Beacons of Hope | 2022 Impact Challenge

Team Members: Yhaqueline Escudero, Layla-Bleu Jackson Yanez, Sofia Aranda, Josafath Lopez Villegas

Impact Partner: Stella’s Child

The Challenge: The challenge to address in my team's impact project is how to empower and educate young women on various forms of approaching harassment, along with educating young men that this behavior is unacceptable.

SDGs Addressed: SDG 4: Quality Education, SDG 5: Gender Equality, SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

The Solution: Our group plans to address and meet the goals listed in the challenge by implementing an organization named Garuda for Gender Equality to pave the path for a brighter and safer tomorrow. We plan to empower young women to protect themselves against sexual harassment and discrimination by providing them with the tools needed to do so. We plan to not only educate women of all ages but also men through various mediums to foster a strong community of respect and equal opportunities.

The Reason: My team chose this project because it stood out to each of us individually. We reiterated that respect is critical in our everyday lives and were honestly shocked that women in Indonesia are 13 times more likely to be harassed- in public. The statement of “that's the way it is here” left us dumbfounded. The fact that this issue has been occurring consistently - to the point where it is accepted- is truly baffling. Overall, we felt great importance to tackle a matter that we can relate to and are passionate about finding a viable solution in our Impact Project.