Mathematics to end slavery
- Nepal
- Hybrid of for-profit and nonprofit
I am addressing the lack of education that leads children from impoverished backgrounds to be sold in slavery. I believe mathematics and financial skills will help them avoid this situation, by giving them quantifiable skills in any venture or small business they take up.
I will hand out small OLPC style laptops to children already in slavery, as in redlight district Kamathipura of Mumbai. We'll also work with Nepali women in Qatar and the UAE. The aim is to give them math skills which help them to start new ventures.
We may use AI to map out where the most vulnerable populations are, and to create a database in which they can report their situation anonymously, hiding their name and contact details which will only be shared with NGOs and officials with their consent.
Nepali women are heavily trafficked in situations of contemporary slavery. Much of it has to do with lack of mathematical knowledge and bargaining skills. I believe adding this to their repertoire will help them get better jobs and salaries, and make them less prone to exploitation.
I have been researching trafficking since 1998. I believe I have the networks to implement this solution and amplify its impact.
- Bettering existing resources for legal, financial, physical, psychological, and social well-being
- 1. No Poverty
- 4. Quality Education
- 5. Gender Equality
- 10. Reduced Inequalities
- 16. Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions
- Concept
I have contacts with various organizations in Mumbai, and elsewhere. I also know the OLPC team in Nepal. It will be a matter of bringing the two sides together.
The AI database where peolle could anonymously share their situation could be built in Nepal by various startups which I know. We can get the most competitive quotation.
I would like to end slavery in South Asia. I believe it only exists because we haven't shown adequate concern in ending it. It is not inevitable. It's a matter of mobilizing resources, people, legal institutions, and educational power.
- Business Model (e.g. product-market fit, strategy & development)
- Financial (e.g. accounting practices, pitching to investors)
- Human Capital (e.g. sourcing talent, board development)
- Legal or Regulatory Matters
- Monitoring & Evaluation (e.g. collecting/using data, measuring impact)
- Product / Service Distribution (e.g. delivery, logistics, expanding client base)
- Public Relations (e.g. branding/marketing strategy, social and global media)
- Technology (e.g. software or hardware, web development/design)
Anti-trafficking organizations are teaching rescued girls knitting and crocheting. They're learning to sew. These are low paid skills and the women make more in the redlight districts. My aim is to give them math and finance skills which they can use to start a business which breaks the slavery model.
I believe knowing math will give them a sense of mastery and acomplishment. They will also not be cheated financially. They could apply these skills to calculate whether a venture will be financially viable or not, leading to better decision making. There's also a sense if play in multiplying numbers which could encourage them to try higher risk business ventures (eg; agriculture is taking off in a big way now in Nepal, with people making up to $60,000 a year from fruit orchards and vegetable tunnels.)
The impact goal is to make the girls and women see other ventures as more profitable, thereby taking them away from bonded labor and slavery.
OLPC tablets, AI, website to document case histories and forward to authorities, a "Go Fund Me" type funding site to get people out if danger or fund their dmall business
- A new business model or process that relies on technology to be successful
- Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning
- Audiovisual Media
- Crowd Sourced Service / Social Networks
- GIS and Geospatial Technology
- Nepal
At present, it is just me. I'd add my teams as I go along.
1998.
The teams I've built have always been inclusive, with due attention to gender, caste, ethnicity, indigenous groups, and age.
I'm running out of time (I could not enter SOLVE interface due to login issues and now its 8th July with an hour left to submission time), so I'll keep this brief:
Key beneficiaries: Nepali women and girls from marginalized backgrounds
Key products: math and finance skills
Why do they need them: to start new ventures and small business and escape the cycle of familial bonded labor and slavery
- Individual consumers or stakeholders (B2C)
I'll do fundraising, ask bilateral donors to fund courses, and seek investment capital.