Impact Stories from Environmental Sustainability Policy Area

Fellow named to BBC 100 Women 2022 list

Fellow(s): Ainura Sagyn Tursunalieva (2017)

Country: Kyrgyzstan

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow Named to BBC 100 Women 2022 List

Fellow Ainura Sagyn Tursunalieva (Kyrgyzstan, 2017) has recently been named one of the BBC 100 Women 2022 in their 10th annual compilation of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world. Ainura is an ecofeminist, computer engineer, and CEO of start-up Tazar, an app that connects producers of waste —from the individual level to the corporate level—with recyclers, in an effort to promote sustainability and reduce the amount of refuse that ends up in landfills in Central Asian countries. Sagyn has also led coding and STEM workshops for over 2,000 schoolgirls in Kyrgyzstan. The BBC’s 2022 list includes a diverse group of women from around the world, including those involved in conflict and resistance in various countries, as well as notable figures in music, acting, sports, and literature.

Report Date...: 1/23/2023

Mentor to help lead largest river renewal effort in U.S. history

Fellow(s): Gwen Santos

Country:

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Mentor to help lead largest river renewal effort in U.S. history

As part of a decades-long effort to save an imperiled ecosystem, mentor Gwen Santos will help lead the restoration efforts for the largest dam removal and river renewal project in U.S. history as the project’s Lead Ecologist. The Klamath River Renewal Project, a multilateral, cooperative initiative, led by the Klamath River Renewal Corporation, was approved this fall by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Gwen has served as the Lead Ecologist on the project for the past 3.5 years while also performing her duties as Resource Environmental Solutions’ (RES) Western Region Senior Wetland Ecologist and Ecology Team Lead. Stemming from her work on the Klamath project and other endeavors on the West Coast, Gwen was Recently promoted to Director of Ecology & Regulatory for the Western Region. As the Klamath Project’s Lead Ecologist, Gwen, along with Restoration Program Manager, Dave Coffman, and Lead Fisheries Biologist, Dan Chase, will help oversee the resource protection measures during dam removal, the flora propagation effort and restoration of the former reservoir footprints, which aims to restore the degraded Klamath River ecosystem in the Northern California and Southern Oregon region. The water quality has been decimated by aging hydroelectric dams that have prevented threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead fish from reaching more than 400 miles of historic habitat in the upper river basin. The project, Gwen shares, is “vital to the future of several imperiled salmon populations on the West Coast” and has involved the propagation of “billions of native seeds and tens of thousands of native oaks and shrubs.” The Klamath River Renewal Corporation was appointed to oversee the removal of these four dams and implement a settlement agreement signed by more than 40 entities and stakeholders, including the States of California and Oregon, Tribal nations, PacifiCorp (the dam owner), irrigators, and several conservation and fishing groups.

Report Date...: 1/16/2023

Fellow Ayeni Olamide wins spot in SIBC for green startup that transforms waste into furniture

Fellow(s): Fellow Ayeni Olamide wins spot in SIBC for green startup that transforms waste into furniture

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2017

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

Fellow Ayeni Olamide (Nigeria, 2017), founder of green tech company Pearl Recycling, was recently selected among 45 social entrepreneurs for the Social and Inclusive Business (SIBC) Camp 2022. The SIBC’s mission is to support young African entrepreneurs in scaling up and building lasting stakeholder connections through innovative educational methods and networking with mentors, other startups and potential financiers in their ecosystems. Pearl Recycling “transforms municipal solid waste into environmentally friendly furniture for everyday use,” it reads on Ayeni’s SIBC profile. “To date, the company has already recycled more than 52,000 tons of waste.” Ayeni founded the company in 2016 to creatively and concurrently address the issues of waste and unemployment in Nigeria. “The SIBC has helped me connect with other changemakers across Africa and build a lifelong relationship that will lead to collaborations,” Ayeni shares in an Africa Business article on the event.

