Teaching children to start their own business
By Lu Feiran |
March 3, 2013, Sunday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
AMERICAN children's author Katie Smith Milway is dedicated to teaching children how to create a business, make money and give back to society by investing profits.
The author from Boston has introduced children around the world to micro-finance and the power of social entrepreneurship. She founded the nonprofit One Hen Inc to encourage children to be global citizens and contribute to a better world.
Her several influential books, written alone or coauthored, include "One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference" and "The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough." One Hen Inc puts her ideas into practice.
Milway's books and programs encourage young students to be aware of economic issues and finance, business creation and helping others. Projects explain how to take out a small loan, set up a market and use profits to benefit a community.
The One Hen project was introduced at Concordia International School Shanghai. Milway visited the school last week and Shanghai Daily talked to the 53-year-old author.
Q: What's your message for children?
A: I want to encourage them to learn how to build businesses, and I want to know what they've learned about financial responsibility. It's good they've learned a lot, such as design, differentiating products and how to market.
It's very important for children today to know how to create their own jobs. We know that in the 21st century economy, big companies are getting smaller, so you need to be able to build your own business.
Q: What's the book "One Hen" about?
A: "One Hen" is about a little boy who helps his widowed mother collect things to sell in the market to get enough food. At first he has only a hen and some loans from the village. He sold the eggs and bought more chickens with the money. Gradually he could afford advanced education, got a real loan from a real bank, built a farm and hired workers. Eventually when other people asked for loans, he agreed as long as they passed the idea forward.
Q: Where did the idea come from?
A: The book is based on the true story of Dr Kwabena Darko, a Ghana-born entrepreneur. Several years ago I heard him speak and was very inspired. So I contacted him and we started to work on a book, his whole life story. He's 70 years old.
Q: What's the aim of One Hen?
A: The idea for One Hen began with the book "One Hen" and website (www.onehen.org) about micro-finance that spurred an education movement. You can participate in and play games on the website, which is very interesting.
In the United States, children have US$50 billion in pocket money - this is the market targeted by the iTunes store, candy makers and video game makers. It's huge. We think we can use the money for good. Even if we use only 0.5 percent of it, the number is huge enough to make a difference.
We also hope One Hen can teach children to be global citizens who are willing to give back. The project teaches four values: financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back.
Q: How did One Hen come to Concordia?
A: It was introduced last Thanksgiving in elementary Grade 4. Children asked the school principal for loans, and have to repay by 10 percent interest. They've made many types of products, such as funny pencils, scarves and bookmarks. It's very real and they even had to take risk. They held a market to sell products to each other and to students from different grades. They were very smart and knew how to adjust their products to meet customers' needs.
The children help charity projects that help children and improve water quality around the world.
Q: What's the main difference between children in the East and West?
A: As far as I am concerned, Western children are required to come up with their own ideas from a very young age, while Chinese kids start learning from memorizing a lot of things, a lot of other people's ideas. Our approach is a good chance to apply in daily life what they memorize, such as math and English, and create something new.
Q: Do you have children? How do they respond to your books?
A: I have three children, past the age to read my books. They always say, "Mom, can't you write some book like 'Twilight'?" But once my youngest daughter went to a One Hen event in Australia with me, and later told me the other children were very eager.
Q: What are your plans?
A: I have a five-finger development - clean water, food security, primary healthcare, education and micro-finance. I've covered four parts and now I'm working on "education." I'm choosing stories to go with the topic.
The author from Boston has introduced children around the world to micro-finance and the power of social entrepreneurship. She founded the nonprofit One Hen Inc to encourage children to be global citizens and contribute to a better world.
Her several influential books, written alone or coauthored, include "One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a Big Difference" and "The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough." One Hen Inc puts her ideas into practice.
Milway's books and programs encourage young students to be aware of economic issues and finance, business creation and helping others. Projects explain how to take out a small loan, set up a market and use profits to benefit a community.
The One Hen project was introduced at Concordia International School Shanghai. Milway visited the school last week and Shanghai Daily talked to the 53-year-old author.
Q: What's your message for children?
A: I want to encourage them to learn how to build businesses, and I want to know what they've learned about financial responsibility. It's good they've learned a lot, such as design, differentiating products and how to market.
It's very important for children today to know how to create their own jobs. We know that in the 21st century economy, big companies are getting smaller, so you need to be able to build your own business.
Q: What's the book "One Hen" about?
A: "One Hen" is about a little boy who helps his widowed mother collect things to sell in the market to get enough food. At first he has only a hen and some loans from the village. He sold the eggs and bought more chickens with the money. Gradually he could afford advanced education, got a real loan from a real bank, built a farm and hired workers. Eventually when other people asked for loans, he agreed as long as they passed the idea forward.
Q: Where did the idea come from?
A: The book is based on the true story of Dr Kwabena Darko, a Ghana-born entrepreneur. Several years ago I heard him speak and was very inspired. So I contacted him and we started to work on a book, his whole life story. He's 70 years old.
Q: What's the aim of One Hen?
A: The idea for One Hen began with the book "One Hen" and website (www.onehen.org) about micro-finance that spurred an education movement. You can participate in and play games on the website, which is very interesting.
In the United States, children have US$50 billion in pocket money - this is the market targeted by the iTunes store, candy makers and video game makers. It's huge. We think we can use the money for good. Even if we use only 0.5 percent of it, the number is huge enough to make a difference.
We also hope One Hen can teach children to be global citizens who are willing to give back. The project teaches four values: financial responsibility, personal initiative, global awareness and giving back.
Q: How did One Hen come to Concordia?
A: It was introduced last Thanksgiving in elementary Grade 4. Children asked the school principal for loans, and have to repay by 10 percent interest. They've made many types of products, such as funny pencils, scarves and bookmarks. It's very real and they even had to take risk. They held a market to sell products to each other and to students from different grades. They were very smart and knew how to adjust their products to meet customers' needs.
The children help charity projects that help children and improve water quality around the world.
Q: What's the main difference between children in the East and West?
A: As far as I am concerned, Western children are required to come up with their own ideas from a very young age, while Chinese kids start learning from memorizing a lot of things, a lot of other people's ideas. Our approach is a good chance to apply in daily life what they memorize, such as math and English, and create something new.
Q: Do you have children? How do they respond to your books?
A: I have three children, past the age to read my books. They always say, "Mom, can't you write some book like 'Twilight'?" But once my youngest daughter went to a One Hen event in Australia with me, and later told me the other children were very eager.
Q: What are your plans?
A: I have a five-finger development - clean water, food security, primary healthcare, education and micro-finance. I've covered four parts and now I'm working on "education." I'm choosing stories to go with the topic.
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