As a teenager, one of my biggest goals was to earn enough money and donate regularly to a non-profit organization. I dreamed of making a stable income with my blog, so that I could give back some of my profits. Blogging, unfortunately, never afforded me the opportunity. But, since rebranding and offering more direct services, I can officially say that The Quirky Pineapple Studio is making quarterly donations to a non-profit organization that supports girls and women education and entrepreneurship in Mozambique. DO YOU KNOW HOW EXCITING THIS IS?!
READ: My Brand Relaunch: Introducing The Quirky Pineapple Studio
Through The Quirky Pineapple Studio, I’ve now brought in a regular and decent sized income. I feel excited to donate a portion of my revenue to empower other women and girls in education and entrepreneurship! This means that every time you work with The Quirky Pineapple Studio, a percentage of your payment goes directly to this non-profit organization.
What does this mean for the girls and women in rural Mozambique, The Quirky Pineapple Studio, and the Pineapplers?!
Introducing Kurandza
Kurandza (which means “to love”) is a non-profit social enterprise that invests in the future of women and girls in Mozambique through grassroots development. They are deeply involved on the ground, investing in education, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development programs; helping girls and women to become leaders in their villages by sharing their skills and knowledge with the rest of their community. Their work creates opportunity for thousands of people!
I was first connected to Kurandza a while ago, through their Founder and Executive Director, Elisabetta Colabianchi. Elisabetta is based in San Francisco, and started her story in Mozambique when she volunteered through the Peace Corps in a small, rural village called Guijá. Her main role was at a local hospital, counseling HIV-positive women on the prevention of HIV transmission to their children. Despite her best intentions, she realized that many patients would abandon treatment because they couldn’t pay for transportation to the hospital to pick-up their medicine each month.
Elisabetta and Percina Miocha started an income generation project for the HIV-positive women, with the goal of teaching them a skill that would earn enough income to pay for the monthly transportation costs to the hospital. When Elisabetta returned to the United States, she started working to create Kurandza, alongside Percina, to continue to support the community through education, entrepreneurship, and sustainable development programs.
Some of the different programs that Kurandza provides are:
- Girls Education Program (#IStandForGirls)
- Small Business Development
- Sewing Cooperative
- Convenience Store
- Other small retail businesses
- Nutrition & Food Security (#FeedMozambique)
What does that mean for the girls and women in rural Mozambique?
Here’s a breakdown of what every donation made to Kurandza looks like, for the girls and women in rural Mozambique:
- $10 = Art supplies or sports equipment for our afterschool program
- $20 = One monthly scholarship for a girl
- $50 = Monthly subsidy for one sports coach or art instructor
- $100 = Monthly subsidy for one afterschool tutor
- $250 = One yearly scholarship for a girl*
- $500 = Runs our holistic education program for one month
- $1,000 = One small-scale small business (example: meat business, produce business)
- $2,000 = One medium-sized small business. (example: convenience store, hair salon)
- $5,000 = Builds school dorms, school bathrooms, workshop, or one larger small business
- $10,000 = Builds a vocational center, leadership academy, or school!
*Includes school fees, uniform, school supplies, backpack, transportation, and enrollment into our holistic education program
According to UNESCO, there are 31 million girls worldwide who are unable to attend primary school. Of these girls, most will face lifelong challenges due to illiteracy and lack of education (source). When a girl receives an education, she:
- Delays the onset of dating and is less likely to contract HIV or have an unplanned pregnancy.
- Is less likely to become a child bride.
- Can become a leader in her community
- Has increased access to jobs.
- Has access to healthcare and better physical health.
- Has higher self-esteem and confidence.
- Is able to chase after her own adventure.
The donations made through The Quirky Pineapple Studio will be 100% reinvested into funding for Kurandza’s programs on the ground in Mozambique! These donations will help pay for holistic education for girls, provide scholarships for schools, including school fees, supplies, transportation, meals, and more, and employ women in rural Mozambique to work as artisans in a sewing cooperative, as tutors, educators, sports coaches, and more.
What does this mean for The Quirky Pineapple Studio and the Pineapplers?
Pineapplers, this is not just about me anymore. To be honest, I never wanted The Quirky Pineapple Studio to BE ABOUT me. I’ve always wanted it to be about the people I help, the clients I work with, and the businesses and entrepreneurs I can serve with my strengths and talents. I’ve had rose-colored glasses on since the day I was born (pretty sure of that), and no matter how often I try to “take them off” or change my mindset, it doesn’t go away. My goal, even when I was younger, was to make a difference and change the world. Yes, I dreamed big and dreamed a lot! But, I knew that there were certain things about my characteristics and personality that would make a difference some day.
I still believe in kindness and love over everything else. I believe in giving back and doing more, so that the next generation and the next people who come after me can do more and do better. I understand that I can’t help everyone (unfortunately), but I can help a few. The Give Back Partnership with Kurandza is a step I’m taking with my business, so that I can provide some sort of resources for people who may not have the privileges I had growing up.
I’m choosing to donate 10% of my revenue, quarterly, through The Quirky Pineapple Studio to Kurandza. This means that any past clients I’ve had and all future clients will be contributing to Kurandza as well. A portion of your payment to The Quirky Pineapple Studio will be donated to educate and provide resources for girls and women in rural Mozambique. It still baffles me that I can say this out loud, because I’ve created a business that not only brings in a monthly income for myself, but can also provide resources for others!
Thank you, Pineapplers, for all of your support and encouragement in any decision I take! Thank you to the past and future clients from TQP Studio, you’re helping the cause, too!
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The Big “Why” And My Big Dream
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