It always seems impossible until it’s done
By Aseem
It is clear that the country has a great deal of work ahead to address these problems. But when meeting with members of these varied organizations working in renewable energy, public health, and impact investing, I am struck by feelings of admiration and reverence for the difficult work they are doing. It is a testament to the commitment and belief that as Nelson Mandela put it “It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
The lights are out again. It’s 8pm in Capetown and the load shedding has begun. As I look down at the waves breaking in Camps Bay, Capetown, I am in awe of the incredible beauty of this country, my experiences thus far in Johannesburg and Capetown, and also reminded of the systematic problems affecting everyday life.
Before going to Capetown, our social impact seminar took place visiting companies and organizations primarily in Johannesburg and the capital Pretoria. I was most intrigued by and interested in the work of Mandate Molefi: a diversity & inclusion human resources consulting firm. Since I will be joining IBM this summer as an HR Leadership Development Intern, I was most interested in hearing how Nene Molefi (Mandate Molefi founder) and her team worked on issues related to racial and gender equity in the workplace and schools. I was most impressed by Nene’s journey taking over the company and her balance towards bringing a personal/empathetic approach towards these difficult issues as well as using quantifiable and measurable tools to assess how companies progress on these issues. Additionally, I loved how passionately she spoke about working with schools and young people in Johannesburg and how they were the foundation and basis for modeling her and her team’s work for older people in the workplace. Lastly, I enjoyed learning about Mandate Molefi’s innovative approaches to understanding/observing diversity and inclusion practices in group settings through a board game that the company created. Who would have thought that D&I tools plus the Monopoly board game could ever provide such insights? As a person of color and someone who identifies as gay, I look forward to keeping in touch with Ms. Molefi and her team and how her company’s work could be implemented here in the US and how it could help me better understand diversity and inclusion on my own career path.
On the same day that we visited Mandate Molefi, our group visited the Apartheid Museum. As non-company visits went, I was most deeply affected by this museum. The museum did a superb job to help me and my fellow students better understand just how extensive and over-reaching the apartheid truly and how it’s legacy lives on in the country. As someone studying International Relations as well as doing my MBA, I was disturbed to learn how the South African army attacked sovereign nations (Mozambique, Angola, Botswana, to name a few) in an effort to keep anti-apartheid activists silent. Additionally, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission videos were incredibly moving. After seeing the videos, I could not and still cannot fathom how families and victims of Apartheid had the strength to confront their oppressors. Our visit also spurred a great deal of conversation around other systems of oppression with my classmates and Professor Flammer concerning Jim Crow and Nazi Germany. I am truly forever grateful for the opportunity to visit this esteemed institution and for the personal self introspection it has allowed.
Additionally, my team’s consulting project with the NEPAD Business Foundation took place on Wednesday. After several weeks of early scheduled phone calls, team meetings, and group consultations, we were finally ready to present our work to our client. Our project revolved around how to expand their public partnership trainings to more consumers and through the African Union. The meeting and presentation turned out to be more of an ongoing conversation and our client seemed most pleased with our recommendation to digitize their content in order to access a broader audience. Of course there will be more information to come, as we get closer to our final presentation.
After finishing off our seminar, our group segmented off and many of us went to Capetown to spend a few days. Stating that Capetown is incredibly gorgeous would be a gross understatement. I was entranced by the bucolic beauty surrounding sights such as the Cape of Good Hope, Table Mountain, and the lush vineyards in Stellenbosch. However, like Johannesburg, the walls were high fenced with electric and barbed wiring. The wealth and sought after real estate was almost exclusively white owned. And to top it off electricity load shedding was frequent. It is clear that the country has a great deal of work ahead to address these problems. But when meeting with members of these varied organizations working in renewable energy, public health, and impact investing, I am struck by feelings of admiration and reverence for the difficult work they are doing. It is a testament to the commitment and belief that as Nelson Mandela put it “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” I look forward to taking this experience with me as I progress at Questrom and my career.