There is plenty of money in the world. But it is people’s will for change and making a difference that is important.
Anna Juusela is the founder and CEO of We Encourage, and she was kind enough to sit for an interview to explain her dream for the company. She is a key component of our team. We literally wouldn’t be here without her. Without her vision of empowering women through our fundraising tool and offering an opportunity for NGOs to have a service provider for marketing, planning and donor support then We Encourage would not exist.
Anna doesn’t necessarily profile for someone you would expect to have just founded a company working against forced marriage. She has no background in charity work or volunteer work but instead worked passionately in the retail sector for years. Yet, just watching the documentary ‘SONITA’ planted the seed. In the documentary an Afghan girl, with dreams to be a rapper, escapes the war to Iran with her family. Family moves back to Afghanistan, but Sonita stays in Iran. After a while, she is under threat to be sold to marriage by her family to finance her brother’s marriage. Fortunately, the documentary maker ended up buying Sonita free with only $2000. But, Anna was aware that Sonita was a lucky minority amongst the many women who are not.
Forced marriages are not happening just somewhere over there, they happen under our eyes even in Finland
The notion of women being sold into marriage was unbearable for Anna. She is Finnish and gender equality has always existed for her. To see women being sold in such a way invoked strong feelings of anger. She also discovered that forced marriage was a hidden problem even in Finland, her home, among diaspora and immigrant communities. Whilst other hardships women were facing, such as the gender pay gap, were being fought against across society, forced marriage wasn’t and few people were aware of it. To Anna the need to fight against forced marriage seemed significant. Fear was keeping victims silent, and this was a life-threatening issue. Moreover, she noticed that people didn’t want to disrespect different cultures or religions even if they saw something wrong, such as forced marriage. For Anna using culture or religion as an excuse for such behaviour is wrong. In all societies we should respect everyone regardless of religion, culture or gender.
So, she planned. After turning 50, after success, she would take this feeling further.
Anna didn’t wait till 50.
Charities forget to serve their customers aka donors
In a few years she had noticed a one-way street. When it comes to donating, western countries are expected to give, with donors getting nothing in return. Not even a guarantee of where their money is going. Donors are often then frustrated for not being able to help in a way they truly feel. Sending money online doesn’t provide an emotional return. It is not enough. People want trust and transparency in their donation. They want to see the differences they are making. She also noted that alongside money, support and guidance are needed both for victims and those who work with them, especially those who need to understand cultural differences.
There was a market gap, hence the idea of using blockchain, which provides the transparencies and information people want and out AI tool that aims to provide resources that human power cannot match.
The first steps towards making the idea become a reality
In 2018, Anna pitched the idea of using this blockchain and AI at a summit, not knowing about impact start-ups or having a real plan. She was invited to become part of a community for impact minded entrepreneurs who are helping and inspiring each other. This provided the courage to start slowly. Ultimately she didn’t want to regret doing nothing. Given her retail background she had to remove the notion that she couldn’t succeed in this sector. Despite her move to impact work she has thrived, in just one year she has spoken at multiple panels including a UNESCO Blockchain: Practices and Perspectives panel.
Anna has dreams far larger than just the launch of We Encourage. She has a larger vision of an independent organisation which verifies the status of charities and NGOs, that creates a trusted group, so people know what an organisation is doing and can trust their process. She feels that amplifying the key elements of trust and transparency that We Encourage is building is vital to push forward the sector.
We Encourage is launching on March 26th, as we pilot with NGO’s and cocreate to perfect our solution. Importantly, at the launch action makers can meet with NGO’s to see what can be done.
But it is not just for partners. Anna reminded me that we can all be encouraged to start from even the smallest of actions, we can clear our own limiting beliefs. This can be anything from getting involved with us to just sharing a post. Anna didn’t come from an NGO or volunteer-based background and now We Encourage is ready to launch. Anyone can make an impact, regardless of profession or experience.
It is important to remember that there is plenty of money in the world. But it is people’s will for change and making a difference that is important. That is where We Encourage comes in. For more information on specific details on our mission see our blog post “Every Girl has the right to education”, or join us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
Writer: Emily Stamp
Photo credit: Renja Nurmi
