Bored with plain white t-shirts? Don’t have anything to wear to school? Well say no more because the UNIS microfinance group is creating UNITEES (get it? Unity, tees, UNIS… it’s pure genius). Hold on, you can also help out others by buying those products! The money earned from selling the shirts will be used for marginalized people in Hoa Binh province and for others in need.
The microfinance ASA led by Mr. Gangi, also known as the best economics teacher in the world, Mr. Garland, our very own Flame newspaper leader and our business management teacher and last but not least Mr. Ginver our basketball coach. This CAS group is also supported by the bloom microventures, a company that lends money to people in Hoa Dinh to help sustain their crops and farms. Along with nineteen students from high school they all joined together to make a difference and divided themselves into different positions in production, marketing, design and management.
On November 12th the CAS group went on their first trip to Hoa Binh to explore the area and see where the money goes and how it improves lives. The purpose was also to see the living conditions and the everyday activities that the people there do.
“This trip was fun! The activities that we took part in were truly a great experience, something I will never forget. Now I know how the people there live and how different their life is from mine.” Says Hiong Lin Tam, UNIS student from grade 11.
With the blue microventures loans the farmers have money to buy fertilizers and animals to maintain their farm and produce sustainably. The UNIS students participated in several farming activities, they planted beans using the slash and burn technique, the large field was planted completely in less than thirty minutes, whereas the woman who owned her field would take half a day. Later on the students collected cassava roots and picked corn, according to some of the 12th grade students the best activity was working with cassava where they had to pull the trees out of the ground and work together as a team to extract the root.
The microfinance team is working on some great designs and will soon release their final products, until then, help them make a change and raise money for the marginalized people. Tell your friends; look for interesting designs to customize your own shirt and help UNIS and the bloom microventures support others.
