| FAQs |
|
What does 40K do ? 40K takes on joint venture projects within developing communities to alleviate extreme poverty. What is 40K doing right now ? We are working with Indian based not for profit organisation called the Lovedale Foundation, to help the children of exploited quarry workers in the rural slums around Bangalore. What is our current project ? We are building a bridging school. This will have capacity for 150 kids at a time who will be given remedial education with an eventual aim for them to graduate to the local mainstream school system. Who are we trying to help ? Quarry workers in rural slums around Bangalore. Dangerous and primitive techniques are used to break rock 12 hours a day, 6 or 7 days a week. The workers earn the equivalent of just $1.80 a day. This means that they cannot afford to send their children to school. The kids miss out on crucial development in their early years as they sit unstimulated and bored in the dangerous conditions of the quarries as their parents work. Inevitably, without an education, they are unable to do anything but follow in their parents footsteps into quarry work. Who is our current partner ? Lovedale Foundation is a not for profit organization that takes in severely underprivileged kids to educate and support them. The children are referred to Lovedale by the Bangalore Police Commissioner and are generally victims of abuse, child labour or are orphans with no other means of support. The children currently under Lovedale’s care will be boarded at our bridging school and will also benefit from the education provided for the quarry children. What’s next ? Our focus will be on rolling out this project to leverage maximum benefit for the surrounding quarries. This will include training local teachers in accelerated learning techniques, making sure our bridging school is accessible and kids are progressing to mainstream schooling with our support. We are also researching multiple additional initiatives to benefit the wider quarry community and extend our geographical reach such as:
Our maiden project is our stepping stone to affecting large scale change across the 200 quarries in the region. The quarry belts in India are our first initiative. In the future we will be seeking other joint venture projects in developing communities to continue our work. Why India ?
How does 40K operate? 40K’s headquarters are on Pitt Street in the Sydney CBD. We have three full time staff and then a team of around 25 part time volunteers. Volunteering with 40K is about getting in and getting your hands dirty. Our volunteers don't just answer phones and do the photocopying, if you have an idea at 40K you run with it, with support and guidance from committed full-time volunteers and our experienced board. Our CEO is completely accessible and open to your ideas whether you started volunteering 3 yrs ago or yesterday. How does 40K fundraise ? 40K combines a range of programmes each directed to a specific supporter segment, mostly developed from volunteer ideas. Our current fundraising initiatives include:
How much of the money we receive goes to the project ? 100% of 40Ks tax deductible donations go directly to our projects. We only have one paid employee. All major programmes are run by committed volunteers who work in relevant industries and sectors. We receive full pro-bono support for all major services including legal work, accounting, PR etcetera. At the moment, approximately two thirds of your cash goes directly to our projects. What’s the research institute ? The research institute provides academic backing for the work we do and the work we plan for the future. It’s what makes sure that we are actually solving a problem and not just slapping on a ‘band
|
Poverty Mythbusters
| Overpopulation causes poverty: |
People always say that we have to bring the number of people on earth down to reduce poverty- this leads to practices like the ‘one child’ policy in China. But… 40K Home was once invited to inspect a rag-pickers community* outside Delhi (India’s capital city). In that community, couples commonly had 9 or 10 children each. Why? For starters, once the kids turn about 6, they are put to work by picking rubbish and earning just under $1/day. This means that if you have 9 or 10 kids, the family as a whole pulls in a bit of money. Secondly, because of the terrible hygiene in poverty-stricken areas, there is a good chance that a few kids will die before the age of 5. Lastly, with no social security benefits for old poor people in places like India, people have a lot of kids so that they can be looked after in their old age. This leads to a vicious cycle- the kids don’t attend school, and they can’t break out of that lifestyle. SO, if there wasn’t poverty, there wouldn’t be a need for massive families. Hence, reduce poverty, and you combat overpopulation. *A rag-pickers community is similar to slum, except much more depressing- it’s a community formed around a rubbish dump, and people spend their days picking through the rubbish looking for things like aluminium foil and blown light bulbs that they can sell to recycling companies. |