I have just finished my 6 weeks in Mexico City with Make_Sense Americas working with Genera Territorios, and have been reflecting on the final stages of our project, and my LiA experience as a whole.
This week saw my team complete our project with Genera Territorios. After lots of hard work, we have created an AI chatbot companion, called Izcalli, which delivers a course in financial literacy for women in rural Mexico and the peripheries of CDMX. We completed all of our deliverables: an educational route and curriculum on financial literacy, an AI chatbot to deliver this, supporting documentation (User Guide and Transfer Guide), a capsule of questions and exercises to support the lessons, and created a selling pitch for our product. Whilst there were some complications and miscommunications throughout our project, I am proud that we were able to produce the deliverables that our organisation asked for, and that they were happy with.
It was great to see a finished product of our hard work, and to have made a meaningful impact. I am grateful for the opportunity to plant a seed of change; Izcalli will be used and edited in the future by the organisation, as it is expanded to more areas of Mexico. My team and I were able to see the initial stages of this positive impact and growth when we presented our product, its structure, and its benefits, to other organisations, including Oxfam, who are interested in adopting and extending our product across Mexico, and for other social challenges. Seeing the potential of the product we have created over the past 6 weeks showed me the impact of all of our hard work as a team. The project as a whole has been important in showing me how I can make an impact, and the importance of resilience in the process, and has encouraged me to explore a future in the social impact sphere.
This final week has also been filled with fun and final quality time with my Laidlaw friends. This week involved pedalo boats, lots of good food, losing my voice at karaoke, a farewell picnic at Chapultepec park, and visiting the Biblioteca Vasconcelos.
After having just said goodbye to all of the incredible people who I met on my LiA, and waving them off on their return to different parts of the world, I am feeling sad this 6 weeks with my friends is over. Whilst tears were shed at their departure and our goodbyes, my overwhelming emotion is gratitude. I am grateful to the Laidlaw Foundation and the University of Cambridge for giving me the opportunity to travel to Mexico and make a meaningful social impact, to Make_Sense Americas for facilitating this, and to Keni and Aide for leading and supporting our group through this experience. More than anything, I am grateful for all of the people who made my time in Mexico City so enjoyable. I could not imagine this past 6 weeks without them. The love, support, and laughs that I experienced during this time is something I will never forget, and truly made my LiA. I am excited to continue the connections and friendships I have made, keeping contact and sharing stories across countries, continents, and the North-South divide.
I have learned valuable lessons and made friends I will carry into my future, and have the Laidlaw Foundation to thank.
My team and I presenting Izcalli, part of our final product.
All of us at our farewell picnic and completing the programme.
The Make_Sense x Laidlaw girls!