2014 Project Inspire Runner Up-: Riverkids- From Trash Collector to Fashion Designer
Sara Gingold, 23, from Australia, is a volunteer for Cambodian-Singaporean non-profit organisation, Riverkids. Sara – along with her teammates; Peo Bona, 30, from Cambodia, and Elaine Woon, 42, from Singapore who was recently named as a finalist in the 2014 Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard Project Inspire competition, which works to empower women through entrepreneurship and financial literacy.
Sara always wanted to work with an NGO. In Cambodia, 18.6% of the population lives below the poverty line due to which young girls finds job either in sex industry or collecting trash. It was then Sara found Riverkids that has been offering education, social work, healthcare and microbusiness support. Sara then started running Riverkids’ fundraising initiatives from Australia that involved organising events, selling Riverkids products, co-ordinating volunteers, appealing to donors and public speaking. She also mentor Maly, a sewing teacher assistant, who was one of Riverkids’ first students.
Riverkids also set up a small, home, sewing business for her and a few other girls. At Riverkids, women learn skills to help them find work outside of the sex industry, and earn a profit.
2014 Project inspire Finalist: Funding Dreams for Women in the Philippines
Sheena Jamora, 28, from the Philippines, is the Executive Director of non-profit organisation, Sinag. Sheena – along with teammates Meiling Lee, 28, and Carlos Soriano, 28 – was recently named as a finalist in the 2014 Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard Project Inspire competition which works to empower women through entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Here is Sheena’s story, in her own words…
She wanted to work to improve the lives of youth, particularly women and girls, when I read about a student from my Philippine university who had committed suicide. She couldn’t pay for her tuition, so she lost all hope – because she saw education as her only chance to uplift her family from poverty.
It was then she co-founded Sinag in October, 2013, with six other University of the Philippines alumni, who believe that education should be accessible to all, regardless of economic background. The mission is to give financial assistance to students at risk of dropping out because they cannot pay for their tuition. We also want to engage citizens all over the world to ensure the next generation of leaders and dreamers reach their full potential through education.
Their Project Inspire submission, ‘The Sinag Store Project’ is the result of collaboration between their team and the students they helped. While Sinag lends them money for tuition, students still have trouble paying for everyday expenses like transportation, school projects, and even food. They expressed their need for an income, and skills that would give them an advantage when they graduate and start looking for jobs. Girls had the potential to be the main drivers of this project. They just needed to equip them with technical skills and financial know-how.
In the words of Sheena-
“The greatest struggle women face today is lack of access to education and/or employment. In most countries in the world, girl students have a higher dropout rate. Girls are often pulled out of school because of child marriages, domestic responsibilities, poor health, or non-girl-friendly school facilities. Entrepreneurship and financial literacy empower women because both lead to economic empowerment, which can pave the way towards greater social and political participation for women. Empowering a woman is empowering a family, a community, and a nation.”
To know more about Riverkids, please watch this video Trash Collector Project Inspire.
Please click to watch The Sinag Store Project’s video entry.
To read about all other finalist of 2014 Project Inspire Competition, please click Next.
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