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my1pc: Let’s Go Green!

Stephen Musyoka — Tue, 08 May 2012 08:08:30 +0000

Kwea Milele is a group of friends who met online whilst they shared the same passion – hiking! They have scaled almost all the peak points in Kenya, from Ngong hills to conquering Mt. Kilimanjaro. Last month while on a hike to Mt. Kenya they passed through the Mt. Kenya forest whose cover was destroyed by fire, and being people who also take care of nature decided to do something. Here they go!

What is the name of your project: Kwea Miti Initiative

Why did you choose the project:We are a nature-loving group. Most of our excursions are in heavily forested places and therefore we strongly felt the need to give back and make Mount Kenya greener notably after the fire destroyed forest cover worth. In addition, Our group is known as Kwea (means hike) and since we are on a tree planting mission, the name Kwea Miti Initiative fit in perfectly.

How many people are in your team: We have five people who will be working together to fundraise, co-ordinate activities and bring the whole project to completion. But as a whole we shall be working with everyone who is willing to contribute their time, skills and money to the project.

How do you plan to Make It Work: Making the project known to everyone and anyone. This project in not only about us, as Kwea Milele group, but about all the nature lovers out there. We are giving people an opportunity to give back to nature in a big way. So we plan on spreading the word for people to help us fundraise.

What are your expectations after the my1pc campaign: We plan to increase the green cover/ to go green in our activities and adventures as part of our CSR activities, and get to give back to nature as much as we possibly can.

Tell us about your group: Kwea Milele was formed by a group of friends who had always loved hiking and wanted to share it with other people who had the same passion. The group has been there for the last 3 yrs.Our Facebook group has over 1,000 members, and every day we always get a request from a new member to join. The numbers shoot up after every outing we do.

Apart from hiking, what else do you do in your group: Fun is what drives us, and this comes in having fun-related activities nyamachoma get-togethers, safari getaways, and camping expeditions.

Who makes your group fun: There are a lot of funny people in our group, code name is fun, examples of those who stand out are Josiah Jossey, Brian Ogolla, Ted Bishop.

Who makes things work in your group: we have seven members who are always involved in the running of the activities of the group. They co-ordinate most of the activities from inception to completion.

Best moment in your group: We cannot really pinpoint one moment we had like the best time ever. This is because most of our climbs involve getting to the peak of the hill or mountain and there is no greater feat or feeling than conquering the mountains. Let’s just say, every peak ascent is ‘a natural high’ (she laughs)

Your message for all your friends out there: Come join us as we make Kenya better for ourselves and our future generation.

Join the Kwea Milele team and help realize the project. You can support them via MPesa.

Go to the M-PESA Menu on your phone.
Select Pay Bill Option.
Enter the following business number: 510800.
Enter 1045 as the Account Number.
Enter the total amount you want to donate.
Enter your PIN and then send the money.
You will receive a transaction confirmation SMS from M-PESA.
Click on this link to direct you to their 1%CLUB profile
Enter the returned M-PESA Transaction ID in the form on that page.
(One can alternatively forward the MPesa text to the following number – +254722 273345)

Help Keep a Girl in class!

Stephen Musyoka — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:13:09 +0000

Just as the project title reads, someone somewhere realized girls from poor backgrounds were missing lessons, simply because they could not afford Sanitary towels! Meet Florence Kamaitha and Evans Muriu, who have a cause to raise funds to set up a factory to reproduce re-usable sanitary towels.
Here is their story

What is the name of your project: No Missing Periods coz of Periods.

School girls at the Maisha Mapya programme

Why did you choose the project : We visited a school in Thika, and the head teacher shared the plight of the girls,. The school unblocks toilets every week, as the girls in the school use pieces of clothes, blankets and chunks of mattresses during their menses. This is very unhygienic, but the bitter part of the story is that most of them cannot not afford sanitary towels, and with everyone around the country trying to raise funds to buy the sanitary towels and donate to the girls, we thought we could come up with a better, economic and hygienic way to solve this problem….re-usable Sanitary towels.
What is the inspiration behind the project: We were informed that some girls miss school during their menses 4 days every 28 days. The same girl will lose 13 days each term because of her menses. In a whole academic year, she will lose up to 39 days, which is 6 weeks of learning time. If we don’t help solve the situation now, we will have drop –outs while still in school and thus the name, No Missing Periods coz of Periods.

