Edge of Seven is a nonprofit based in Denver, Colorado that seeks to generate capacity-building services, volunteer support, and awareness for projects that create access to education, health, and economic opportunities for girls and women in the developing world.
2. “Education is the m powerful weapon which you can use to
ost
change the world.” -- N ls o n M nd e la
e a
3. Outline
• Background and Mission
• Programs
• Why Girls?
• Edge of Seven Model
• Earthbags & Sustainability
• Past Projects
• Future Projects
• Opportunities to get
involved
4. Mission
Edge of Seven generates capacity-building services,
volunteer support, and awareness for projects that
create access to education, health, and economic
opportunities for girls and women in developing
countries.
5. Background
•Founded in 2010
•Completed three schools, one girls’ hostel, and two
community water supplies in rural Nepal
•Sent 85 volunteers and $200K abroad
•Dual mission: International Development and Service
Learning
6. Programs
•Community Development Program
Fund and provide technical assistance to infrastructure
projects
•International Volunteer Program
Send Westerners overseas to contribute to projects
7. Our Name
EDGE:
We work with individuals, like girls and
women, who most often live on the edge
of society in developing countries and
face the most barriers in life.
We also work in very remote
communities, so our volunteer programs
appeal to more adventurous individuals
interested in “living on the edge.”
SEVEN:
Symbolic of the seven continents of the
earth. Our vision is to work across the
globe where these needs exist.
9. Why Girls?
“What we are learning
around the world is
that if women are
healthy and educated,
their families will
flourish and when
families flourish,
communities and
nations do as well.”
10. Why Girls?
• Women and girls invest
90% of income back into
families & communities,
compared with 30% of men
• When girls receive a
secondary education, they
marry later in life and have
fewer children
• When more girls and
women are educated, a
country’s GDP grows
11. Girls in Nepal
• Only one out of every three of
young women aged 20-24 have
a secondary education
• Female youth literacy rate in
Nepal is just 75%
• One quarter of the population
(7.1 million people) still lives
below the national poverty line
of $1 per day. (Nepal is the 3rd
poorest country in S. Asia)
12. Our Approach
• Identify quality, local NGOs using community
development initiatives to alleviate poverty and
empower women and girls.
• Enable project execution by providing volunteer
support, technical assistance and funding.
• Educate & Energize our domestic and
international communities through adventure, media
and advocacy to stir social action.
13. Partnerships
• Communities identify needs, not
us
• Implementing partner
organizations are local to the
countries and communities
where we work
• Partner organizations provide
complementary services and
long-term commitment
• 60/40 funding split with partner
organizations and communities
14. Projects
Edge of Seven works on
infrastructure projects that
benefit girls and women,
including:
•Schools
•Girl’s Hostels or Dormitories
•Community Water Supplies
•Vocational Training Centers
•Education and Community
Centers
17. Design
Approach
• Healthy buildings
• Durability, safety and seismic
resistance
• Local materials, transportation
• Speed of construction
• Skilled labor required
• Cost
• Sustainability
18. Past Projects • Jarang – Primary
School (2010)
• Salleri – Hostel for Girls (2011)
• Purdu – Water Supply (2011)
• Salleri – Water Supply (2012)
• Phuleli – LS School (2012)
• Basa – HS School (2012)
19. Future Projects
• Mankhu, Nepal: Community
& Education Center for Women
• Tanzania: Secondary School
Campus Expansion
• Basa, Nepal: Earthbag
Secondary School Expansion
• Basa, Nepal: Female-sensitive
toilet system
27. To Get Involved
• Volunteer or trek with us abroad
• Partner with or Sponsor Edge of
Seven and our projects
• Host a house party/documentary
screening
• Participate in a Denver event or
campaign
• Donate
• Spread the word: like us on
Facebook, check out our blog,
follow us on Twitter
28. Namaste and Thank You
info@edgeofseven.org
www.edgeofseven.org
Twitter: @edgeofseven
Facebook: www.facebook.com/edgeof7
Editor's Notes
Keeping the slide a bit more general, as the exact statistics are a bit clunky, but for reference if you want to include them in your talk they are: When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man. When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. When 10 percent more girls go to secondary school, a country’s economy grows by 3 percent. The main points to make here is that educating women and girls is a smart strategy from an anti-poverty and global development standpoint, in addition to obviously being the right thing to do. When half a country’s population isn’t able to contribute to the economy, the success of the entire country will suffer. Also, educating women and girls leads to fewer health problems in a country (as marrying and giving birth at a young age often leads to high infant and maternal mortality rates), helps with population control, and leads to healthier communities as a whole, since women and girls have proven to be better stewards of financial resources than men.
2013 projects on the horizon: Mankhu project will initially serve 60 women and their children, providing safe haven, education, and economic opportunities to women who have been victims of abuse, sex trafficking, or who have been abandoned by their families. The center is being built in collaboration with our partner The Mountain Fund and will be built with the earthbag construction method. Tanzania project will expand an existing secondary school campus in the Mt. Meru Region. We are collaborating with the Africa School Assistance Project and the goal is to create more classroom space for girls in the region. We will be returning to Basa to continue our work with the community, building an earthbag addition to the existing school, which will be used to provide business administration and English courses. We will also be building a female-sensitive toilet system at the school to increase consistent school attendance among girls, who often have to miss school during their monthly menstruations due to a lack of appropriate facilities.