Report Date...: 1/2/2023

Seed grant initiative empowers orphans with aquaponic farm

Fellow(s): Seed grant initiative empowers orphans with aquaponic farm – Chiedza Mugabe, Evangelista Chekera, Henrica Makulu, Tafadzwa Murinzi and Yollanda Washaya

Country: Zimbabwe

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

FOCUS Zimbabwe, a self-sustaining food cultivation initiative founded by seed grant-awarded Team Zimbabwe 2022 fellows Chiedza Mugabe, Evangelista Chekera, Henrica Makulu, Tafadzwa Murinzi and Yollanda Washaya, has successfully launched its pilot program at SOS Children’s Village in Waterfalls, Harare. FOCUS Zimbabwe seeks to enable children in orphanages to grow nutritious/organic food by empowering them through hands-on skills training and mentorship in aquaponics, the cultivation of plants and aquatic animals in a recirculating environment. Through this, they hope to cultivate entrepreneurialism, stimulate an interest in STEM and foster a sense of responsibility for the communities in which the children live, while also helping protect them from the elevated risks of drug abuse, crime, prostitution and suicide. To date, approximately 75 people have interacted with the growing system, resulting in local families gaining food to eat, produce to sell, and psychosocial benefits to their overall wellness. FOCUS Zimbabwe was launched with the funding of a $3,000 USD TechWomen seed grant. It has also received support from its aquaponics system vendor, which has donated complimentary training and consultation hours to the project as part of its corporate social responsibility efforts.

Report Date...: 12/05/2022

"Team recognized by BBC & Ambassador after seed grant win"

Fellow(s): Team recognized by BBC & Ambassador after seed grant win – Amara Dar, Sadaf Gul, Ramla Syeda Hassan, Syeda Sadaf Shah, Anum Sadiq and Shehnaz Zakia

Country: Pakistan

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

The fellows of Fall 2022 Team Pakistan, composed of Amara Dar, Sadaf Gul, Ramla Hassan Sadafi Shah, Anum Sadiq and Shehnaz Zakia, were recently featured in BBC News Urdu to acknowledge their having recently been awarded $3000 in seed grant funding for the impact project they developed during their TechWomen program.
The project, AGAHI, will be a mobile technology campaign aimed at raising climate change awareness in the wake of the devastating floods in Pakistan this summer.
In addition to being featured in BBC, the team also recently met with the Ambassador of Pakistan to the USA on 26th Oct. 2022 to discuss AGAHI shortly after the close of their TechWomen program in Washington D.C.
In the meeting, the ambassador expressed his appreciation for the efforts of the U.S. Department of State and ECA for providing opportunities for Pakistani women in STEM to excel through exchange programs. He also encouraged Team Pakistan to complete the project with full dedication, offering assurance of the Embassy of Pakistan’s support in the sustainable execution of the project and the development of future collaborations.

Report Date...: 11/28/2022

"Fellows present EmpowerHER initiative idea to World Bank"

Fellow(s): Fellows present EmpowerHER initiative idea to World Bank – Inobat Allobergenova, Elmira Obry, Emma Mphalele, Hadiza Abdullahi, Hajar Salamt, Iman Dankar and Syeda Sadaf Shah

Country: Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, South Africa, Uzbekistan

Cohort: 2022

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

Fall 2022 Fellows Inobat Allobergenova (Uzbekistan), Elmira Obry (Kazakhstan), Emma Mphalele (South Africa), Hadiza Abdullahi (Nigeria), Hajar Salamat (Morocco), Iman Dankar (Lebanon) and Syeda Sadaf Shah (Pakistan) recently teamed up to present a multi-national initiative idea at the World Bank in Washington DC. These seven fellows conceived of the project, EmpowerHER, to introduce girls from rural areas aged 12 to 18 to STEM careers. With the motto “Small Money, Big Impact,” EmpowerHER will be focused on raising awareness of careers that address climate change and environmental issues. The presentation was met with great interest by the 35 World Bank personnel who welcomed the fellows at their Washington D.C. headquarters.
Inobat helped facilitate this meeting after having recently accepted a position with the World Bank in Uzbekistan as a natural resource management specialist.