How many people are in your team to execute this project: Five people plus volunteers we hope to get along the way.

How do you plan to meet the target amount/Make It Work: We plan an intense fundraising campaign on social media, friends and family contributions plus the help of corporate companies.

What are your expectations after the my1pc campaign: We hope we will create awareness of the plight of Kenyan girls around the world. We hope to raise our targeted amount and we hope to network with members around the world.

Tell us about your group: Maisha Mapya Initiative, is a year old and consists of five members. We sponsor bright students from under-privileged families to access Secondary Education. Currently we are setting up a Music Academy to help children learn to play music instrument from an early age. Another role we play is helping young Kenyans discover their talents and opportunities and use them to fend for themselves.

Best moment in your group: We managed to raise funds online and take the girls who had the highest marks in KCPE from Pokot district to Alliance Girls High School in less than two days. She was about to lose her slot in the school as she wasn’t able to afford the fees.

Your message for all the fans outside there: If girls miss classes because of periods, it is a sure threat to the realization of the gender equity and equality in education in Kenya. It follows therefore ,that Kenya as a country is unlikely to achieve Education for all (EFA) Goals,Gender Parity by 2015 and the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs)

Something must be done by everyone. However little the contribution, it will keep a girl in school and keep their opportunities alive.

Join the Maisha Mapya initiative and help keep a girl in school. You can support them via MPesa.

Go to the M-PESA Menu on your phone.

Select Pay Bill Option.

Enter the following business number: 510800.

Enter 1045 as the Account Number.

Enter the total amount you want to donate.

Enter your PIN and then send the money.

You will receive a transaction confirmation SMS from M-PESA.

Click on this link to direct you to their 1%CLUB profile

Enter the returned M-PESA Transaction ID in the form on that page.

(you can alternatively forward the MPesa text to Kamaitha on 0707 178 946)

Fanya Mambo!

Stephen Musyoka — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:53:37 +0000

As we embark on the MY1PC campaign, we highlight the three projects that will be fundraised for online. We get to know more about why the project, who are behind the project…and who in that organization makes it a happy place!

Children recycling plastics is a project based in Nairobi that runs under the Fanya Mambo Foundation. The project was born after one Benjamin Odera realized no one was doing something about the environmental degradation in his neighborhood and together with his peers decided to take action.
Fanya Mambo means ‘Do Something’ in Swahili language and the group educates school children on the importance of recycling plastics by having them collect them and take them to school for recycling. To date, Fanya Mambo works closely with over 300 school children to Make It Work!

What is the name of your project: Children Recycling Plastics.

Why did you choose the project:
After realizing the alarming rate of environmental degradation around neighborhood caused mostly by uncollected garbage, I decided to mobilize my peers to do something about it. I was able to bring together a team of nine individuals who were ready to volunteer their time and expertise towards the cause.
Since I have experience in implementing projects such as this through my job as a Project Manager with Solace International (a small US based aid organization), I was able to come up with the idea of working hand in hand with school children and community members while implementing this project.

What is the inspiration behind the name:
Being able to educate school children on the importance of recycling and seeing how enthusiastic they were about it is what inspired our team members to coin the name “CHILDREN RECYCLING PLASTICS”. The name also comes from the fact that the children are at the backbone of this project. They are the ones who collect all the plastic used at their homes and bring them to school for recycling.

How many people are in your team to execute this project: Our team of nine members works closely with over 300 school children, 6 or more school teachers, 50 community members and several local leaders to execute these projects.

How do you plan to meet the target and Make It Work: Actively advocating and soliciting for the involvement of as many as possible people towards this cause, mainly through social media. In the end, hopefully wining their hearts and getting them to donate towards the project kitty.

What are your expectations after the my1pc campaign: Leave behind a cleaner neighborhood with no used plastic bottles and bags garbage, an informed community that recycles and lastly happy school children with three more sets of heavy-duty table/benches that they use while eating their lunches up from the dusty ground or while studying.

