NANSHE

NANSHE's first two solutions' research and development phase within a 24-month period indicates a 2 million USD budget. If I am selected as a winner - 85% of the prize money will be channeled towards the organisation, while the remaining 10% and 5% will go towards myself and my co-founder respectively to sustain our living expenses, prioritising the organisational needs before ours. 

The majority of the organisation's initial 2 million USD budget is for the research and development (first versions) of NANSHE's first two solutions - the NANSHE mobile application and NANSHE harassment response predictor.  The budget also finances the running costs and overheads needed in the start up phase of the organisation which includes but not limited to initial hires, roster development, setting up systems and communications, consultancies, advocacy projects, and stakeholders engagements. Key achievements and progress will be tracked and measured against the quality of the promised deliverables by six months intervals of the indicated timeframe.

I dedicated 15 years building a career in the aid and development sector. In 2019, I was sexually harassed while working in Nairobi as the interim Head of Partnerships for Africa region for the International Federation Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC). What was more traumatic than the harassment itself, was the gross mishandling of the report by the organisation. 

In my pursuit of justice, and in an effort to seek healing, I was connected to other survivors of harassment, abuse and discrimination in the sector - all of whom are in need of support one way or another, or looking to support other survivors even if their own experience dates back ten years prior. That was how the idea of NANSHE was born in July 2020. 

In January 2021, Devex published an article of my harrowing experience at IFRC: https://www.devex.com/news/the...

Blowing the whistle was my first public act of calling for accountability in the sector. In Feb 2021, NANSHE went live across all social media platforms.  

For the next five to ten years, I hope to focus on building NANSHE and ensuring its solutions' acceptance, growth and impact. 

1 out of 3 women experienced harassment, abuse and discrimination at the UN; another study indicates that more than 40% of female aid workers experienced harassment on the field; 86% of aid workers know of at least one colleague who has suffered sexual violence. This is endemic in the aid and development world, and it is as a whole sector, failing in its duty of care to women. 

A 2021-published inquiry report by UK Parliament International Development committee has found that existing, current and formerly suggested "solutions" has continued to disempower, discourage and silence survivors - both in communities and within organisations themselves. 

NANSHE is a for-survivors by-survivors community of support for women that aims to create and sustain systems of support for women to be able to work equitably without the fear of harassment, abuse, discrimination or retaliatory actions. 

NANSHE's solutions seek to empower survivors to speak out, generate greater accountability and end a culture of impunity that only exist where men found culpable of harassment, abuse and discrimination are continuously allowed to work in the sector.

While the dialogue on addressing harassment, abuse and discrimination in the aid sector is not a new one, most of the organisational and collective responses have been focused on solely improving organisational policies and HR/Legal practices that ticks boxes, rather than shifting the gear towards listening to survivors and letting them take the lead or asking them to participate/lead. 

NANSHE's solutions will move the needle on the discussion and concrete ways forward that will make survivors feel safer, less alone, and empowered, with options to seek support from peers and professional service providers that understand the sector. 

NANSHE is the first and only organisation (thus far) creating tech solutions to specifically address harassment, abuse and discrimination in the sector, and its solutions will also be the the first of its kinds - tangible, survivor-led and focused, and trauma informed. We are the best organisation to tackle this through our solutions, because we have lived through the experience of the problem we are trying to solve.

NANSHE's first two solutions are the NANSHE Mobile Application and the NANSHE Harassment Response Predictor.  For sustainability purposes, both solutions have a business model attached to them. The mobile application will run on a subscription fee model (B2C) to support survivors and ensure their well being; the predictor will run on a business consultancy fee model (B2B) to create accountability and will be advocated to major donors as a compulsory tool for aid recipient organisations. All income earned from both solutions will go towards maintaining the solutions, and administration of the organisation. 

NANSHE's solutions will ultimately create a world of work that adheres to established global standards aimed at ending violence and harassment; where women assert their right to dignity with full access to equal opportunities in safe, healthy and productive working environments. There will be greater accountability and transparency by employers to create safe and equitable work spaces, when women thrive in workplaces without fear and stigma from reporting harassment, abuse and discrimination. 

In the beginning, NANSHE will serve all women working in the aid sector, with plans for growth and expansion to include other sectors in the future.