Penn International Business Volunteers
Penn International Business Volunteers (PIBV) is a non-profit, student-run organization that promotes awareness of the need to use business skills to benefit those in need throughout the world. We aim to use our skills to identify and solve business problems with NGOs. PIBV does GK
By sending students on trips to consult and work with nonprofits, having speakers events, holding conferences, we intend to make lasting changes that will benefit people all over the world.
... in other words, we travel to exotic locations and have spoonfests while saving the world.
Travel Blog Posts
May 30th 2007
As soon as we came back from Bombay, panic ensued, as we realized that we had a presentation to give in two days. And it wasn’t going to be just for Vikash… the CEO and COO would be there as well to hear or ideas and proposals. For two days straight, we typed away , trying to finish our reports, and made our powerpoints. I got a case of the delhi belly and stayed home, reading The Namesake, a book I would recommend to anyway. Wednesday was both my birthday and presentation day. In the morning, I left the office to grab some water and snacks but when I came back, Emily Yao urged me to go get some more food, i.e. get out of the office because they were preparing a surprise. When I ... read more
May 29th 2007
Our journey to Bombay was a grueling experience—masses of people, who for some odd reason thought that pushing and shoving might be more effective than forming simple and efficient lines at check in, a several hour delay from Bangalore (to be expected on Air Deccan) and a bombardment of Bombay taxi drivers all trying to lure us into their cars. Around midnight, we finally made it to Hotel Outram… a real jewel of a hotel in the heart of Bombay’s Fort district. HA, PSYCH! The “mattresses” were about an inch thick, the entire place smelled like mold and we woke up to the sound of some one throwing up (both mornings). I suppose that’s what you get for paying $6 a night/person in overpriced Bombay. On Saturday morning, we met Arti, a friend from Penn, ... read more
May 24th 2007
PIBV does India! Emily G here. I’ve been a bit isolated from the rest of the crew for the past week, so I just wanted to recount my adventures! On Wednesday (5/16), we all went to see a kendra meeting, which has already been described. We interviewed a couple existing clients of GK just to get a sense of their interest in additional loan products and to pilot the questionnaire we wrote. Afterwards, Vikash and I ventured out alone to interview potential clients. I mistakenly assumed that he had a list of people he was interested in interviewing - instead, we drove around until we had a gut feeling that we should pause to take an interview with a local businessman. It seems that Vikash has a knack for judging people - the person (boy, ... read more
May 22nd 2007
Okay, so we didn't actually go to Dehli. Sorry to disappoint, but we, as in Yaozahs and RCoch (YES. RYAN COCHRAN IS FINALLY HERE AND BANG-BANG-BANGIN') still have an exciting tale to share. Listen up, children. THURSDAY: Bonzai and Bollywood So our adventure began back in Bangalore on a Thursday morning in the bacteria-churgling belly of the next victim... EMILY GORE. Two Emilys down, Justin was sent to do fieldwork in the city with Vikash for some more potential client market research due dilly. Jelena and Eyao went to Central Bangalore for some errands (money exchange, ticket purchases, and SHHSHH secret surprise for Yuko’s birthday!) Through the power of The Internet and some white lies, Jel and Emily stealthily snuck the surprise from the office to the apartment- all under the acute, spice-sensitive nose of ... read more
Day 7-8: City Lights and Kendra Meetings
Published: May 16th 2007Asia » India » Karnataka » Bangalore
May 16th 2007
Tuesday was a regular day in the office with frequent emailing, facebooking…. and of course microfinance research. Emily Gore and Justin finalized interview questions while the others searched around the internet for microfinance documents. Unfortunately, Emily Yao’s workday was cut short, as she became the first victim of the bacteria that loom in India’s food and water. Despite the hour long rush hour commute, Justin, Yuko and EmG headed into the city to meet up with Hena, Emily’s future roommate. At Queen’s, a tribal decor restaurant, the crew ate north Indian delights. They also walked around MG road, exploring the shopping opportunities Bangalore has to offer. Wednesday has been the most exciting day so far. We headed into “the field” and saw microfinance in action. The purpose of our trip was to meet GK members ... read more
Days 3-5: Weddings, Gardens, and Palaces
Published: May 14th 2007Asia » India » Karnataka » Bangalore
May 14th 2007
Egore here, happy to tell you further adventures of the intrepid travelers in India… Awakened bright and early Friday morning to the sound of not-so-jazzy saxophone outside our hotel window, Jelena dressed and headed outside to see what all the hubbub was about. Jelena returned to tell us that there was an Indian wedding going on! The family was so welcoming, inviting her and her friends back for breakfast. So, we wandered in, dressed as American as can be (Friday was supposed to be casual day at work), and sat down in the long line of guests. The two cousins of the bride who invited Jelena were extremely nice, informing us about various cultural norms and traditions. For example, females in India don’t wear white. Whoops. Friday was crackdown day at Grameen Koota. Finally over ... read more
May 11th 2007
Yuko and Yaozahs would just like to proudly announce, “Second day completed… and we're still explosive diarrhea free!” The only battle scars of India have been Emily Y’s ferocious mosquito bites that have infected her entire left arm in swollen splotches of grotesqueness. Yuck! Our second day started early, and by early, we mean 4am when Emily G woke up in the hotel room with a bad case of Jet Lag. Despite our 9:30am report time, we were all up rather early to munch on some Parle-Gs and toast, and spy on the beginning of yet another wedding outside our Hotel room. After being denied a rickshaw with a shake of head (yet again!!), the hotel staff managed to help us out, and we rickshawed off to work! At Grameen Koota, we went over our ... read more
May 9th 2007
This is Emily Gore and Jelena Djordjevic, reporting live from BangBangBangalore, India. Em Y, Em G and Jelena each flew from the States to London Heathrow. Albeit difficulties in finding each other, Emily G cleverly went to British Airways customer service and requested that the nice gentleman make an announcement on the loudspeaker for “Yelena Jorjevich and Emily Yao.” We met up and enjoyed a fine traditional English breakfast. Emily Yao opted for the vegetarian, however, we are unsure of the ingredients of her sausage. With about an hour left until take off, we went to our gate, where they were greeted with countless saris. The 10-hour flight from London to Bangalore was rather uneventful, as all of us tried to sleep. Although we appreciated British Airway’s good intentions in introducing to fine Indian cuisine, ... read more
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