What is the name of your group/organization: Our organization is called FANYA MAMBO FOUNDATION, a newly founded small grassroots non-profit organization that works with disadvantaged community members helping to create educational and economic opportunities. Fanya Mambo is a Swahili phrase that means “do things” in Swahili and in this spirit, the organization implements multi-pronged projects that address intertwined and critical issues of concern to community members.

Your message for all the fans outside there: Just like a man known us Paul Velery once said “The trouble with our times is that the future is not what it used to be”.
Looking at the vast problems of our world today, one wonders if we will really leave this world a better place than we found it for the sake of future generations? The answer depends on what we decide to do now. If we all come together, we can make it happen just like the great scholar called GOETHE once said”let everyone sweep in front of his door, and the whole world will be clean”.

Fanya Mambo calls on all our fans out there to join us as we embark on this worthwhile cause.

Join the Fanya Mambo team and help realize the project. You can support them via MPesa.

Go to the M-PESA Menu on your phone.

Select Pay Bill Option.

Enter the following business number: 510800.

Enter 1045 as the Account Number.

Enter the total amount you want to donate.

Enter your PIN and then send the money.

You will receive a transaction confirmation SMS from M-PESA.

Click on this link to direct you to their 1%CLUB profile

Enter the returned M-PESA Transaction ID in the form on that page.

(You can alternatively forward the MPesa text to Benjamin on +254710876272)

Repeating Success…

Stephen Musyoka — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 13:35:03 +0000

When one walks into the Nairobi Incubation Lab (Nailab) space one may mistake it for a usual open space where computers talk to one another. The space, which was opened officially last year and had its first intake has indeed risen to claim its spot amongst other incubations in Kenya.

Within the Nailab space lie the cheetahs, a group of young individuals booming with ideas and turning them into action. Among them is the 1%CLUB social media team, comprising of three social media creative’s who work hand in hand with the 1%CLUB team in Amsterdam.

We take a look at notable activities the team has engaged in:

1. Haba na Haba

In April 2011, a group based in Githurai, Nairobi city needed funds to buy a plastic cutting machine for the community. The machine would help reduce pollution in the neigbhorhood and would also be a source of income for the community. The team took the project online and managed to raise KES. 136,000 in just six hours.

The event was dubbed “haba na haba” (Swahili for bit by bit), and just like the 1%CLUB, they requested people to donate 1% of their money. The fundraising happened online using mobile money payment and to kill two birds with one stone, a workshop was conducted at the Nailab for the CBO members as the fundraising happened.

2. Kenyans 4 Kenya

In partnership with other Kenyan corporate and Kenyans, the team offered their social media skills in helping raise funds to buy relief food after a persistent famine in Northern Kenya.

The team helped reach out to the online community and provided minute by minute updates of the initiative and engaging them, and contributed in the effort that saw Kenyans raise KES. 500 million to help fellow Kenyans affected by drought.

3. 24 HOUR Action

Each year, the 1%CLUB organizes a 24 hour action, where 24 teams work for 24 hours to raise funds for 24 projects. Last year, the Nailab team took up one of the projects, which was to raise funds to construct a classroom for students in Indupa primary school, Kajiado. Though the initiative didn’t run for 24 hours, the team managed to raise KES. 52,365 which was enough to off-start the project online.

What is next….
The team will now co-ordinate with three project owners selected for the my1pc initiative by conducting social media workshops for them, help in online fundraising, offering 1%SKILLS for the ideas plus a whole lot of fun activities, which commence next Friday, May 4^th 2012.

pssst pssst: They are also planning a closing bash for the My1PC campaign after the set targets have been met…who wouldn’t want to attend?

Check out the links below and learn more about the three projects that were shortlisted:

Kwea Mti Initiative: Raise funds to go plant trees at Mt. Kenya forest.

No Missing Periods: Raise funds for the production and distribution of reusable Sanitary Towels for under- privileged girls in rural areas.

Recycling Plastics: Training 351 school children how to recycle plastic.

Their parting short: Stay tuned…loading..

