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We began the meeting by introducing ourselves and giving a brief overview of our project. We shared the material that would be provided to a crèche or aftercare center if its leader decides to participate in a Pilot Program. Meghan was particularly interested in the brochures; she was impressed with how they conveyed the information with minimal words. She then pointed out that we would not have to translate the English into Xhosa since almost everyone speaks English, the words we were using were very simple, and the ideas were conveyed effectively with many images. Peter arrived shortly after, and he also liked the brochures.

Once our project idea was explained, we asked Meghan to describe the various difficulties that we may potentially face. She highlighted the low income, poor timing, and lack of product understanding as the main obstacles in our model. She did not believe this was the right time to introduce Wonderbags to her crèche because the end of school year was approaching and there were various end of the year events. She also expressed her concern of pricing, seeing as the monthly fee of R10 was already difficult for the attendees’ guardians. We exchanged ideas and thought that it might be a good contrast to test the distribution model in a lower income area. Peter worked with us to find methods which would allow us to work around these obstacles mentioned by Meghan; however, we were unable to to come up with effective solutions to each problem. One of the solutions we discussed was an incentive program where the guardians would receive a Wonderbag if they have paid all of their dues for the entire year. This motivates them to pay the tuition fee for the afterschool center. Meghan supported this program and she was willing to recommend selling Wonderbags to the executive board at the center.
Reflection and Learning
Although we did not get a commitment to participate in the Pilot Program, the meeting was very beneficial to our project. Meghan was able to explain the reality of the locations where we are trying to implement our business and the challenges that we would most likely face. One major reality that was brought to our attention was the possibility of violence and theft. If community members know that there is large amount of money being kept at the center from the Wonderbag profits, theft may become a very big problem. This made us rethink putting the selling price of the Wonderbag on the advertisements that would be put around the community with the address of the crèche on it. It was insightful to hear Meghan’s opinions and collaborate with her and Peter on how to tackle the potential challenges. Meghan was very supportive of our project and will try to convince the other leaders at her center to be a distribution point to sell Wonderbags.

Scene 8: A College for Kiddies