Philanthropod

In early 2021, Duncan Ward took a trip to South-East Asia in search of purpose in his life. A chance meeting with Cambodian man, Racky, was one that would change the course of his life and a promise was made to help improve the education system and provide children with quality education. 

Classroom of Hope was born. 

250 million children worldwide can’t read or write, and approximately 130 million girls are denied their right to education. And Duncan Ward is on a mission to change this. 

A passionate innovator, Duncan was born and raised in South Africa. He spent 17 years working as a Network Engineer and Management Consultant before turning his back on corporate life to lead Classroom of Hope. 

The organisation works with local governments to build classrooms. But these aren’t just any classrooms. They’re built using blocks made out of recycled plastic waste to create a truly circular economy. Construction is fast and the buildings can withstand natural disasters that are becoming more common due to climate change. What’s more, is they have plans to use these blocks for disaster relief and to build homes as well. 

Notes:

Classroom of Hope website: https://classroomofhope.org/

Book: Half The Sky by Nicholas D Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn

Website: Project Drawdown

Film: Poverty Inc

SDGs: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

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Wawira Njiru is transforming the lives of Kenya’s school children by providing 33,000 meals each and every day so they are not trying to learn on an empty stomach. 

At the age of twenty, the Kenyan born and raised woman was living in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Today her organisation has delivered 6,000,000 meals that have led to improved nutrition, school attendance, performance and higher high school transition rates.

In Adelaide, Wawira was studying an undergraduate degree in nutrition, she hosted a fundraising event where she invited 80 friends to a Kenyan themed meal. 

The money raised from this event was the impetus for Food 4 Education, an organization that cooks, prepares and distributes nutritious meals, at subsidized prices to school children in Kenya.

Flash forward ten years and Wawira was named Person of the Year 2021 by the United Nations in Kenya in recognition for her commitment to providing meals for public school children in Kenya. 

In this episode of Philanthropod, our host Anubha Rawat chats to Wawira about the inspiration and logistics of feeding school children so that they have the nutrition they need to thrive at school. 

Find out more at Food 4 Education's website

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Surya Bhatta grew up in Nepal in what he describes as typical village life. It was when he was studying public health that he had a confronting conversation with his mother and learned about the horrific circumstances of her labour with Surya's sister that his mission to provide better healthcare for women and children crystalised.

The now Executive Director of One Heart Worldwide, he worked his way up the ladder from a program officer when the organisation was formed. Surya has a deep understanding of the healthcare system in Nepal and its unique needs and solutions. 

In this episode, Surya shares with Anubha some fascinating stories - from earthquakes to the pandemic. What remains so clear throughout it all is his passion for improving the lives of women and their babies by strengthening the healthcare system and the 'network of safety' in Nepal. 

Find out more about One Heart Worldwide here.

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In this episode, Anubha chats to Darrell Wade, the Co-founder and Chairman of Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest certified travel B Corp.

A highly regarded entrepreneur and sustainability advocate, Darrell and his friend Geoff (‘Manch’) Manchester founded Intrepid in the late 1980s as a new way for people to explore the world that was immersive, sustainable and gave back to the communities they were visiting.

As the Director of two philanthropic foundations, the Intrepid Foundation and the Dawn Wade Foundation, Darrell discusses his thoughts on giving back, the role that travel plays in inspiring philanthropy and the impact of travel on climate change.

References:

• Intrepid Travel
• Intrepid Foundation
• World Travel and Tourism Council
• Travelyst

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In our first episode of season 3 we welcome our new host Anubha Rawat and meet the remarkable Evelyn Omala who is one of the rockstars of the international development sector.

Eve has spent the past 10 years working in international development, advocating for increased philanthropic support to locally-led, grassroots organisations. As the Grassroots Portfolio Manager at Partners for Equity, Eve can draw on countless examples of impactful organisations who are making positive change in their communities. As a passionate ally and partner of these organisations, Eve is on a mission to build trust within the philanthropic sector so greater impact can be realised. Eve shares her upbringing as a backdrop for her passion and explains her roles with Segal Family Foundation and African Visionary Fund.

For further information and links, see:

Partners for Equity's website

Segal Family Foundation

African Visionary Fund

The Bush Centre

Wandikweza, Malawi

Food For Education, Kenya

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Pneumonia is the single largest killer of children worldwide. And although oxygen is a proven life-saving medicine, traditional oxygen cylinders in low-and-middle-income countries can be extremely costly and many oxygen concentrators require regular maintenance and a constant energy supply - something inaccessible for many low-resource health facilities.

It was with this knowledge that Dr Roger Rassool and his colleagues began to explore creative ideas on how to provide oxygen without relying on electricity.

As the Co-founder and CEO of FREO2 Foundation, Roger is are determined to reduce the number of deaths of babies and children suffering from pneumonia or hypoxia in low-and-middle-income countries. He has a PhD in Nuclear Physics, which he obtained in collaboration between the University of Melbourne and Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan. He is passionate about industry engagement and has extensive experience in the application of physics to industrial problems. Roger has a strong personal commitment to equitable access to education and is working in many remote communities and schools delivering education programs, in Arnhem Land (Au), Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

For more information about the FRE02 Foundation, visit their website.

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At age 22, Stephanie Woollard was visiting Nepal when she came across seven women with physical disabilities working in a tin shed in Kathmandu.

These seven women were struggling to make a living in the face of harsh discrimination. With her last $200, Steph paid for a trainer to teach the women how to produce products for sale locally and abroad - and Seven Women was born. 

Since 2006, Steph has built up the Seven Women team and launched an Australian arm for fundraising and a sales channel for our ever growing operation in Nepal.

12 years after her meeting in a tin shed that started it all, over 5,000 women have been educated, trained and employed by Seven Women. 

In this episode of Philanthropod, our host Celia Hirsh talks to Steph Woollard about Seven Women and how Nepali women are being empowered, their lives and that of their communities, are being transformed.

For more information on Seven Women visit their website.

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Born in Kenya and educated around the world, Umra Omar is known for pushing the limits to navigate identity politics and make a difference by

disrupting oppressive status quo paradigms despite the security risks involved. She currently lives in Lamu, Kenya, where she is the founder of a free medical program, a school for the disenfranchised and sports programs to uplift young boys and girls. Umra is running for the Governor of Lamu County in Kenya’s 2022 General Elections making her the first and youngest woman from Kenya’s coast to ever make such an attempt.

Our host, Celia Hirsh, chats to the revolutionary, mother, humanitarian and public servant.

For more information on Safari Doctors, go to www.safaridoctors.org/

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Ed Shuttleworth spent the first 16 years of his life in India before moving to the UK to complete his schooling and establish his career as an accountant. After marrying his Australian wife Kate and settling into life in Australia, the couple were travelling through South East Asia with their children with a desire to show them what life was like for him when he grew up. While visiting Cambodia, Kate and Ed couldn't help but compare the stark differences of their children's education in Australia to what they were witnessing, and they just couldn't walk away.

Ed and Kate started SeeBeyondBorders in 2008 with the core mission of improving the quality of learning in Cambodia. The organisation focuses on systemic and sustainable change for the education system, taking into account Cambodia's troubled past. To date, SeeBeyondBorders has worked with over 500 teachers who in turn deliver improved education to 27,000 children.

www.seebeyondborders.org/

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