…and the final four are…

Stephen Musyoka — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 19:36:30 +0000

We called for ideas. You responded. In came a number of awesome ideas. The results are out. After an evaluation of all the entries, the #MY1PC team settled on four of the best ideas. The evaluation was based on the 1%CLUB guidelines, and the most innovative ones were shortlisted to get the support of the #my1pc campaign.

…and because we wouldn’t want to let a great idea go to waste, we are taking the ideas on board and having them on the 1%CLUB platform where they will join other projects on the 1%CLUB that are currently being realized. The 1%CLUB is a platform that connects smart development projects with people, money and knowledge around the world. It simply aims at getting you and your friends to chip in with 1% of your resources, time or skill.

Onto the shortlisted ideas *Queue the music…*

Kwea Milele members on a hike to Mt. Kenya. The group passes through the Mt. Kenya forest, whose forest cover worth Sh8 million was destroyed by a raging forest fire last month.

Kwea Tree project:

Following the devastating forest fire at the Mt. Kenya forest that destroyed forest cover worth Sh8 billion, a group of young friends that have a passion for the outdoors notably hiking have decided to fundraise, buy tree seedlings and go plant trees. Coincidentally, the group hiked the same mountain this April and managed to do some photos. Click on this link to check out their Facebook group.

Maisha Mapya: Their main objective is to help young people discover talents and opportunities to create new life for them, and those around them and therefore build a better future for the next generation. They have also been involved with several projects from funding bright students to supplying desks and books to schools, and sanitary towels for the girls.

To find a lasting solution to the sanitary problems issue, they plan to have cottage industries around the country, especially in the rural areas, where they can produce re-usable towels. This project can also be an income-generating project for the locals. They plan to partner with I Care Pads, Kisumu who are already doing it, for expertise and training.

The Brick Project: The idea is to purchase a locally made Standard Straight Interlocking Soil Block Press for a women’s group. The thinking behind it is finding a women’s group that can prepare the blocks for sale thereby gaining an income, build local community facilities or lower cost housing at lower prices than cement manufactured bricks and teach this concept on the other communities in other areas.

Set up a cyber café: Meet Rebeccah would like to set up a cyber cafe in her home area (Butere,Western Kenya). There isn’t any around and locals have to travel to Butere town,15km away to access cyber services. She would like to set it up to save them the cumbersomeness of long distance and at the same time organize free or low cost computer classes for youths in the community who know nothing about technology.

Rebeccah’s idea reminds us of our 1%CLUB video… totally fits in!

The shortlisted projects will now seek crowd-funding for these projects on the 1%CLUB platform. The team in Nairobi will also host a number of social media workshops that will not only see the project owners brainstorm on how to Make It Work, but will also have a hands-on experience on how the 1%CLUB turns ideas into action.

As usual, we all love success stories. Here is a list of projects that have been achieved under the 1%CLUB, simply using the 1% concept.

The online fundraising will take place every first Friday of the month, dubbed “fundraising Friday” Project owners will use their network to help fundraise using Kenya’s popular mobile money payment systems (Mpesa, ZAP, Orange Money and YU cash).

As the Swahili saying goes, Haba na Haba hujaza kibaba, it’s time for you and your friends to make it work, bit by bit, and have fun while at it

Five of the Best, who are they?

Stephen Musyoka — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 18:16:04 +0000

Foremost, a massive thank you for all the submissions that were sent to the 1%CLUB for the #my1pc crowd-funding campaign. From a group of hikers that wants to raise funds to plant trees in Mt. Kenya after a forest fire destroyed forest cover worth Sh8 billion, to initiatives that ensures no girl misses class simply because she can’t afford sanitary towels.

The #My1PC team is currently evaluating all the entries, and will shortlist the best five projects that will be put up on the 1%CLUB website, a platform that connects smart development projects with people, money and knowledge around the world. It simply aims at getting you and your friends to chip in with 1% of your resources, time or skill.

You may ask yourself how your 1% can help an idea become a reality. We get that question all the time. Quick answer, imagine if you and your 49 friends each contributed Kes. 500 every last Friday of the month, for three months towards a needy project that only needs Kes. 75,000 to be set up? It’s all about doing BIG things, in simple ways.

