None
Thursday, 17 February 2011

UWA Business School
The University of Western Australia's Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team is taking on its first international project with a venture that aims to empower women and families living in the slums of Kenya.

The SIFE team at the UWA Business School is managing Perth-based charity BE Kids' newest African project: Out of the Box Taxi Service Hire. The project is a microfinancing venture that will provide a select group of 12 Kenyan women with the start-up finance for a new taxi hire business, thus assisting them to break free from the cycle of poverty.

Holly Ransom, UWA student and chair of Young UN Women Perth, is leading what the SIFE team has named the "Uhuru" project. ‘The project name, "Uhuru", means freedom, and it is our hope that through the long-term partnership we will develop between the women of Korogocho slums and SIFE UWA, we will free women and children from extreme poverty and the raft of adverse social problems that go with it, through improving education, income levels and health standards,' said Holly.

‘More than ever before, Uhuru sees SIFE UWA working with the most disadvantaged people: of the 1.25 billion people living in poverty, more than 70% of them are women and this is despite the fact women do two thirds of the world's work. In the Korogocho slums of Kenya, 50% of the women within the slum are without any form of income generation, resulting in impoverishment and often forcing them into the sex trade or to remain in abusive marriages.'

The Out of the Box Taxi Service Hire project will provide the selected 12 women with: driving lessons and licences for up to three women; car mechanics education at the local Polytechnic for up to six women; a second-hand vehicle in good condition; a telephone for receiving bookings; uniforms; signage and business cards; and insurance. The women will also be required to work as child rights' protectors, and be expected to repay the loan within 24 months.

Holly, along with fellow student and SIFE UWA strategic director Calvin Coyles, will travel to Kenya this February as part of the first stage of the project's implementation. ‘The women successfully completed their driver training last week, which is a phenomenal achievement given none of them had ever driven before,' said Holly. ‘On this trip we will be purchasing the initial vehicle to enable the women to run their private charter business, and developing relationships with the Polytechnic, the university and the consultants who will administer the day-to-day running of the business. We'll also be running business skills sessions and leadership training with the women and leadership courses with the children.

‘This trip will be crucial to gaining an understanding of the conditions we are operating our project in and also will help us to scope out additional business opportunities that can be expanded into over coming years.

‘This is going to be an incredibly confronting and eye opening trip that I think will really give me an even greater appreciation for how lucky we are in places such as Perth and I'm sure it'll only intensify my passion for not-for-profit work.'

SIFE UWA strategic director Calvin said that the Uhuru project would complement the work that the team was already doing within Australia. ‘There's a huge overlap in the work the team is doing in Jigalong and the work we'll do in Kenya,' said Calvin. ‘I see Uhuru as an accumulation of all our previous experiences and projects; along with Balya, it really epitomizes the difference we want to make in the world.

‘This project is such an incredible opportunity to make an impact on the life of some of the poorest women in the world. That said, it's an even more incredible opportunity to work with a woman (Holly) who is doing incredible things in the female development space and is truly inspiring to be around. It's an absolute privilege to be involved!'

The Uhuru project aims to: empower women through education and economic support; create a social platform where women can discuss and share information on issues affecting them; enable women to be champions for the welfare and the rights of the children in the community; develop the leadership project management skills of SIFE UWA students; and educate the broader community about extreme poverty.

‘Our long-term goal for this project is to be part of lifting an entire community of women in the Korogocho slum out of extreme poverty through helping them to establish sustainable business ventures,' said Holly. ‘The next step for SIFE UWA will be working to raise funds to roll out stage two of the microfinancing project: the purchase of a second vehicle later in the year to enable more women to start our small business training.'

The SIFE UWA team currently has a portfolio of seven projects, which include educating high school students, assisting family businesses, and working with Indigenous communities. For more information on SIFE UWA, or to learn how to get involved.

BE KIDS is a not-for-profit, membership driven, non-governmental organisation committed to aiding children and their carers in developing countries and elsewhere as the need arises. Their projects provide essential needs such as food, shelter, clean water, healthcare, education, and employment, and seek to create self-reliance and economic empowerment in developing communities.

Media references

Heather Merritt
Director, External Relations
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 8171
E: [email protected]

Verity Chia
Communications Officer
UWA Business School
T: +618 6488 1346
E: [email protected]

Tags

Channels
Arts and Culture — Events
Groups
eBiz