How to connect and contribute to community
Late last year, we gifted Johanna de Burca, the Co-founder and CEO of Just Peoples, a global non-profit, a membership to our YTM Business Connect Community as a small contribution to help connect them with entrepreneurs, business owners and professionals within our community and support them in continuing their amazing work in creating influence and change.
We had had the good fortune to build a relationship with Johanna through our events. Our values align, well as we both aim to support others in creating connection and contribution to community t.
Johanna spoke with our founder , Kerryn Powell last year on her podcast and shared how they had set out with a mission to reach people in Africa and Asia living in poverty, with solutions. They have now reached nearly 84,000 people through more than a 100 projects.
Johanna explained that there is more and more interest from small to medium sized businesses who are looking for a way to contribute to the world and are keen to build goals of contribution into their business model to ensure they leave a legacy through their business, not just of improving the lives of their customers or clients but having a global impact.
Have conversations about global problems
For those of you who have not heard of Just Peoples, they believe in a world without poverty. A world where people have the power to solve their own problems, their own way. Through conversations with Johanna, we have learnt that they don’t believe that foreign intervention is the key to solving poverty. They believe that real, sustainable change comes about when people are given the resources to lift their own communities out of poverty.
We have had similar conversations over time with other social impact organisations, such as Co Ground.
Create appropriate solutions to the challenges communities face
Just Peoples support grassroots leaders directly to design and deliver locally appropriate solutions to the challenges their communities face. Currently they are working with 16 Project Leaders from across Africa, Asia and Mexico who are bringing to life a wide-range of projects based on delivering health, education, technological, gender-based and economic outcomes for people living in poverty.
Their Project Leaders are effective because they have a deep understanding of the local context of poverty in peoples’ lives, and have established respected relationships in their communities. Their insight, expertise and proven track record of success make them the best people to understand problems, and implement lasting changes that work.
YTM Ripple Grant contributes to community
In August, 2021, YTM launched the YTM Ripple Grant Program which was awarded to Just Peoples to provide support to their Project Leader Elizabeth (Liz) who has been a a physiotherapist for nearly 20 years in Kenya.
Now several months since the grant was provided, Liz explains her original drivers and purpose behind her efforts in a podcast with our founder, Kerryn Powell. If you take the time to listen you will hear how she was finding it too difficult to turn away children living with disabilities who were unable to pay her fees, so she committed to providing free support to Maasai families who have a child living with a disability.
In addition to supporting children through treatment and diagnosis, Liz also runs holistic programs to break the stigma facing children living with disabilities in Maasai land, who are traditionally hidden away from society in dark mud houses.
By connecting and educating Maasai mothers and fathers, Liz works to debunks the belief that having a child born with a disability is a curse on the family. She shows them that with the right support and treatment, their kids can still live fulfilling lives. She trains parents on how they can meet their children’s specific needs and collaborates with entire communities to help shift the current stigma facing children living with disabilities so they can thrive and participate in wider society.
Liz has conducted several health conferences with Maasai men to help them understand the benefits of empowering Maasai girls and women. At the conferences, participants discussed cultural practices that harm girls such as Female Genital Mutilation, child marriage, and the tradition of women having up to ten babies each. These cultural practices play a huge part in many children being born with disabilities, because young girl’s bodies are often not physically developed enough to safely give birth. Given the strong patriarchal nature of Maasai culture, getting the men on-board first is crucial to creating lasting change. These conferences were a huge success with men very interested to learn more about what they could do to influence the health of the wider community and create change for women and children living with disabilities.
The YTM Ripple Grant helped Liz to run a 3 day medical camp for 50 mothers/guardians and their children who have disabilities. For many of the children, it was the first time they had been seen by a medical professional. In the podcast recorded with Liz recently, you will hear her talk about her purpose to ensure that all children living with disabilities are able to participate fully in society.
As Liz works, she identifies needs and opportunities in the community and determines the best way she can inspire positive behaviour change and eradicate the stigma faced for kids living with disability.
While we love sharing Liz’s story, the real magic and understanding will come from you hearing from Liz herself- listen to our founder podcast HERE or watch the video HERE recorded during the conversation where Liz shares the outcome of the camp and her the plans for 2022.
Seek to create positive influence and change
We look forward to awarding another YTM Ripple Grant shortly. The Grant funding is designed to support both not-for-profit and for-profit organisations, who seek to create positive influence and change where they see the opportunity to tackle inequality, by collaborating with others. YTM commits to banking 5% of all YTM annual memberships fees into the YTM Ripple fund. If you would like to learn more about our community and membership, let’s arrange a conversation HERE
We would love to hear what goals you have set for the coming year that will provide you with growth and fulfillment
Should you wish to make a donation to Just People, we advise that all donations made through Just Peoples are tax deductible and a full budget for the project is available on request.
