PROJECT HUMANITY, INC.
KEY WEST, FLORIDA

Mission Project Humanity’s mission is to work with local leaders in Africa to identify and develop sustainable projects that emphasize women’s empowerment with a focus on health care, literacy, and micro-financing through international volunteerism. Project Humanity’s definition of “women’s empowerment” is intentionally interdisciplinary. We believe that women will be most successful when they and their children are healthy, educated, and have access to the financial resources necessary to care for their families. When these conditions are met they can more effectively contribute to strengthening their community. Thus, the pillars of our mission statement are women’s and children’s health through pre and post-natal care, literacy, and microfinance. The delivery of prenatal care packs through our Purple Slip Campaign has a singular focus on creating an incentive for expectant women to seek prenatal care and to be informed of their own health status as a means to help them give birth to healthy babies. In the area of Kenya where we work 97% of girls don’t complete high school because they either can’t afford books and uniforms, because they have become pregnant, or they are required to work to support a family. Lack of education perpetuates poverty, which leads to other forms of despair. Our goal is to ensure that anybody who has a desire to learn has access to books. But education can only be put to use if someone also has access to a job and the resources necessary to create opportunity, which is why access to banking or other financial products is necessary. Project Humanity was awarded a Chase Community Giving grant of $25,000 in 2013. The grant was a major boost in the development of our three major women’s empowerment programs: In 2014, Project Humanity contracted with WEBA International (World Educate Business Association) to survey small business needs and to produce a custom training program for microfinancing on Rusinga Island. The outcome of the research was training on and then the establishment of Rotating Credit and Savings Associations (ROSCAs) on Rusinga. The ROSCAs are comprised of a group of individuals who agree to meet for a defined amount of time in order to save and lend together. ROSCAs are a form of combined peer-to-peer banking and peer-to-peer lending that satisfies individual’s consumption and production needs in order to create sustainable business. ROSCA’s are an important part of microfinance. In November 2014, Project Humanity funded the first ROSCA; as of November 2015, 21 small businesses on Rusinga are benefiting from this program. Progress is being monitored quarterly through site visits and it is our intention to provide additional training and funding in 2017. : In 2014, Project Humanity hosted a “One for Rusinga” conference with community leaders, women, teachers, and students to prioritize women’s empowerment needs, which also included identifying education goals. During the conference PH donated several hundred textbooks to the Kaswanga Girl’s School that aligned with Kenya’s core curriculum requirements. In 2016, we have been working to make an even bigger impact through a partnership with Rongo University College in Kenya and the African Library Project for the delivery of books and the opening of libraries in the Homabay and Migori counties. Through this partnership, 33 school and community libraries are scheduled to be opened in 2017, with an additional 60 in 2018. Promote prenatal care and children’s health through the Purple Slip Campaign. The campaign provides an incentive for expectant mothers to seek prenatal care by giving away newborn kits at local clinics. The kits contain newborn outfits, blankets, and feminine products for new mothers. Since its start in 2013, the Purple Slip Campaign has seen enormous success: to date nearly 300 women and their children have benefited. In 2015 and in partnership with the Mbita/Mfangano Rotary Club and D.C. Rotary Club we received a grant to expand the program so it benefits another 100 women in the area through 2016. Building on the initial success of the program, the initiative has also been expanded to include an evidence-based educational program called Helping Babies Breath (HBB) to many of the clinics in Mbita and Mfangano. HBB teaches neonatal resuscitation techniques in resource-limited areas. HBB is an initiative of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO), U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Saving Newborn Lives, the National Institute of Child Health and Development, and a number of other global health organizations. At Project Humanity, we value our relationships with community leaders and are committed to working in a spirit of respect and cooperation for all people while ensuring and maintaining the highest standards of business ethics, basic human rights, and environmental protection. Furthermore, we seek to maintain exceptional relationships with colleges, universities, non-profit organizations, and other individuals or corporations who seek to be responsible and engaging world citizens. We are a non-profit non-governmental organization (NGO) committed to operating in accordance with best practices. All of Project Humanity’s work is conducted on Rusinga Island in southwest Kenya on the northeastern shore of Lake Victoria. The entire island is part of the Suba District of Nyanza Province and Homa Bay County. In 2006, the estimated population living on Rusinga Island was between 20,000 and 30,000 inhabitants. Most of the roads on the island are comprised of packed dirt and are in poor shape, making effective trade and tourism difficult. Electricity is not widespread on the Island. Larger public buildings have electricity but majority of homes do not. There is also very little running water. Most people rely on children (assigned as a part of a daily chore regimen) or on a team of people utilizing mules to retrieve and deliver water. Lake water is used for cooking and cleaning. Communication on Rusinga Island is delivered via cell towers. Mobile devices are common and are usually charged using independently operated charging stations that apply a nominal fee for each use.