By the beginning of this week, we have introduced you to our Reality Gives Ambassadors from the Rickshaw Race Team 2013. Today, we want to tell you the story of our new Ambassador who came up with such a great idea worth reading about.
Christiana left her career behind in Chicago to travel the world in 2012. In India, she had a near-death experience from a severe viral infection in her stomach and was carried to the hospital, where she was treated for days. When she collapsed and regained consciousness, she couldn’t be more grateful for the medication and vaccinations.
However, outside of the hospital were still lines of people waiting to be treated, and she started thinking of those without money for medical treatment or vaccinations in need. At the end of her 1-month stay in India, she came across Reality Gives, where she was exposed to some of the living conditions of the people, and especially small children. That memory resonated with her.
Instead of making a one-time donation, she believed in creating a system, and this was an opportunity. During the next travel destination, in South Korea, she entered a startup competition and met her current co-founder, DH. He, as a passionate entrepreneur and engineer also believed in well-designed products, and good deeds. With some passion and skills in design, engineering, and social innovation, they decided to start an online business together.
Since July 2012, they officially decided the business model to be a smartphone case shop with a focus on good design social enterprise. They designed the products, brand and set up the business as well as the non-profit model. Summer from Reality Gives helped made this happen as we were on several calls discussing the needs of the community and potential projects. In lieu of the idea of “protection and design,” they explored what types of protective item we can provide particularly for children.
As a result they established an official partnership with Reality Gives and FMCH-India to donate typhoid de-worming vaccinations to children under the age of 6 in Dharavi Slum as part of our ‘Nutrition only Initiative’. With every case the customer purchases on the website one child gets one shot.
