What is Project Inspire?
It’s full name “Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World“ is a “joint initiative by the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard to help young changemakers create a better world of opportunities for women and girls in Asia Pacific, the Middle East and Africa.”
Project Inspire was launched in 2011 and gives 18-35 year olds a 5 minute platform to pitch their ideas and have a chance at winning a $25,000 grant for their project.
If you have read previous blog posts here, then you’ll know that I was over in Tanzania for a month working with a wonderful women’s organisation who are working with the Maasai community, The Pastoral Women’s Council.
I documented various projects of theirs during my time with them, including their livestock projects.
Their livestock projects empower women by providing them goats. In Maasai culture, goats and livestock are very valuable currency, but women do not traditionally own them or have any sort of economic power. By providing women goats, their quality of life increases in various ways:
The goat’s milk and meat are consumed which provides nutritional benefits to the whole family.
Opportunities to generate income are increased.
Because of this income there are increased opportunities for the children of the beneficiaries to receive a primary education.
Owning goats gives the women more economic status which helps to shift attitudes within the Maasai culture about women’s roles and property ownership.
The benefits of this project are so numerous, and having been on the ground there speaking to the women who have already benefitted from this project I can tell you that the changes have been absolutely monumental for them and their children.
The Pastoral Women’s Council is doing all they can with what they have, but a $25,000 grant towards this Livestock project would mean many lives changed, many women empowered, many more children educated, many more families well fed, and many more steps forward for the progress of women in the world!
Fingers crossed for PWC and here’s to hoping they are $25,000 up in a few weeks!
Have a look at the video I made for their proposal:
-Annie
