One more week!

On July 11th (Special shout-out to my sister Renee and new brother-in-law Jeremy - Congratulations you two!), Barack Obama made his first trip to sub-Saharan Africa, visiting Accra and Cape Coast, Ghana. Ghana was chosen for its political stability and the example it shows to the rest of the African continent, as it is one of few African nations to elect and change its leadership democratically, without chaos or upheaval. Here's a link to a Time.com article about Obama's visit.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1910023,00.html

Last week, I was excited to receive my internship placement. I will be primarily based in Cape Coast, a city on the Ghanaian coast known as the home of the Cape Coast Castle, where thousands of slaves were held before they were forced to embark for the Americas. Cape Coast is 165 km (about an hour drive) from the capital city of Accra.

My internship assignment with Global Mamas/Women in Progress (WIP) is divided into three parts.

First, with the help of two other interns, I'll be designing and implementing a 2-week workshop that instructs the women entrepreneurs about the World Bank Institute's process for developing their businesses.

Secondly, I'll be doing some strategic planning for the Cape Coast retail store. By analyzing point of sale data and researching customer's preferences, I hope to help make the store more efficient by finding which products are being sold more and which are being sold the quickest.

Lastly, I'll be working on a broad marketing campaign, which will include print and online media. I'll also write stories for the company's quarterly reports, and I'll create a PR kit for volunteers to use after they return home.

I couldn't be more excited to get started!