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Friday, 25 July 2014

Enactus UWA students are passionate about empowering people in need.

In the last 12 months, the 55 members of Enactus UWA have worked to deliver 13,000 pairs of shoes to Ghana, empower 5,510 students to take control of their finances, engage 25 organisations, sell 2,245 environmentally friendly jute bags, and train four Kenyan women to successfully run their own café.

These are just some of the projects which earned the Enactus UWA team the title of runners-up at the Enactus National Championships.

The student-run team travelled to Brisbane this July to attend the Enactus National Conference and Championships.

There, they impressed the judging panel with their suite of entrepreneurial projects and met Enactus teams from around Australia.

Enactus UWA Co-president Lauren McNamara said attending the National Conference was a fantastic opportunity to connect with other students with a passion for social change.

"It's really inspiring to see the innovative projects that other teams have come up with to address needs in the community," Lauren said.

"The intense preparation process pushes the team to examine every aspect of our projects in detail, and has led to some great and unexpected ideas for improvements."

Current Enactus UWA projects include:

  • reSHOE: sending used shoes to developing countries where they are distributed to unemployed people who can establish their own shoe vending business
  • Finance for Life: an ASIC-accredited financial literacy program, which assists Western Australians from low socio-economic backgrounds
  • The FairTrade Project: increasing awareness of Fair Trade and encouraging schools to pursue Fair Trade accreditation
  • Qamar Cooperative: improving the provision of health care for people in the Comoros Islands
  • Mama Shujaa: empowering Kenyan women to run their own businesses
  • IndGenius: an academic tutoring service designed to empower Indigenous students

In the coming year, the team hope to extend the reach of their projects.

"Our Indigenous tutoring program, IndGenius, is launching in August and we are currently preparing our second shipment of shoes bound for Kenya, as part of our shoe-recycling venture, reSHOE.  Additionally, we are working with Australian Doctors For Africa to develop a self-sustaining health fund for vanilla-farming communities in the Comoros Islands," Lauren said.

"It's really exciting to be part of a team of students who can not only see a need in a community, but who devise and put into action innovative solutions that empower others to improve their lives and create sustainable and meaningful change.

"Enactus gives entrepreneurial students from across university faculties the opportunity to use their ideas and apply what they've learned in class to the real world. Being a part of Enactus has opened my eyes to a whole new realm of career possibilities I never knew existed when I began my degree."

Enactus UWA received the Business Advisory Board Award. The team's Board, chaired by UWA Business School Dean Winthrop Professor Phil Dolan, provides vital support in the development of projects through professional skills workshops. Including scientists, aid workers, lawyers and management consultants, board members bring valuable advice and ideas, as well as access to their networks and resources.

Enactus UWA's 2014 presenting team comprised students Jasmin Sekhon, Molly Delaney, Meng Dunmow, Natalie Connor, Sahil Malhotra and Cameron Yuen.

The team is supported by Faculty Advisors Brett Smith and Tennille Trevaskis, from the UWA Business School.

Enactus is an international not-for-profit organisation which brings together more than 66,000 students from across 36 countries.

Enactus UWA membership is open to all UWA students. For further information, contact Enactus UWA Co-presidents Lauren McNamara or Amy Lee .

Media references

Karen Della Torre (UWA Business School)                                      (+61 8) 6488 8538
Verity Chia (UWA Business School)                                                (+61 8) 6488 1346

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