



(The girl who speaks at 7:44 is great, by the way.)

Another intern and I watched this on Monday as part of our training. We're working to refine accounting procedures, policies, and systems for Pilgrim's Uganda offices in Kampala and Soroti. This will allow them to keep better track of their finances, spend more wisely/efficiently, and create better financial accountability. This is a huge deal for them because there is not much of an "accounting mindset" that's been fully established. Also, it's always great for donors/investors to know that their money is being used with due diligence.

I'm excited... are you?

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

New Year, New Quarter, New Blog

FYI, I started a new blog to catalogue my college career: accountantforAfrica.blogspot.com

I'll update "personal" things there and this blog will be exclusively for things Africa- and kid-related.

This quarter marks the beginning of fundraising for an 8-week trip I'm hoping to take to Africa this summer. I'd be spending 4 weeks in Uganda doing taxes and payroll and 4 weeks at the Cottages at Injesuthi in South Africa, the orphan village I stayed at summer 2007. Updates forthcoming with stories of the kids and more info on the organizations I'm going with.

Stay tuned!

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

Recalibrating.

It has recently come to my attention that all the stuff I'm doing (or trying to do, at least) - if I want to succeed in accomplishing the goals set before me - needs to be focused on something other than myself. It was quite convicting, actually, because I realized that my last several blogs posts have been about nothing EXCEPT me, which is NOT the purpose of this blog. Nor is it the purpose of my career orientation.

So from now on I will make a stronger effort to fulfill the purpose of this blog, of my career. It's the purpose described in the header of this blog. All of this is about the KIDS. It's about LIVES CHANGED, lives changing, and lives yet to be changed. Accounting for Africa means I'm doing this all of the sake of the kids and people there. As indirectly related as it all sounds, I firmly believe that proper accounting practices make a material difference in how able a firm is to accomplish its goals.

And so, I'm starting an internship with the Agathos Foundation this winter. AF is the nonprofit I went to South Africa with in summer of 2007 and I hope to go back again this summer. I've also got an extended internship lined up with Pilgrim Uganda for spring and summer. Pilgrim serves refugees in Uganda. Details are still up in the air, but the hope is that I'll be able to help out with payroll and taxes overseas 'cause that's a very large expense for them. Hoping to also help out at the local school that Pilgrim works with. I expect this summer to see many, many lives changed... and this is what it's all about.

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

Updates

I have a midterm in...17 hours, but I couldn't really move on until I shared what's been happening recently.

Informational Interview. Had my info interview with the HR Generalist at Clark Nuber a few weeks ago. I really, really, REALLY enjoyed their office - it's the first time I've walked into an accounting firm and not felt intimidated. The receptionist got up from her seat, out from behind the desk, took my jacket and put it in a closet, gave me a CN nametag/lanyard, AND offered me coffee/tea/other refreshment. CN's website impressed me - not simply because they have a massive number of awards, but because they've made it very clear that CN is about the people, not just the numbers. I love that...! All in all, it was a very encouraging, useful interview. One thing she said that stuck out to me: CN is looking for people with passion, direction, and intellect. I would really love to work for them some day. Through a fortunate chain of events, I have another informational interview set up with a nonprofit tax manager at CN on November 20th!

Agathos Banquet. Last Saturday I spoke at the annual Agathos banquet at the Lynnwood Convention Center. I talked about my most memorable experience: seeing redemption beyond anything I could've imagined. I mentioned wanting to become a nonprofit accountant to help these kids and that I want to go back again this summer. Later that night, Jeff Levell (CFO for Pilgrim Uganda) introduced himself. We talked about my summer plans - wanting to somehow do an internship with Agathos and wanting to go back to Africa. He suggested doing an internship IN Africa - possibly setting up a system of some sort to keep organizations and businesses financially accountable. I talked to the Mae, the Office Manager at Agathos, about it and she enthusiastically suggested partnering with both Pilgrim Uganda and Agathos to do an internship overseas! I have no idea how details of this will work out (do I pay to be there, do they pay for me to be there, how am I going to earn any money this summer to pay for school expenses?) but if it does... what an amazing experience it would be!

The banquet was very beautiful.. I forgot how much I missed/love these kids and how much my heart goes out to them. The director for an orphanage in Zimbabwe also spoke and it was shocking - but touching - to see the things she'd been dealing with. The closing speaker, Lief Moi, urged us to contribute to Agathos.. He made a really good point when he brought up his grandson, who I think was due yesterday. He told us about imagining: what if my grandson were left with NO ONE to love him? No parents, no grandparents... left on his own. And it hit him how horrible that would be - but it's happening every day in Africa. Agathos is doing amazing things over there and I'm honored to be part of their work.

Finance Option. I'm mulling over whether or not to keep Finance as a second option.. for a while it just seemed to not be intuitive at all... but after working in groups and through a bunch of problems, interest rates finally make sense. If I keep Finance, my course load will be very rigorous for the next 3 years and I won't be able to take some Accounting classes that would be VERY helpful in my career and with the CPA exam. There will be little (if any) wiggle room and I don't want to overload myself. Good news, though, is that the difference between yield to maturity and coupon rates finally makes sense! So maybe there is hope for Finance becoming more intuitive. I need to meet with an advisor - but not until AFTER my midterm.. I'll keep you updated on how this goes.

Those are the big things that have happened.. Will update more after midterms. Thanks for tuning in!

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