Interact: Mural Preparation and Hunger Games Premiere

Moira, Cindy, Cian, and I met up after school last Friday to set up the outline for the Mural painting that was scheduled for that weekend. Cindy sketched the design for the mural and we worked to transfer that onto the panel we selected. It required a lot of teamwork to finish the basic outline within a couple hours, but by then it had started to rain. We were worried the rain would wash away our progress, so we tried using a plastic sheet to cover our panel; however, it was not large enough and it was too difficult to stick in place so we decided to leave it as it was and up to chance. We figured the panel's placement would protect it enough from the weather since it was sheltered in a corner.

When we arrived on Saturday morning for the scheduled mural painting activity with the OVC kids, it was pouring. The weather was miserable and we were forced to reschedule the activity for another day. Unfortunately, there was a lack of communication and quite a few Interact members arrived at school, only to find no one and wait around until eventually turning back home. Looking back on it now, it would have been beneficial to post something on the Facebook group page or send a message out to everyone involved in order to prevent that from happening. You can't predict the future, and it's always good to have a backup plan and a willingness to be flexible, especially with outdoor activities.

For the past couple of weeks, Interact members have been trying to sell tickets to the Hunger Games: Mockingjay movie premiere at Sarit centre. This is really challenging, considering the tickets are 1000Ksh each, which a lot of students find quite expensive even though the money will go to a good cause. Each Interact member was given 6 tickets to try to sell to High School and upper Middle School. At first, we were meant to sell the tickets and have the student fill out a parental consent form as well. Eventually, the board realized this would be almost near impossible to manage and check who signed and returned the forms, so the form only had to be completed by Interact members who will be attending the event. I managed to sell four out of my six tickets, and I'm extremely grateful to my friends who tried to help me sell my tickets.

Unfortunately, I was not be able to attend the event due to lack of transportation, but I heard the movie premiere was a great success and we had a huge turnout. I was worried at first that not a lot of people would attend, based on how ticket sales were going, but a lot of people ended up buying tickets at the last minute until we virtually sold out. If I were to redo this event, I personally would have chosen The Hobbit as the movie to premiere because it would appeal to more adults as well as the High School population, but that's just my opinion. The drawback is that it would have been scheduled for a Friday close (or during) exam week, so it was a good idea to choose a popular movie that would be released well in advance.

This activity made me realize that marketing is hard work, and it requires a lot of organization and a certain amount of charisma in order to sell tickets. Moira designed the posters advertizing the event, and I helped edit them and add any final touches. I feel like I'm becoming an integral part because of the responsibility this club demands, and I'm glad to help in any way I can.