Starbucks

Last year, Starbucks coffee company opened our first store in South Africa in Johannesburg. I had never been to South Africa before, did not know what to expect. Certainly could not be prepared for the level of poverty and what I saw in the townships throughout the city. We opened two stores and lines were out the door in anticipation of Starbucks coming to the market but before we opened the stores, I gathered the 50 young people who would embrace the green apron and represent the company. I sat with them for a few hours and wanted to hear each one of their personal stories.

As they were sharing their stories with me, despite their poverty, their plight in life, there was so much joy and gratitude in their hearts. But what I learned was two things. One, all 50 of these young people had never had a job before. They were all unemployed for their entire life and you should see the self-esteem and the sense of security as they were getting ready for their first job. But the second lesson was as they were going around the room and talking to me about their story, I kept hearing an African word I had never heard before. A word that Nelson Mandela used all the time. The word is “ubuntu” and finally, I got up the courage and I asked what does this word mean that you keep using. They couldn’t wait to share it with me.