Photo by Paul Downey
Poverty’s afflictions reach wide and go deep.
The ringworm that infects more than half of rural villagers in parts of Mexico, for example, impedes economic development. Children and adults who are weakened and malnourished from the parasite can’t productively learn or work. In many impoverished areas of Africa, young girls are pressured into marriages that trap them in poverty and close out options for their children. And for those born poor in remote pockets of Nepal, getting treatment for an illness may require travel by foot for two and a half hours, or more.
At Project Redwood we’re privileged this year, as in past years, to encounter a crop of big-thinking pragmatists who apply their optimism, tenacity, and skills to promoting sanitation, educating girls, making healthcare accessible, and addressing other causes and effects of indigence.
The review process for our ninth cycle of funding kicked off this week, and thirteen social entrepreneurs submitted applications to fund initiatives that root out poverty. Among those, seven address health and nutritional needs by establishing health clinics or developing sustainable agriculture. Three projects aim to raise standard of living by creating jobs or improving living conditions, and three others propose to provide education to children and teens.
Fourteen of our classmates are sponsors or co-sponsors of these projects; many thanks to Ken Moch, Jorge Fernandez, Rick Agresta, Rich Jerdonek, Phil Jonckheer, Bill Westwood, Kirk Renaud, Stephanie Anderson, Gail Gaumer Schulze, Martha Parry Clark, Mary Pruiett, Susan Miller, Amy Minella, and Ken Inadomi for their work in finding and presenting inspiring proposals.
Now, the Project Redwood Grant Review Committee begins its process of reading, analyzing, and discussing the wealth of ideas in cycle nine’s applications. Ernie Ting has joined in this year; Jim Lavin is back after a short hiatus. Donna Davis Allen, Laura Power, David Fletcher, Martha Parry Clark, Jorge Fernandez, and Gail Gaumer Schulze have all returned for another hitch. Rick Agresta and Rich Jerdonek will shepherd the process. And, a particularly special acknowledgement goes to Gerald Thomas, who grabs his first cup of coffee in the early morning hours in Australia to join the Committee’s weekly conference calls.
Be looking in August for the results of the Grant Review Committee’s due diligence. That’s when Project Redwood Partners will be asked to vote their preferences in an on-line survey.
Thanks also to Partners, family members and friends for their work and their generous donations. Our 2014 grants are right now impacting more than 55,000 people. Together, in 2015, we can continue to nurture creative approaches to wiping out poverty.