My Africa

It was an unusual choice, but one that made a big impression. Many MBA students follow the crowd by doing an internship in finance or consulting, but Federico Pippo, twenty-nine years old, chose to spend the three-month internship for his MBA at the Dr. Ambrosoli Mermorial Hospital located in Kalango, in Northern Uganda.

After about four years in the field of tax consulting, and becoming certified public accountant, Federico decided to begin his Master in Business Administration adventure, which he began at SDA in October of 2009, driven by the desire to expand his education and take on new professional paths. When the moment came to choose his "action learning" project (a period of 3 months during the program when students complete an internship or entrepreneurial, consultancy or research project), Federico was offered an internship in private equity. But he was curious about a proposal by SDA Dean Alberto Grando, who had mentioned the possibility of completing a field project at the Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital, with the objective of improving administrative and management procedures for the organization and supporting local personnel in applying these procedures.

"Paola Galbiati, a Researcher in Corporate Finance at Bocconi who collaborated on the project also discussed this proposal. I was curious right away and I asked Paola if we could meet," says Federico. "Five minutes was enough and I immediately felt a strong desire to take on this experience. And then the interviews with the Foundation made me feel even more strongly about it. It wasn't an easy choice, but I felt like this was an opportunity I had to take at that time that would never happen again."

Valerian and Federico

Valerian Fauvel, a student in the Master in Corporate Finance at SDA also joined the project, as part of the required internship for the program. So in early June Federico and Valerian left for Kalongo.

The hospital, which is now a private, non-profit organization, was founded in 1957 by Father Giuseppe Ambrosoli, a surgeon and Comboni missionary who dedicated his life to treating the Uganda population. It is located in Kalongo, Uganda, in the Acholi tribe territory, an extremely poor area, without many means of communication and lacking developed areas. Today the hospital provides healthcare assistance to around 50,000 people each year, almost half of which are children under 5 years old. It boasts 345 beds and 7 wards (including maternity, pediatric, malnutrition, TB and AIDS). In 1998, the Comboni Missionaries and Father Giuseppe Ambrosoli's family established the Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital Foundation, which supports the hospital and the St. Mary's Midwifery School in Kalongo.

During their three months in the Uganda town, Federico and Valerian analyzed critical elements regarding the hospital's administrative departments, where some accounting was still being done manually. They introduced a more modern and effective accounting management system which uses Excel. They also worked on supply room management by cleaning them out, getting rid of obsolete materials and introducing an IT system to manage supplies. Lastly, they worked on reorganizing the technical department which provides maintenance services to the hospital. This was all accompanied by daily training activities for local staff.

"This was an extraordinary experience that will stay with me forever. I was impressed by the people there, who live through such difficult situations (Northern Uganda has been afflicted by a long civil war that started around two years ago), but they are always ready to give you a smile," remembers Federico. "They were very friendly and grateful for the simple fact that we had decided to come there to help."

"I also played on the local soccer team, the Kalongo United. And after the last game I was moved when my teammates gave me a shirt with my name on it," says Federico. "And I'll never forget our Good-Bye Party organized by the students at the Midwifery School, who said good-bye with songs and dancing in our honor."

But this experience in the heart of Africa also enriched Federico considerably in a professional sense. "It certainly wasn't easy to communicate the need to implement an efficient business management based on the application of correct economic sustainability principles in both the medium- and long-term to such a different environment, not only distant in terms of geography. Moreover, I had the opportunity to try out and improve several aspects of my 'soft skills,' which are nowadays fundamental professionally. Like knowing how to interact with people from a completely different culture, leadership skills, analysis and problem-solving."

"Lastly," continues Federico, "being able to work knowing that you are contributing to helping others is priceless in terms of personal and professional satisfaction."

The MBA is now over and Federico is looking forward to the graduation ceremony that will take place in December. "In the meantime, I'm looking for opportunities in finance – as long as my desire to go back to Africa isn't too strong. But if I do go back, I'll definitely go back to Kalongo."

Federico still keeps in touch with the Foundation to continue what he and Valerian started in Kalongo.