The Wings of Hope Global Cooperative (501c3) seeks to provide resources to promote good health, education and economic growth that will empower people in need. This Webinar introduced participants to the role of the nonprofit in empowering people in Kenya, Ghana, Guinea, Myanmar and Pakistan. Focus was given to the specific projects associated with the health-care needs of the Maasai people in Kenya. Wings of Hope President David Weeks ’73 was joined by Transparentdonation.com Founder Krish Bhatia, a Babson student presently studying in England, and Kikanae Punyua, Osiligi (Hope) Foundation Founder and Maasai Projects Manager in Kenya. This intergenerational and intercultural presentation of humanitarian projects demonstrated effective ways to use one’s talents to address global needs.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Created by David Weeks '73

OUR PANELISTS

DAVID WEEKS '73

Founder, Wings of Hope Global Cooperative

An educator since 1973 with experience at the elementary, middle, and high school levels of instruction, David Weeks, greatly values promoting student potential and engaging in community service both locally and globally. He has conducted workshops in service learning and became a Service-Learning Fellow with the Maryland State Board of Education for his public and private school partnership programs. With his passion for service, Mr. Weeks has received numerous service awards for both local and international projects. As the Director of Global Education and Community Service at the Glenelg Country School he collaborated with his former students on the Kenya, Ghana and Guinea projects in the Wings of Hope Global Cooperative. David Weeks has led student trips to Thailand, India and Haiti and has helped to construct medical clinics in Thailand, Haiti and Kenya. His extensive travel experience has helped him to recognize and need to address resource inequity. Mr. Weeks chairs the Build Haiti Foundation Board and serves on three other nonprofit boards. His education includes an ESOL Master’s Certificate from the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), an MA and Med from Loyola University in Maryland and a BA from Harvard College. He currently resides in Ellicott City, Maryland.

KRISH BHATIA

Co-Founder of Transparent Donation

Krish is a student pursuing degrees/certifications from Babson College (tech-entrepreneurship), Olin College (design engineering), and the London School of Economics (LSE) (1-year exchange program). His previous professional experience includes working at an international distributor of luxury goods, founding an ai-entrepreneurship summer program for highschoolers (20+ students taught), and facilitating a design thinking workshop at MIT.

Krish is currently working on a donation platform called Transparent (transparentdonation.com), which helps nonprofits show impact with the goal of helping donors trust their donations more and therefore feeling comfortable donating more. The organization has developed several "Transparency Tools" to measure the impact of nonprofits and make it easier for nonprofits to show impact. This past summer, Transparent was involved with Harvard Extension School providing mentorship in one of their entrepreneurship summer programs. Since then, Transparent have grown to a team of 7, and is currently testing their beta version with a small number of nonprofits and donors as they further develop in the background.

KIKANAE PUNYUA

Founder, Osiligi Hope Foundation

Kikanae graduated from the University of Maryland. A member of the Maasai clan in Kenya, he returned home after graduation to continue working on the Osiligi (Hope) Foundation that he established with the grants he had received from FFC and his additional fundraising efforts. The Osiligi Foundation pilots, implements, and sustains programs as a means to unite, empower, and - most importantly - drive social change. They believe in grassroots initiatives, sustainable impact, community-driven efforts, and addressing the root causes of social issues. Kikanae is the President of Rafiki Beads, and CEO and Co-Founder of Kali Holdings Company.