CATEGORY:
Equity
PITCH
People of Korah live in total
poverty. Itis a village just outside of Addis Ababa, beside the city’s garbage
dump. Citizens of Korah are living in the garbage dumps and seeping through
them everyday to find food and things they can use to survive. The poor people
do not wear proper footwear and often end up standing on dirty garbage like
needles and glass, and they are contracting illness from it. This project’s
purpose is to give the people scavenging the dumps proper, protective shoes. It
is unfair that they are living like this while we sit around worrying about
what we’re wearing, and I think people should be aware of that.
The population of Korah is estimated at 130,000, all
living in the garbage dumps. 47% of Ethiopia lives below the poverty rate. The
annual per capita income is $160, and the overall literacy rate is 42%. There
is only one physician per every 34,988 people in Ethiopia. Over 100,00 lepers,
HIV/AIDS patients, widows, and orphans are living in Korah.
This project means a lot to me because I’ve always
believed that everyone deserves to have a life, a healthy and happy one. Also,
I know that people in North America often take what they have for granted,
including me, and one of the things we never think about is not having shoes,
clean clothes, or medical care. We never ever imagine walking around barefoot,
but it shocked me that it is rare for people in Korah to even have one pair of
shoes. They contract all sorts of sicknesses, most commonly HIV, from stepping
on things while walking around the city and the dump. A simple cut on their
foot can lead to their entire leg being amputated, and their livelihood lost
because of the poor medical care. This project will provide them with
protection, and maybe help people in our world realize how lucky we are to have
access to critical things.
The first goal for this project is to reduce the
amount of people who are at risk of contracting disease and reduce the spread
of infection through garbage dumps and bare feet. The second goal is to spread
awareness of this issue in North America because it is not commonly known and
people need to recognize it.
CRITICAL NEED
In Korah, people are suffering everyday. Korah
literally means, “cursed,” and that is why the majority of the population
believes they are. Korah was first a village that people with leprosy fled to
because people believed they were cursed, and now many people live there but
they all have one thing in common: they have no hope, every day they lose faith
in themselves and the world. They are living in garbage dumps and they are
starting to believe that they are the garbage in which they live. Children,
orphans, believe they are worthless yet they still put a smile on their face
and fight to survive in impossible situations. This project needs to happen
because it will give citizens of Korah belief that they are in fact not
hopeless, and people want to help them. Korah already has a lack of basic
medical care, and a large number of people suffering from disease. Giving
people shoes will prevent them from further contractions of illness, because if
they don’t get shoes they will get sick and need medical care, which Korah does
not have. In Ethiopia, there is only 1 physician per every 34,988 people. When
people get a small cut on their foot from standing on something, they don’t
take care of it and it leads to infection, which in Korah often leads to their
entire leg/foot being amputated. In Canada when we get a cut, we put Polysporin
and a band-aid on it, and that’s that. North Americans take their health and
their easy access to medicine and clothes for granted. This project will not
only teach them that not everyone is as fortunate as we are and we need to take
action, it will also help prevent illness in Korah.
IMPACT
By giving proper, protective shoes to the people
living in the dumps of Korah, it reduces the threat of contracting disease, and
gives hope to the people of Korah. It will give people the chance to live their
lives and not worry if tomorrow they will be dead or need their foot amputated.
Who knows, maybe some of the children saved through this project will change
the world, or impact it positively. This project will restore the people of
Korah’s faith in humanity, the world, and themselves. After the need of safe
shoes for everyone is met, more complex things can be focused on, such as
building more hospitals, safe homes, and schools in Ethiopia. If many people
spread the word of this project, then it may extend to different poor countries
around the world. Other countries or villages may have a problem like this, so
this project can benefit them by continuing on in them and helping them get
safe shoes too. If this issue is talked about, then more people will be aware
of it and even try to contribute to Korah, or more villages across the Earth.
Humans are not meant to live like this. While we in North America are enjoying
our lavish lives, our new Uggs or Nikes, children in Korah are suffering from
life threatening illness that all started when they stood on a nail in a
garbage dump that they call home. You tell me if that’s fair.
FEASIBILITY
This project will take place in 2016 from November to
December. I will go to Korah with a team to distribute the shoes as well as
spend time in the village with the people. Sole Rebels is a fair trade shoe
company that is crafted in Ethiopia. They will provide the shoes for the people
of Korah, with a 25% discount, and since they are located in Ethiopia, it will
be easy to get the shoes to the village. Sole Rebels would for sure want to
provide the shoes because they are in Ethiopia and they probably see the
poverty and struggles people go through everyday. The issue probably hits close
to home and they are the perfect organization to support it. This is how they
can help make Ethiopia, and the world, a better place. My team and I will do
fundraisers in our communities and our schools to raise money for the shoes and
plane tickets but we will pay for our accommodations. Staples will fund the art
supplies to make posters that we will put up around our neighbourhoods to raise
awareness. They will want to help because I’m sure Leo Kahn and Thomas Stemberg
(founders of Staples.Inc) will want to use their wealth to help better the
planet. Also, we will accept any donations of shoes or clothes from our
schools/communities. The project will start in November with 5000 pairs of
shoes, and if it has a good response from the people of Korah, then we will
further fund it with more shoes.
5000 pairs of
Sole Rebel shoes: with discount = $281 250
Plane Ticket to
Addis Ababa: roughly
$1 520 per ticket (depending on airline)
Staples Office
Supplies:
2 Cases of
Paper: $101.92
Crayola
Markers: $7.96
Total: $282 879.88
LAST POINTS
Korah has the potential to be
amazing. Everyone has the potential to do something with their lives; there is
more to life than seeping through trash, but they need help to get started.
They need a chance. This project will give them hope and change their lives. It
is a small change, but it is better than nothing and will benefit the world in
the long run. North Americans are so wrapped up in our own lives that we have
no idea what is going on around us. Spreading awareness of global issues is the
way to make a difference. We have the power to give the people of Korah a new
life, and make them happy. Everyone deserves a chance to be happy.
My name is Jessica Kassar. I
go to a school called Bill Crothers Secondary School. I live in Bradford, Ontario.
I am a goalie for Vaughan Flames. I love music and concerts. My favourite bands
are Marianas Trench, Real Friends, All Time Low, Pierce the Veil and Bring Me
The Horizon. I think everyone should know what is happening in the world and
want to do something about it.
Alemu, Bethlehem. “Sole
Rebels.” solerebels.com. 2004. Web. 23 November. 2013.
Brigade, Em. "2013 Korah,
Ethiopia." blogspot, 2013. Web. 23 Nov 2013. <http://embrigade.blogspot.ca/2013/01/this-garbage-dump-is-so-muchmore-than.html>.
Stutzman, Jody.
“Korah, The Dump in Addis Ababa Where We Hope to Go.” Blogspot, 03 August 2010.
Web. 23 November 2013. <
http://adamandamberstutzman.blogspot.ca/2010/08/korah-dump-in-addis-ababa-where-we-hope.html
>.
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