Plan Ireland - Tech Trek to Ghana
Donation protected
Working with Plan International Ireland; Jeff Matthews, Padraic MacMahon and me are joining a team of local tech company leaders on a trip to Ghana. Everyone is covering the cost of the trip themselves, but we're trying to raise well-needed additional funds so that we can give extra support for the types of projects that we're visiting.
On the trip we are seeing working projects first hand; and have a chance to brainstorm with leaders of the projects, and to give feedback on initiatives that will improve the quality of life in Ghana. Everyone is coming home from this trip with a focus on their individual potential to impact the lives of young people growing up in emerging economies globally.
This is the first one like this that we're doing, but we're really hoping to make these trips a regular event over the coming years, with the goal of placing technology leaders at the heart of emerging economies just like Ghana.
We are attempting to bring business expertise and experience into communities where the average daily income is less than $1 and where social problems such as child marriage need innovative solutions. Our ambition is that the tech leaders in our group will use their means and influence to make an impact to these communities over the longer term.
Here are some of the stops along our 6-day trek:
Village Savings & Loans Associations (VSLA): VSLAs give some of the poorest people, especially women, access to savings and credit services, enabling them to invest in small businesses and break out of the cycle of poverty. Plan International creates and trains VSLA groups, providing them with the basics for micro-enterprise creation.
Universal Birth Registration: We take our birth certificate for granted, but many children in Ghana do not have the protection and recognition of a birth cert. Plan International are working to ensure every child born in Ghana has a birth cert, protecting them from child labour and child marriage, and helping them gain access to vital services such as health and education.
Maternal & Child Health: Pregnancy is a leading cause of death for women in developing countries, due to insufficient medical care. Plan International are working to ensure the health of mothers, and their children, through community healthcare systems, including new thinking using IT.
Plan International 'Because I am a Girl'
On the trip we are seeing working projects first hand; and have a chance to brainstorm with leaders of the projects, and to give feedback on initiatives that will improve the quality of life in Ghana. Everyone is coming home from this trip with a focus on their individual potential to impact the lives of young people growing up in emerging economies globally.
This is the first one like this that we're doing, but we're really hoping to make these trips a regular event over the coming years, with the goal of placing technology leaders at the heart of emerging economies just like Ghana.
We are attempting to bring business expertise and experience into communities where the average daily income is less than $1 and where social problems such as child marriage need innovative solutions. Our ambition is that the tech leaders in our group will use their means and influence to make an impact to these communities over the longer term.
Here are some of the stops along our 6-day trek:
Village Savings & Loans Associations (VSLA): VSLAs give some of the poorest people, especially women, access to savings and credit services, enabling them to invest in small businesses and break out of the cycle of poverty. Plan International creates and trains VSLA groups, providing them with the basics for micro-enterprise creation.
Universal Birth Registration: We take our birth certificate for granted, but many children in Ghana do not have the protection and recognition of a birth cert. Plan International are working to ensure every child born in Ghana has a birth cert, protecting them from child labour and child marriage, and helping them gain access to vital services such as health and education.
Maternal & Child Health: Pregnancy is a leading cause of death for women in developing countries, due to insufficient medical care. Plan International are working to ensure the health of mothers, and their children, through community healthcare systems, including new thinking using IT.
Plan International 'Because I am a Girl'
Organizer
Ian Mcilwain
Organizer