En cours de chargement...
The COVID-19 pandemic changed everything: how we live, how we work, how we engage with other people, and it most certainly changed our worldview forever. It was mid-February 2021, and I had been at Google working in a strategy role when COVID hit. Before striking mayhem in the news as a global pandemic, there were subtle hints that something wrong was happening. Notes about canceled meetings, people wanting to avoid the office were happening on a global scale.
I started connecting the dots, and to be safe, I needed to alter some plans immediately. My wife and children were visiting her family in Antigua, Guatemala, at the time, and originally, I had scheduled a short visit to them in early April. Too many things were being flagged, and out of an abundance of caution, I changed my flight to the second week in March. Just a week away at that point. Hindsight, they say, is always 20-20 vision.
In this instance, we made the right choice. A couple of days after arriving in Guatemala for my visit, the news hit about COVID-19 globally. Countries began to close, and Guatemala was one of them. Thus began my 18-month eye-opening experience of not being just a visitor to Central America but rather a COVID-driven' resident'. It was an eye-opening experience. It was a scary condition for everyone on this planet, to be sure, and my wife and I are glad that I was able to be with them.
Thankfully we were located in a small, well-secured complex with many people who lived there being stuck in the city many kilometers away. We practically had the entire place to us. We needed the basics and fast: non-perishable foodstuffs and household items, disinfectant, and you name it. Also, renting a car did not make sense anymore. We had to get a vehicle immediately. I only had a weekender bag and a small suitcase which meant I needed clothes, shoes, etc.
In the United States, these would have been simpler problems: jump online to any grocery store, Amazon, etc., and wait for the package to arrive in a day or two. This was not the USA; this was Guatemala. I immediately discovered the challenges millions of people face in this country and across Central America. There was low/no access to common goods online, low/no customer-centric business, and most SMB's (Small to Mid-sized Businesses) operated off-the-books. Another thing I noticed is that bootleg versions of Windows98 and MS Office95 are standard operating procedures.
The number of people flying 'white flags' for help because of unemployment was staggering. Every corner had its occupants with white flags. Schools were closed, and in a country where the majority of the population is outside of the city center, with low/no access to reliable WIFI, the future cost of the loss of educational opportunities was not hard to see. My mind was spinning. This is 2021. Everyone who wants to can get educated, can't they? Why not here, why not now? Then we all saw on television the migration convoys heading from Honduras to the United States.
I had to find some answers to understand better what was going on in my' new home'. The rest of what follows is based upon the problems, challenges, and opportunities that I have uncovered and how I think we can solve them. When you are done reading this book, you will have gained a lifetime of experience in just a few short hours. The stories are interesting to follow, and the challenging concepts have been made easy to understand.
So get ready to broaden your horizons and adjust your expectations because you are in for one hell of a ride! Are you ready? If you are, Click Buy Now With 1-Click or Buy Now to get started!