In January 2005, a group of Babson students gathered after winter break to discuss how they could help in the wake of the Asian tsunami. The devastation was mind-boggling—entire cities under water, more than 100,000 dead, and economic damage in the untold billions.
The group, soon named the Babson Global Outreach through Entrepreneurship (BGOE), settled on helping with the long-term economic recovery of the region using the skills they had learned as Babson MBA and undergraduate students.
For the next 12 months, Michael Pearlmutter and Jason Dombar spearheaded the BGOE effort to raise donations, organize and plan the trip. In January 2006, BGOE realized the culmination of its efforts as eight students and their faculty adviser, the Rev. Dr. Thomas Sullivan, traveled to Seenigama, Sri Lanka, to assist in the village's economic recovery.
The group at the Foundation of Goodness in Seenigama, Sri Lanka
BGOE arranged the trip with the help of the Sri Lankan charity, the Foundation of Goodness, which had been working in Seenigama before the tsunami to help build schools and houses as well as transition villagers away from illegal coral mining. The mining had destroyed parts of an offshore reef and may have worsened the effects of the tsunami.
Around Seenigama, remnants of the disaster remain. Many families live in temporary shelters of clapboard huts or nylon tents, surviving structures bear grungy water marks 10 feet high, and memories bear the scars from losing family members and friends. But the resilient villagers have begun creating a new village with new enterprises after abandoning coral mining.
Before the trip, many students wondered if they could make an impact. They learned in two weeks that their classroom skills could have a real-world effect. Babson MBA students Judd Rose and Michael Pearlmutter and undergraduates Amisha Patel and Missy Fine worked with women in Seenigama to help market and expand their handicrafts center. Babson MBA student Dave Wilusz and undergraduate Cathryn Cover worked with a brush factory to hone its operations and create an incentive program for its workers. And MBA students Jason Dombar and Richard Raeke worked with the 18 store owners in the village to form a co-operative, creating new business ideas and basic accounting skills.
The BGOE trip was a first for Seenigama, as well. Much of the aid to this point had focused on rebuilding schools and houses while economic rebuilding and sustainability had remained a secondary priority. Each team wrote reports for The Foundation of Goodness and its head, Kushil Gunasekera, on its actions as well as its suggestions for future development.
Shortly after the BGOE group returned to Babson in mid-January, they received a thank-you note from Gunasekera.
"What a lovely project the Babson team had initiated, one that I had never imagined to be so unique. In my view it is one of the most landmark programs ever to be undertaken," he wrote. "The subsequent reports are most valuable for the future well-being and prosperity of our villagers who have branched out to substitute the dangerous and illegal coral mining."
"It is my fervent wish that we continue the partnership in the ensuing years which will greatly enhance the desired results."
BGOE, as well, would like to return to Seenigama to continue to build on its work. This trip was paid for with donations from the friends and family of BGOE members but currently the group is exploring funding options for self-sustainability. If you would like to work with or help fund BGOE, please contact Michael Pearlmutter at mpearlmutter1@babson.edu or Jason Dombar at jdombar1@babson.edu.
