82 Degrees

As crazy and overwhelming as NYC can be, it is also one of the most fascinating places on Earth. That’s why we – the founders of Eighty2degrees – like to make an appearance there at least 3 or 4 times per year. Over the first 5 months of 2010, we have worked with two amazing organizations in New York: Indego Africa and BronxWorks. Both are non-profits seeking to empower different groups of people, and both are involved in work which we believe is essential in creating positive futures for their respective communities. More about BronxWorks in the next post…

In January, we took a trip to New York to showcase our partnership with Indego Africa – a non-profit social enterprise working to empower women in three different Rwandan communities. Having designed the promotional materials for their major fundraising event, titled The Indego Africa Project, Rwanda and Social Enterprise: Investing in Women, we were excited to be a part of the festivities. Since the partnership between Eighty2degrees and Indego Africa has been so greatly appreciated, the event organizers invited us to have a presence at this event. We designed a special promotional piece emphasizing the symbolic connectivity and communication between people and technology, which is so important for people working together from different parts of the world. The opposite side of this promo piece carried a business card and listed the services offered by Eighty2degrees.

Photos courtesy of Deutsch Photography

By investing their energy, organizational talents and skills, as well as significant and substantial volunteer power, those who have created and driven the success of Indego Africa are on a mission to show by their working example what a social enterprise is capable of achieving. Their model for success relies on giving back equally to those communities in which they work. Their example is that of an organization that believes in the power of education and empowerment, and in the immense power of women to create, maintain and grow sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their families in Rwanda.

We strongly support the fair-trade mindset of Indego Africa, and believe – as they do – that teaching and empowering others to deliver themselves out of poverty is a great model. As well, long-term skills development and skill-sharing is a wonderful and productive way into the future of economic development for Africa and for any developing country. With more cooperation between the people of the world, we will surely create a better future for many by embracing and supporting such noble efforts as those being made by the inspiring volunteers and staff of Indego Africa.

Hearing from the founders of Indego Africa, as well as the keynote speaker for the event, Stephen Kinzer, we learned a lot about the unique qualities and importance of the work in which Indego Africa has undertaken. Mr. Kinzer is an award-winning foreign correspondent who has covered more than 50 countries on five continents. His book, “A Thousand Hills – Rwanda’s Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It,” tells of the promise that has emerged out of the tragedy of the 1994 Rwandan genocide. We met a lot of fascinating people who are working for positive change in the world, including someone from The Clinton Global Initiative and Foundation Rwanda.

Eighty2degrees looks forward to continuing our working relationship with such a great group of thoughtful people. We are honored to be able to contribute to the success of Indego Africa.