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Six months after launching a new student group that focused on international development, Chicago GSB students raised $17,000 for a charitable organization and provided consulting services to a local microfinance institution—both in Cambodia. In March, they traveled to Phnom Penh to visit with the company, Hattha Kaksekar Limited (HKL), and see the computer lab that had opened with their help. They even got a copy of a children’s book that had been published in the Khmer language with their funds.
Chicago Global Citizens (CGC) was formed last summer by students who wanted to learn about international development and apply their skills. “Doing two large-scale products the first year was an ambitious goal,” said first-year student Faisal Khan. “We chose Cambodia because of contacts we had there with GSB alumni and supporters.” One of the co-chairs knew someone at the Asian Development Bank who had a contact in Cambodia. Two others watching CNN saw John Wood, founder of the nonprofit Room to Read, which builds schools, libraries, and computer labs in third world countries. They sought out Wood, who was eager to create a relationship with the GSB.
“We said all right, let’s do Cambodia. We wanted to take the skills we had, the skills we’re learning, and apply them in a way that makes a tangible difference,” said Khan. “You can help a company go from the Fortune 500 list to the Fortune 100 list, or you can have an impact where someone learns English and help a country get back on its feet. It was really appealing that we could make a difference, and that we could see it.”
Nearly a dozen people—seven students, some spouses, an alumna, and Stacey Kole, deputy dean for the Full-Time MBA Program—traveled to Cambodia over spring break to see the results. The children’s book, The Banana-Stem Horse, has been published by Room to Read. A plaque is up in a school in Phenom Penh, listing the names of major donors. And HKL is using marketing strategies recommended by GSB students to change its approach. “Being able to have that tangible, concrete impact was a big draw,” he said.
Being able to visit the country is what draws students, faculty, and alumni to CGC, Khan said. “There’s poverty but it’s not apparent; the people are trying to lift their country through sheer force of will. They know tourism is important, and they have great infrastructure and it’s very safe. It really changed the way I think about many other countries. I’ve seen some of the things that work that I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
He said, “We all returned from the trip energized with new ideas for projects for the upcoming year so we can raise the remaining $3,000 for our pledge to Room to Read.”
To learn more about the organization, email Justin Palfreyman. If you would like to help Chicago Global Citizen reach its goal, please visit their donation page.
Read about John Wood's visit to the GSB that inspired Chicago Global Citizens.
Read Faisal Khan's account of the trip to Cambodia in Chicago Business. (requires registration)
—Patricia Houlihan