Tuesday, December 9^th and Wednesday, December 10^th

Backstory

Ms. May and Mrs. Robinson invited us to demonstrate Wonderbags at Kiddie College Preschool’s graduation ceremony. Due to time conflicts, the team chose to split into two groups. Jing and Tati prepared to visit Kiddies College on Tuesday to demonstrate the Wonderbag, while Alex and Rachel scheduled meetings with Max to transfer our work in the morning and with a product distributor in the afternoon. The team designed a purchasing interest log, which includes the name and phone number of the people who are interested in buying Wonderbags and brought it to the ceremony. We planned to give this log to the crèche after the ceremony was finished, so they can contact these potential buyers and continue the business. The graduation was a two-day event, so Alex and Rachel planned on visiting Kiddies College on Wednesday.

Cast of Characters

Ms. May runs Kiddies College Preschool. She was the host of the graduation ceremonies.

Mrs. Robinson is the Principal of Kiddies College Preschool.

Mama is the crèche’s cook and makes food for the children every day. She cooked donuts for the audience of the graduation ceremony. She is also in charge of selling Wonderbags at Kiddies College Preschool.

Setting

The graduation ceremony was held in the community hall on first floor. The hall was decorated with several hand crafted angel patterns and a Christmas tree. There was a table next to the entrance set-up for us to put our Wonderbags. In the front of the hall is the stage. On the stage, there was a projector continuously showing photos of the children’s daily life at the crèche. There were enough chairs for over 100 people to sit during the ceremony. In the back of the hall, there were two tables; one had coffee and tea for the family members and the other table had donuts, placed in the catering Wonderbag we had given the crèche. The children began their procession from the back entrance.

Ceremony hall at Kiddies College Preschool

Scene

Jing and Tati attended the first graduation ceremony on Tuesday, and Alex and Rachel attended the second ceremony on Wednesday. Both groups arrived roughly half an hour before the graduation began. There were some parents waiting outside of the hall, while all the faculty members were busy preparing the hall. We helped the teachers set up the speaker and played music for the parents while they were waiting.

The ceremony started at 10:00 in the morning. Ms. Robinson welcomed the family members with warm greetings. Then, she mentioned there was some special guests, us. She introduced the past cooperation with WPI and what the past project brought to the crèche. Jing, Tati, and Mama then talked about Wonderbags and the current project. They walked to the front of the stage with the Wonderbags and introduced the product. While they were talking about the functions and the benefits of the Wonderbags, a lady sitting in the first row smiled and said she owned a Wonderbag and cooked with it. Miss May joined the demonstration by telling that the crèche is cooking with these Wonderbags and they work very well. The atmosphere was lightened when she said, “I want to buy one for myself!” At the same time, she pointed to the table in the back, where the big catering bag was and told the audience that they were using these Wonderbags to keep the donuts warm. Mama added more information to that saying the Wonderbag can keep food frozen and save energy. We passed around a Wonderbag to let them have a better look at it. The demonstration was kept short as our time was limited and we did not want to take too much time from their children. In the end of the demonstration, we expressed how happy we were for the children and for the family.

Tati, Mama, and Jing

Following our demonstration, the children presented music, karate, and poems. The ceremony was fun and everyone enjoyed it. After the ceremony was over, a couple came to the table to buy a Wonderbag and we directed them to Mama. As Mama was running out of stock, she was not be able to provide the couple a Wonderbag right away, but she told them that she plans on calling them when she has more. Jing and Tati helped give out donuts to the families and clean up the stage afterwards.

Although the set up was the same, the Wednesday graduation ceremony went slightly different. The student presentations were first; they sang, performed karate, and presented several short musical dramas. Alex and Rachel presented after the kids. Miss May and Mama joined the two on the stage. Rachel gave a short introduction of the Wonderbag, which Miss May expanded on to provide more of a sales pitch and kept the audience engaged. After the brief presentation, Alex and Rachel went to the back table and helped Mama serve the donuts. After the ceremony a man from the audience asked to purchase a Wonderbag, and Alex directed him to Mama. Alex and Rachel helped Kiddies College Preschool make another sale when they were waiting outside for the taxi to come. A woman on a motorcycle saw them holding two Wonderbags. She said she loved to use them and that “They are Wonderful, they are Wonderbags!” However, she did not know where to purchase them. Alex and Rachel directed her to Kiddies College Preschool where she could buy the Wonderbags.

Graduation Ceremony

Reflection and Learning

Although the Kiddies’ College graduation day was an advertising day, the “keep it simple” philosophy worked well because we did not want to intrude on the children’s important day. In the limited time, we raised awareness about Wonderbags. Ms. May’s participation helped us earn people’s trust. Although we mentioned that the Wonderbags are sold at Kiddies crèche, people still came to us as opposed to Mama and asked to purchase one. This showed that we needed to be clearer that the crèche leaders are selling the Wonderbags.  Also, while Jing and Tati were talking to a woman who was interested in Wonderbags, she indicated that it can help her during the blackouts which are frequent in Cape Town. Miss May expanded on the potential to use these during blackouts while Alex and Rachel presented the Wonderbag since it is another selling point. Overall the success at the graduation ceremony was very reassuring because it showed how dedicated Kiddies College Preschool was to the entrepreneurial program.

Scene 8: Enjoying Electricity