Regional Competition!

It is finally over. The Regional Business plan competition that I have been planning for the past month is finally over, and I would say it was a success. Just to inform everyone, I was coordinating a regional business plan competition. So that means we had 8 groups of high school seniors from 3 different departments (or states) of Nicaragua participating. This event is part of the culmination of their senior year entreprenurship class that I and other Small Business Volunteers help facilitate. We had several donors come through at the last minute and so we were able to provide the students with a snack and a lunch, as well as have a great event.

However in true Peace Corps fashion, the day started out early when a student of mine (of the group that was to be competitng that day) called me at 5:30am to ask about the marketing section of her business plan. 5:30am???!!!??? I was not so happy when she asked me how I had slept (which is a customary morning greating here in Central America). I thought oh it is just a cultural thing, until I got a text message from one of my fellow PCVs at 6am. Apparently her group had already been on the road for a half an hour to just get to the competition in Matagalpa. When I arrived, I discovered that despite the fact I had gone to the Mayor's office several times to confirm the space we were borrowing, the chairs, and the sound system, that there had been some emergency and the sound system was no where to be had. But luckily, with a little help from some fellow Matagalpa teachers, we were able to find one and only started about 1.5 hours late. A triumph really.

Here are some pictures from the day!

Me with some students before setting up for the event.

 

PC Country Director giving and introduction

A group of my students at the competition with their product

Coffee with Flavors, relatively new for Nicaragua

Awarding second place

First place team! Roof Tiles!