Hult Magazine Issue 2 | Page 14

ON-CAMPUS ENTREPRENEURSHIP Women for Rwanda—From Action Project to Recognized Charity How one Action Project has evolved to become a recognized charity providing recognition and relief to female victims of genocidal rape in Rwanda, Central Africa. In September 2011 a group of undergraduate Bachelor students (Mari Hoikkala, Carola Chiarpenello, Daniela Morales, and Victoria Martinez) embarked on their Hult Action Project, an undertaking that, according to Communications Officer Mari Hoikkala, “changed our lives and inspired us to change the lives of others.” Hult’s Action Project partner, the Aegis Trust, a U.K.-based charity, challenged the team to come up with an innovative idea to support post-conflict Rwandan women. The team pitched their idea of helping Rwandan women heal emotionally by empowering them economically and socially. Both sides were keen to take the project to the next level, and team members Mari Hoikkala and Carola Chiarpenello were so moved by their research into the conflict in Rwanda, that they continued their project in partnership with the Aegis Trust and Hult long after graduating. Carola and Mari travelled to Rwanda in September 2012 to meet some of the women affected by the genocide, an experience which reinforced their belief that “just because you can’t do everything, doesn’t mean you should do nothing.” Upon their return they decided to make a start, however small it might be. They are now working with one woman to raise money to build her a house. They then hope to go on to raise funds to build a community center that would benefit an even larger group of women. In addition to holding fundraising events, the team is also raising awareness of female victims of genocide via events held at Hult and the Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust & Genocide in London. We wish the team all the best in their endeavors and encourage you to check out the Women for Rwanda website: womenforrwanda.org and blog: womenforrwanda.wordpress.com for more info on their work or to find out how you can offer support. HGN—Bachelor Students Turned Journalists We talk to Hult Bachelor of Business Administration student Mattia Rosa about Hult Global News (HGN)—an online news portal run by Hult undergraduate students. Founded in November, 2010 by two undergraduate students, Toni Horn and Isabel Garcia, HGN draws upon the unique international and cultural diversity of the school’s student body to provide regional insights into contemporary issues. As Editor in Chief Mattia Rosa states, “we want to exploit Hult’s incredibly multicultural environment to offer a different perspective on the world of news and to make geographical distance irrelevant, especially in the way that people perceive news stories, particularly those about events in another region of the world.” 14 The site helps connect students at Hult’s global locations by publishing campus-specific news. Mattia says: “we want to engage with more members of the Hult community and shorten the distances firstly between Hult campuses and, as a consequence, between global readers of the site. We encourage students from all campuses to get involved!” Check out hgnonline.com for Hult news and articles from student contributors on international business, politics, and social enterprise.