LivelyHoods looks for sustainable solution in Kenya

Colorful Band-Aids of Disney characters and classic animations cover most of her face in a disorderly pattern.

Maria Springer has put on 25 Band-Aids each morning for the past 15 days and has worn them proudly through her daily routine to raise money for LivelyHoods, a “not-for-profit social enterprise,” she co-founded in 2011.

Springer, who graduated from UCLA in 2008, said she is wearing the Band-Aids to show she wants to provide more than a “Band-Aid solution” to poverty in Kenyan slums – a problem LivelyHoods aims to address.

Kenya ranks 145 out of 186 countries in the world in terms of human development, according to the 2013 Human Development Report. About 43.4 percent of its population lives on less than $1.25 per day, according to the report.

Additionally, the unemployment rate for people in Kenya between the ages of 20 and 24 was 8.1 percent according to an economic update from the World Bank in December 2012.

Springer said she wants to address the root problems of poverty instead of just covering them up. The Band-Aids on her face are a way start a conversation with people about the mission of LivelyHoods, she added.

LivelyHoods is trying to raise $25,000 to open up a retail shop that will employ 50 young adults and sell sustainable products in Kenya. The shop would give more than 100,000 people access to sustainable products, Springer said.

Springer will take off one Band-Aid for every $1,000 dollars raised. She regularly posts photos of her face with the Band-Aids on the LivelyHoods website and on the organization’s Twitter account to inform people of her progress.

So far, LivelyHoods has raised $18,000, so only seven more Band-Aids remain on Springer’s face.

“When you make people laugh they are more likely to listen to what you are going to say,” Springer said. She chose to wear the Band-Aids as a symbol of her dedication to LivelyHoods. “I wanted to try using a fun way to present a serious issue.”

Pamela Roussos, a chairman of the board for LivelyHoods and Springer’s mentor, said LivelyHoods focuses on sustainable means of living.

The organization has sold more than 3,500 products such as solar lamps, reusable sanitary pads and clean-burning cooking stoves. The product sales have generated more than $80,000, The money goes towards buying more sustainable products and employing sales representatives in Kenya.

“Some organizations are handing out money in Africa instead of teaching the people skills that are sustainable. Our goal is to teach people a sustainable method they can use,” Roussos said.

Springer has been involved with charity and community programs for several years.

When she was a student at UCLA, Springer spent her time working in projects for organizations such as the Undergraduate Students Association Council and the Student Activities Center..

Her dedication to various clubs on campus strongly influenced her decision to start LivelyHoods, she said.

Springer decided she wanted to dedicate her life to providing young people with opportunities while working in Kenya with KITO International, an organization dedicated to helping young people get out of poverty and achieve their goals, she said.

“We are investing in talent, creativity and the ambition of young people living in Kenyan slums who otherwise wouldn’t have the opportunity,” Springer said.

UCLA alumnus Jade Van Doren, a member of LivelyHoods’s board of directors, said he lived in Kenya for six months when he was young. His experience encouraged him to support LivelyHoods.

“Living in Kenya opened my eyes to the challenges people face in Africa. The model we use has solved life problems such as having a job and income,” Van Doren said.

The profits from the new shop would be able to cover the costs of operation for one year and would provide job training for youths to give them more employment opportunities in the future, Springer said.

“We are providing young people with a platform,” Springer said. “By giving young people access to training, they can increase and develop their professional skills that will help them start a business one day.”