January 2008: The other day, we ran an eye camp in Mangzunuru, a village of about 5,000 people. I've been working for Scojo Foundation for four months now as part of my fellowship with Acumen Fund, and I could tell that it hadn't been a great day so far - the Sarpanch (village president) hadn't shown up to endorse the camp.
An
eye camp is usually run like this: The day before the camp, a Vision
Entrepreneur (VE), trained by Scojo, walks around the village talking to people
and handing out fliers. The VE meets
with the Sarpanch to explain what Scojo does and get permission to run an eye
camp in the local Panchayat office. On the
day of the camp, VE's from different nearby villages leave at 5:30 or 6 in the
morning to travel to the village where they will hold the camp. Their early arrival is planned so that they
are ready to sell glasses at the best time of day - before people have to be at
work.
This
day, however, business started off slow and got slower around 11 am. I asked Rama Devi, one of the VEs, if she
wanted to take a walk around to see if we couldn't find some more prospective
customers (35-55 year-olds). Rama Devi
is by far the top performing salesperson in the district, outselling others by
a factor of 3:1. After spending a few
minutes listening to her, you can tell why.
Rama
Devi grabbed a stack of flyers and a pair of reading glasses for show, and we
set out. It was hot. Going from door to door, she ambled up to
small groups and gave her pitch. The
approach varied, but she was consistently personable and authoritative. Unlike the flyer-hander-outers of New York City, Rama Devi
invested minutes in every person she talked to, carefully explaining the
details of the service. While target
customers are relatively easy to spot by age, they certainly weren't eager to
accept what she had to say. The degree
of skepticism was alarming. I was
fascinated by the variety of suspicions and misconceptions launched at her:
"You aren't doctors - how are you qualified to check people's eyes?"
"You are working for a government program and are trying to charge for glasses that should be free."
"Do you represent a Christian organization? Why are you trying to change our village?"
"Reading glasses caused these dark circles under my eyes."
"Wearing glasses makes your eyes roll back into your head."
I
stood there stymied, while Rama Devi handled these grenades with mental
judo. She's heard them all before. "This service is for everyone. You can come get screened for free," she
said. "No obligation, so why not come
check? We're not affiliated with any
political party or religious organization.
These are high quality glasses and will not damage your eyes. We bring them right to your doorstep;
otherwise you would have to travel far away and spend more money. They are just for reading so you don't need a
prescription. We have been trained to
screen your eyes for this simple problem - for more complex problems we can
refer you to a hospital."
Along
the way, I asked Rama Devi, "How do you decide who to give one of your flyers
to?"
"I
can just tell by the way they act when I start talking to them." Soft skills like hers are hard to find.
The
next week, I attended the monthly Vision Entrepreneurs' meeting at Scojo's
Mahbubnagar District Office. It's the
time when all active VEs get together with the District Coordinator to report
their sales, get new inventory and strategize for the next month. The district office is three small blue rooms
in a house, down a little lane from the main street in Shadnagar town.
In
one room, Maruti, the channel manager, was explaining the sales incentive
structure and how each VE can attain the next level. I listened along (with the help of a fabulous
simultaneous translator, who I don't leave home without anymore), when I
noticed Rama Devi in the next room.
"Camp reports," she said to me as I wandered in. I sat down on the floor with her and had the
chance to hear what feedback she's been getting from customers. Rama Devi thinks we'll sell more glasses if
we have smaller sizes that better fit women's faces. Many people are also interested in
photochromatic lenses, or those that darken in sunlight, even if they cost
more.
Rama Devi finished up and joined the group in the main room, in time for Maruti to make a special announcement to the class. Rama Devi was especially cheerful, and with good reason. The BBC had just interviewed her by phone the day before to learn about her work. As I heard this news, it made me feel very happy that she is now being given the credit she deserves as a talented and self-motivated entrepreneur, bringing quality eye glasses to people who could never access them before. Rama Devi received a round of applause from her peers in the room, while elsewhere someone else was also working to give her story and her work the international recognition that she deserves.