Once shortlisted, the #My1PC campaign will seek crowd-funding for these projects on the 1%CLUB platform. The team in Nairobi will also host a number of social media workshops that will not only see the project owners brainstorm on how to Make It Work, but will also have a hands-on experience on how the 1%CLUB turns ideas into action.

As usual, we all love success stories. Here is a list of projects that have been achieved under the 1%CLUB, simply using the 1% concept.

The online fundraising will take place every first Friday of the month, dubbed “fundraising Friday” Project owners will use their network to help fundraise using Kenya’s popular mobile money payment systems (Mpesa, ZAP, Orange Money and YU cash).

As the Swahili saying goes, Haba na Haba hujaza kibaba, it’s time for you and your friends to make it work, bit by bit, and have fun while at it

World Water Day, do you wanna play a game with us?

Eveline Schrijen — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:34:53 +0000

On March 22^nd 2012, World Water Day, Butterfly Works launches a serious, but fun game about water scarcity in slums. The game and supporting Facebook campaign aims to create awareness amongst Dutch youth about the life of young people living in slums and especially in relation to water and the environment.

World wide, nearly 1 billion people live in slums and the number is growing, water is a basic necessity and providing access to clean water and sanitation for the world’s poor is one of the millennium development goals set for 2015.

Recently the popularity of ‘Games for Change‘ is growing, whereby the help of gamers is enlisted to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. GetH2O Challenge is a game about the challenges that slum dwellers face getting (clean) water. A fun game based on real life situation, with an educational purpose the game allows you to experience the race against the clock managing water, housing and pollution.

In the game you play the role of a ‘Change Maker’ who is working for the good of the community.

Your aim in the game is to build houses and manage the water supply while keeping the pollution in check, you can build water tanks and wells to improve the supply but time is always against you. In the end the best way to win the game is to build a community centre where the whole community come together to take action to solve the problem for once and for all.

On the accompanying Facebook campaign page Ben and Winnie, two students who live in Kibera, (an informal settlement of Nairobi) Kenya, share a video message giving you a glimpse into their life and the challenges they stumble upon getting water everyday.

By playing the flash game Dutch young people can experience slum life and what choices you can choose from and in that way learn to understand just how difficult things can be. Young people motivated to do something about the issue can share the game and the video messages with friends on Facebook, or donate money to one of a selection of water projects through the crowdfunding site 1%CLUB who is collaborating in the campaign.

Play the game, check out the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/GetH20Game and share it with friends.

BARRACO #55, ABN AMRO and 1%CLUB Co-Creations

Marlies Nijenhuis — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 13:35:14 +0000

1%CLUB organised a Co-creation with ABN AMRO on March 6th. 25 trainees from the latter worked on four different cases. Fei An Tjan represented one of these cases, BARRACO #55. In this guestblog she talks about the Co-creation.

In the process of setting up a hostel, we soon realized that, as in so many cases, our biggest concern is to get our financials together. That basically means that we are relying on DINERO/MONEY/GELD to make our plans tangible once we’re in Rio de Janeiro. So we needed a plan, which was luckily supported by the people from 1%CLUB.

We had only send in our project a short while ago, when one of the organizers approached us if we were interested in participating in one of their offline events called ‘co-creations’, meaning that another group with a certain expertise would dedicate one afternoon to a problem you were facing. In our case, this was a group of ABN AMRO trainees, who would look at our project from a financial, economics and business point of view.

One day before the big event, I had a short Skype meeting with our facilitator Bart, who explained how and what we could expect and also to get a clear view of what our project was all about. I told him that, as we did not have any background in economics, we could really use some help in structuring our business plans. No experience, no background and no contacts made him conclude laughishly that we ‘must be very creative’. And although this wasn’t a nice thing to hear, I’m afraid he was painfully right…

On March 6th 2012 then, I went to ‘s Gravenhekje #1 in order to get lunch and go home with a structured financial plan. When the trainees arrived, they apparently didn’t know yet what was awaiting them. After a short introduction by moderator Marleen, we were divided into groups and I found myself explaining for the first time officially I think, what BARRACO #55 was all about. After I explained to them what we needed from them [a structured business plan] they were set to work with the information provided.

