Tanit

by Laura Tamayo

It’s hard to believe that Douchka and I were at a virtual conference all day. The time went by pretty fast. This particular conference is the first virtual conference launched by Proz. Here’s some feedback for all interested.

Liked

Presentation topics were well chosen, as were the presenters. I especially like that each presenter had a different style. For an all day conference, especially a virtual one, variety was important in keeping us engaged.

Moderators were quick to respond to all sorts of questions, and they actively participated in general conversation. This created a very inviting atmosphere.

Disliked

The Lounge chat window was too small! It updated quickly. With so many participants, it was sometimes difficult to respond to people.

Also in the Lounge, the format of the forums wasn’t very conducive to interacting much.

Overall Opinion

I enjoyed the conference. Proz did a nice job organizing the event, and communicating with moderators, translators, and vendors was easy.

I would have liked a few more talks. Yes, it was a full day, but there are some presentations that were of less interest to me. It would have been nice to have the option to listen to a different talk in the same time slot. As it was, I simply returned to the Lounge or browsed the Exhibition Hall.

This first conference was a success. We made great contacts and enjoyed ourselves. I’m sure we will attend in 2010.

The Kyanzire Hiv/Aids Association Group we are sponsoring through Kiva has their funding! There are 17 members in the group. Here’s some information on their fearless leader, as posted by Kiva.

Zaida Korugyendo is the leader of this borrower group.

Zaida is 49 years old and is a friendly lady who runs a business of selling goats in Kashenshero Ruhinda County. She is married and has four children, ages 12, 15, 18, and 21, and she also cares for one orphan.

Zaida has been in business for five years and the loans have allowed her increase her stock of goats in the farm. She is good at her work in animal sales and is able to make a weekly profit of approximately 60,000 [UGX]. This enables her to support her family, pay her children’s school fees, buy food and clothing, and pay health care costs.

Zaida’s plan is to turn her business into a permanent one with a fixed location where her customers can come directly to purchase goats. She also strives to have a permanent house for her family as well as ensuring that her children receive the best education possible. She will use this loan to bring her closer to these goals, particularly by purchasing more goats so as to increase profits, which she will use to improve the welfare of her family.”

Just a note, UGX stands for Ugandan shilling.