01 Sep 2014
The Story…
The spirit of entrepreneurship can end poverty and those of us fortunate enough to live in Australia can help.
Billions of dollars of Western aid have failed more than 1 billion people in extreme poverty.
Proudly Australian and not-for-profit, Spark International aims to lift 1 million people out of extreme poverty by enabling local entrepreneurs in Africa and the Pacific with social business ideas. Rather than throw money at problems and create a cycle of reliance, Spark visits the country to identify local entrepreneurs with ideas to employ others in their communities and combat poverty; mentor/support and even fund these local Changemakers with local solutions.
Aussie Chris Ball is on a mission to help Spark secure funding for its next round of Changemakers in Papua New Guinea. Ball will visit the global heartland of entrepreneurship – the US west coast. With an inspiring presentation for some of the world's most innovative organisations, Ball will share the story of Spark and the local Changemakers it has enabled.
The message? Simple. Entrepreneurs and professionals in the West can and must step up to help entrepreneurs in developing countries end poverty.
Ball will cover the 2000kms from Seattle to San Francisco on a bicycle and within a daily budget of $3, which is the amount upon which people in half the developing world subsist. Ball's presentations, combined with US and Australian media, have a consistent call to action: visit www.seattle2sanfran.com and pledge your support to help end poverty.
A crowdfunding campaign went live on 13 August and concludes 30 September. We must hit at least $15,000 for Spark to conduct its next intake of 15 changemakers in PNG. Every extra $1000 is another Changemaker enabled. Every $1.03 pledged to this campaign is another human life changed profoundly (IRIS global investment impact metric).
Appeals to…
This story will be inspirational, personal, informative and entertaining. It will appeal to:
- Hundreds of thousands of average Aussies who visit developing countries and are touched by the plight of locals suffering poverty
- Your audience seeing an average Aussie just like them getting out there, flying the flag and making it happen on the world stage
- The fast-growing Australian community of entrepreneurs and corporates in our cities, suburbs and towns who know the power of 'entrepreneurial culture'
- We're the lucky country with a spirit of ingenuity and a 'fair go'. We can share these traits with the world. There are people in Kenyan slums and isolated Papua New Guinean villages who have as much potential as any Australian. They just need a hand up and will do the rest for themselves. It's time we spread our Australian ideals of a fair go for all beyond our shores.
How you can connect…
- Live crosses and/or pre-recorded interviews/content (photos etc.) from the road.
Background…
Chris Ball is an Australian online travel entrepreneur and adventurer. He has visited more than 60 countries and founded in Asia the adventure travel business AdventureHoney, which supports Spark International. Chris will conduct the speaking tour and cycling Seattle to San Francisco on $3 a day.
He was inspired by the people he met in some of the poorest parts of the planet.
Spark International was founded by Aaron (Aussie) & Kaitlin (US American) Tait. Aaron met Kaitlin while on leave from a tour in Iraq as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy. They saw firsthand the inadequacy and wastage of foreign aid that fails to effectively combat poverty.
Spark International is an Australian not-for-profit that identifies, supports/mentors and funds local entrepreneurs in developing countries with social business ideas. See Spark in action!
Spark Changemaker, John Taka from PNG is one of many wonderful examples of what's possible when local people with local solutions are enabled. With Spark's mentoring, support and funding, John created a farming co-op that's put 20 kids through university. He has diversified into healthcare and banking services for his local village and even project managed the construction of a road through 17kms of jungle, connecting his village to the highway. He has directly changed for the better the lives of 10,000 locals. This is what change looks like. Meet John!
Photos, past media experience, project partners/sponsors, existing media coverage and any other details available upon request.
Contact:
Chris Ball
CEO/Project Leader, Ride For Entreprenuers Ending Poverty
AdventureHoney
p: 0424302571
YvonneSewankambo
PR & Events
AdventureHoney
p: 0456 163 851
