So I had done this brigade last year at the very beginning of 2022 and I enjoyed it so much that I had planned to do it again this year. I think I enjoyed this experience a lot more because I got to connect with the people more because of weekly classes and I had already knew some from the brigade a year before. My favorite part about this brigade was something we didn’t do last year and that’s get to tour and stay in Panama city for 3 days extending the trip from what once was a week to 9 days.
After spending those 3 days in the city and getting closer with the group we went out to the communities and the compound which was about 3 hours outside of Panama city we each got into our smaller groups and got our clients and started making deliverables to present to them. I think this felt the most impactful to me because after all my years in school it did feel good to share that knowledge to others who really appreciated it and were extremely interested.
After our deliverables we got our clients and my group received a kiosk business and she needed help managing inventory, accounting help and marketing opportunities. Our solution was to give sort of an income statement to help her keep track of what she buys (COGS) and the money she brings in (Revenue) and teaching her how to use that equation and how to track some of her inventory. We also created a sign and some logos and flyers to help her business seem more legitimate. This was another great moment because she looked so excited and so grateful for our contribution to her business.
Out of all the study abroads I have done this is probably the best one because of the group I went with and the country I got to travel to; it was just a perfect mix of everything and I enjoyed every second of it.
