My ‘it’ moment happened in Haiti. I was standing in one of the largest tent-camps outside Port au Prince with my co-founder, Jody Landers and Esther Havens, a humanitarian photographer, when three burly men called out and approached us. My heart began racing. How would I explain why we were there? We were not handing out food or water. We had no aid to offer. Surely, I assumed, these guys were going to beg for something. In- stead, one wrung his hands and sheepishly said, “Excuse me, ma’am, but we’re wondering if you are hiring? Because we really want to work.”
Through sad TV commercials of orphans cov- ered in flies, we have been fed a view that we can end poverty only with handouts and charity. These commercials broke my heart and because of them, I set my sights on becoming an aid worker. I thought it would be so romantic to travel the world “saving” others. Then I stopped and listened.
I realized people all over the world want the same things: the opportunity to care for their fami- lies, send their kids to school and lead healthy lives. Aid is always appreciated, but a job has the power and ability to move an entire family out of poverty forever. With that vision in mind, Landers and I launched The Adventure Proj- ect, a nonprofit focused on building individual skills and growing entrepreneurship in devel- oping countries. We work strategically to invest in jobs that solve local problems and help com- munities thrive.
For example, in Africa and much of India, more than one-third of all drinking water wells are broken. Without a trained mechanic, tools or spare parts nearby, most communities watch helplessly as their wells break only a few years after they’ve been drilled, which means hundreds of people who had clean water one day suddenly have to go back to collecting water from dirty rivers and streams.
Instead of drilling new wells, we support a training program for well mechanics in India, started by Water for People, which focuses on long-lasting, safe drinking water resources. Locals learn how to become well mechanics and earn commission for every well they fix. The program has become so successful in India that we’re now helping to replicate it in Uganda, East Africa.
Through TheAdventureProject.org, people can give $30 per month to support one person’s job training, education and uniform. In the last three years, more than 5,000 donors have joined us in helping 546 people in Haiti, India, Kenya and Uganda become profitable entrepreneurs, serv- ing, in turn, more than 930,000 people in their communities with better food, water, health and a cleaner environment.
Now when someone stops me in a village and asks if we’re hiring, I get to smile and respond, “Yes, we are.”
Written by Becky Straw