Report Date...: 11/21/2022

Fellow(s): Fellow speaks on LEAP Africa annual conference panel – Damilola Asaleye

Country: Nigeria

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

Fellow Damilola Asaleye (Nigeria, 2020-2021) recently spoke on a panel at LEAP Africa’s Social Innovators Program (SIPA) 2022 conference. LEAP Africa is “a youth-focused leadership development organization committed to raising leaders that will transform Africa.” Damilola highlighted her organizations, Ashdam Solar Company Limited and Girls and Women Technological Empowerment Organization (GWTEO), sharing her mission of “closing the gender gap in technology and bringing energy security to last-mile communities in Nigeria.” She also encouraged African youths to “develop sustainability through monitoring and evaluating their impacts starting from personal goals to organizational goals.” On top of this, Damilola was also recently named one of the Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society Rising Leaders Class of 2022.

Report Date...: 11/07/2022

Fellow solar-training initiative forms U.S. partnership

Fellow(s): Gisele Beatrice Sonfack

Country: Cameroon

Cohort: 2016

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development, Youth Engagement

A fellow-founded initiative, Women in Engineering and Technology (WENTECH), created by Fellow Gisele Beatrice Sonfack (Cameroon, 2016) has recently launched its first solar energy training with a new U.S. based partner, Remote Energy. Since September 12th, 14 young women have started training to become instructors with partner Remote Energy, who has provided training and materials for WENTECH with the objective of developing at least one instructor in each major city in Cameroon to facilitate trainings and impact in local schools. Gisele created WENTECH in 2017 to attract and empower women in Cameroon to STEM fields, following her participation in Techwomen in 2016. Since its founding, WENTECH has trained and empowered over 2,000 girls in Cameroon in solar power with the support of local partners Douala Advanced Vocational Training Center and Limbé Advanced Vocational Training Center. That support system has since expanded to include international partnership with Remote Energy.

Report Date...: 9/26/2022

Fellow holds agricultural trainings for rural women

Fellow(s): Rym Khemiri Moussaoui

Country: Tunisia

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Empowering Women and Girls, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Sustainability, Professional Development

In continuity with Alyssa for Rural Women Investment (ARWI), the action plan project developed by the Tunisian team of TechWomen 2020-2021, fellow Rym Khemiri Moussaoui provided a capacity-building training workshop for rural women workers in agriculture. The goal is to enhance their entrepreneurial skills and promote financial autonomy. Rym shares that she was pleased “to use all the pedagogic tools I have learned in my last Training of Trainers (TOT) and Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) certifications financed by the Techwomen professional development stipend,” which was provided for fellows of the 2020-2021 virtual program. This event was carried out as part of the Action and Innovation Fund for Refugee Entrepreneurs (FAIRE) project, co-financed by the European Union and implemented by COSPE, an Italian NGO operating in the North West region of Tunisia.

Report Date...: 9/26/2022

Tajik fellows provide light-bearing backpacks for students

Fellow(s): Hamida Rahmikhudoeva, Dilafruz Mamadjonova, Manizha Khayolbekova, Gulnoza Burkhanova and Rukhshona Saratbekova

Country: Tajikistan

Cohort: 2020-2021

Policy Area(s): Economic Impact, Education Diplomacy/Mentoring, Environmental Sustainability, Youth Engagement

This fall more than 60 primary school children from a rural village in Tajikistan are starting the school year with solar charging backpacks, thanks to TechWomen’s 2020-2021 Team Tajikistan, composed of fellows Hamida Rahmikhudoeva, Dilafruz Mamadjonova, Manizha Khayolbekova, Gulnoza Burkhanova and Rukhshona Saratbekova. “Enhancing Education Through Light” is Team Tajikistan’s seed grant initiative designed to address the need for school children to have a reliable and safe light source for completing homework after sunset. “Despite significant progress in the field of energy, electricity is still lacking in many regions of Tajikistan,” teammate Rukhshona shared, “especially in rural areas where children are forced to do their homework by candlelight or with dangerous, polluting kerosene lamps. [This] negatively affects both their health and academic progress.”
Each pack features a solar-charging panel on the front pocket that banks energy from the sun during the day in order to power a compact lamp on a flexible metal arm for visibility at night. “We hope that through our project,” Rukhshona added, “we can attract the attention of investors to think about providing this remote area with the clean and reliable electricity.”

Report Date...: 8/29/2022

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