After half an hour I was called back with a rough version of their findings and brain spins, leading to a more structured version of what our finances should look like and indeed, how to structure them. To be honest, when I was sitting there at the moment I wasn’t so impressed by the new info they offered me because most of it was already written out, but when I thought of it later, I realized that the little change they made in the plan could actually make our whole project’s document a lot clearer!

In the final presentation, the trainees were given the assignment to present the final results to the case owners in a creative way. The group that treated our project came up with a role play in which they pretended to be us and future sponsors. What came out was that we should focus more on the cultural aspect and also that we would become self-sustainable and helping the community, which would be beneficial for name building of the future sponsors. They also provided us with a better version of our financial plan on a USB.

A really productive way I would say and unfortunately a whole new agenda to work on for us…

ExtendedBITS: Co-creation and 1%CLUB

Marlies Nijenhuis — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:29:24 +0000

Project owner Hasan Giire joined the Co-Creation on February 22nd. He looks back on this day in this guest blog.

ExtendedBITS is a small IT company from the Netherlands owned by two Dutch citizens. The company has a local IT factory in Borama city, Awdal region of Somaliland. They work with partner foundation ADO (Awdal Development Organization) to improve the lives of the citizens of Somaliland.

ExtendedBITS is having some difficulties in getting assignments and investments to let the business grow. The directors of ExtendedBITS asked 1%CLUB to help the company achieve his goals. They took part in the 1%Co-creation on February 22nd 2012 at the office of 1%CLUB. As the director of ExtendedBITS, I was not sure what to expect because this was the first co-creation for ExtendedBITS.

The session started with an introduction by our beloved Marleen where she stated the aim of the gathering of this afternoon. She started by welcoming everyone and stated the reason. She gave an introduction of three projects, including our project.

After a short introduction of every participant, the co-creation started. The co-creation was divided in three sessions. Our group was a very interesting group with Riek as moderator. First I gave a 20-minute introduction of the company and the team. The group asked questions and most importantly: showed me the need to present the whole team in every occasion.

After the introduction, the group started working without me. After an hour and a half, the group presented a summary of the idea they got. I was asked to choose one idea and the group started developing this idea. The big challenge for us, according to the group, was how to present the company in a short amount of time. It’s called creating pitches for different groups (investor, partners and clients).

The group held a short presentation at the end of the evening. The group was very pleased to take part to this endeavor and wishes that ExtendedBITS will succeed.

After two weeks and few days, the group sends a document with the suggestion on how to present the company.

ExtendedBITS wishes to thank every participant on this co-creation. We got the support of the whole group that took part in the advisory board for ExtendedBITS. I have a great appreciation to 1%CLUB and to all the participants. Most of all I wish to express the deepest gratitude to Riek Viehoff.

ExtendedBITS has setup an advisory board for the company by creating a private group in Linkedin. Already Riek, Judith and Tabitha become members of this group. I wish and hope that all the other participants will join the group.

Many thanks to you all!

Call for Ideas, Make It Work.

Stephen Musyoka — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:44:59 +0000

An adage goes: An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea. We can’t agree any more. It could be something that looks so simple at the advance stages, months later it’s the talk of the town, something of fortune, something that benefits the community, not only today and tomorrow, but for more than even five years!

As 1%CLUB, we love great ideas!

It could be setting up a plastic cutting machine which recycles waste plastic and sells them for a fortune, or a community cyber café where people empower themselves with knowledge about technology, and see how it can help them improve their lives. It could be a project to help provide education (remember they say when you educate a girl, you educate a nation). It could be an idea to eradicate poverty.

It’s all about impact, which starts as an idea!

We are looking for you, with that idea. Together we are going to help turn it into an action. We want to connect smart development projects (your idea) with people, money and knowledge around the world.

It is possible, you and me coming together, including our friends and chipping in 1% of what we can. Here is a video of how we are going to Make It Work!

Are you ready with your idea? Does it conform with the following conditions? Examples of GREAT ideas we loved and became actions are available via this link.

my1pc@onepercentclub.com is the email, we await… and you have until March 23, 2012 to submit!

Let’s put them into action.