We Answer the Question:

“How can we maximise the resources that developing countries have; to do the things they need to do …, while minimising the burden of public debt”

The 12th World Bank Group President

Jim Yong Kim

Targeting the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals), we:

– build rainwater harvesting systems on schools’ rooftops, on roads that are crossing water starved areas, on open fields etc;

– purify rainwater for the ‘over–served’ in order to avail plenty of low-cost municipal water to the underserved;

– build toilets in toilet-less homes, schools and roads;

– bring medical services to villages & schools without the services; and,

– do menstrual hygiene management (MHM) as a tool for managing the toilets.

We work in least developed countries (LDCs) and lower-middle-income countries where –– to date –– projects like ours are done with funds from the traditional sources (e.g. public funds, overseas development assistance, individual donors, foundations and CSR).

$1.4 Trillion

in Annual Investments.

Funds from the traditional sources aren’t enough for SDGs at the scale that is needed for LDCs and lower-middle-income countries, which require about $1.4 trillion in annual investments.

$5 Trillion

Sitting In-cash

Therefore, we mobilize some of $5 trillion currently sitting in cash with the private sector to our work.

We weave giving into the fabric of your daily lives –– like shopping, seeing adverts and disposing of waste –– in order for the giving to become a truly growing activity.

You and other Members of global public (MOP) nominate villages and schools for our work and, after nominating, you determine when (not if) your nominees benefit from us.

Recall that we give rainwater harvesting systems, toilets, reusable sanitary towels and medical services (gifts) to all villages and schools that are nominated or selected for the gifts by members of the global public (MOP) –– we give one village/school per calendar week therefore, on a calendar week, we give one of the gifts to a school/village that, at start of the week, has seen adverts in print newspapers, shopped and or disposed of waste the most (compared to other villages/villages).

Like other MOP, you see adverts in print media, shop and dispose of waste. Nominate a school or village for the gift and help your nominee get the gift as early as possible as follows.

With your phone, take photo(s) of logo(s) on: products that you buy frequently; and, on receipts that you get during shopping. Post the photo(s) and, from now on, ensure that you support the village/school by just scanning any of these logo(s) with your phone every time you see them on products, packages, wrappers, receipts, sticker, vouchers…

Ask your friends and relatives –– who could be anywhere on the globe –– to support by selecting village/school that your care about.

Crucially, involve the village/school if you can. Urge some of the villagers and or managers of the school to help you in supporting by selecting village/school that your care about. This will make the village/school own the gift.

You actions above will create a situation where a brand’s success can be measured by its good deeds. In response, organisations will want to do more good deeds –– using the idle $ 5 trillion, they will produce more products and advertise more in order for you to continue doing good.

Nominate Village / School that you care about

We pay special attention to ‘dignity’

Using the example above, we build toilet(s) in a family home or in a school nominated [for the toilet(s)] by you, their “urbanised compatriot”. Before the nomination, the nominee agrees with you that they are willing to take our toilet(s).

You, typically a close relative/friend/leader to the nominee, are naturally compelled to: lower your social status; privately discuss with the school/family; and, agree with the nominee –– in such private discussions, coercion around it being “disgusting” or “undignified” to shit on the open ground, if any, is not expected to have any negative effects on the nominee.

Organisations/corporations/persons that draw your attention to their products, services, candidacy or events in public offline news medium e.g. a political candidate, a business etc support this project in-kind –– you scan their products, receipts and adverts to support villages that you care about (to make your work easier, we list products and organisations whose adverts and barcodes are of value to scan).

Political candidates and family businesses have or want to have connections with their local area – they are more than happy to support this project. National and international chains, on the other hand, often have a strong social or community support ethos as part of their corporate policy, providing free or subsidised goods and services – and sometimes funding too – for local community initiatives. Businesses operate as part of communities and hold as much of a stake in supporting local community amenities and promoting civic pride as the locals themselves.

Therefore, families/schools are still lacking toilets, water, medical services and reusable sanitary towels because: you, their “urbanised compatriots” are just about to nominate them for toilets/water/towels; and or, corporations/organisations are just about to be listed as in-kind supporters of this project.

click to see raha team

Regarding toilets, RaHa is keen to reduce effects, on the poor, of shame [similar to those in community-led total sanitation (CLTS) and in adverts commonly used in sanitation marketing]. To promote the necessary uptake (because any percent of toilet-less-ness is bad, from the public health perspective), we shift effects of promoting conspicuous consumption (i.e. keeping up with or outdoing your neighbour) from the poor (who are affected negatively by this) to you, their urbanised compatriots, and to organisations/corporations.

We are guided by an assumption that beneficiaries see little value in low quality products like pit latrines (which may not be meeting UN definition of ‘improved sanitation’) mainly because they know that you, their more urbanized compatriots and favourite organizations, use much better toilets – in this sense, the pit is not different from open defecation (OD), its a mockery.

This explains why our medical service, toilets and rainwater harvesting systems are of very high quality standards.

Reusable sanitary pads, that we bring to teenage girls (especially those that we bring our toilets to) are for purposes of managing our sun-drying toilets –– the girls use them, not because the girls are less fortunate, but because disposables should not be disposed of in any type of toilets.

nominate village / school that you care about