Jobs in MY hands

EVOLUTION Foundation proposes to establish and manage a public-private partnership: We would obtain data from the Ministry of Economy regarding small to mid-size companies in impoverished communities; we'd also obtain data from the most vulnerable communities (available the Office of Statistics, SIUBEN), and the cross-reference would give us an area to work in.  Next, we would pursue our partnership with Phone Companies, and obtain user's phone numbers for the given area.

We'd a qualitative and needs analysis to evaluate the needs of the companies found in the given community, and survey the knowledge and experience of people living in the community to assess the needs for jobs and education.

We will also cross reference local universities and local companies to ensure people get training in the jobs that can best benefit the community.

Finally, entrepreneurial and job-related skills training will be pushed via short messages (‘capsules’) to people's phones.

The Dominican Republic has been hard hit over the years with hurricanes, increased Haitian migrations, higher oil prices and mismanagement of public funds.  Add to this the COVID-19 Pandemic, and you have food, housing and financial insecurity levels like never before.  A country of 10,000,000 people is currently after the pandemic hit the island: Currently, the country's borders are closed so what had become it's main source of income, Tourism, has literally disappeared.  Airports and Hotels are empty; thousands who had moved to tourist areas are without jobs, and many have moved inland or to the capital city, where poverty is more extreme. Mid-size and small companies comprised almost 70% of businesses in the island. Due to the pandemic, Mid-size companies are now small companies, if they exist at all; small and micro companies have disappeared and everyone is looking to reinvent themselves, only in the most vulnerable communities, they don't know how.

EVOLUTION Foundation's mission is to find solutions to the problem of poverty in the Dominican Republic, whether relative, absolute or extreme.  We anticipate this idea could help about 10,000 people between multiple communities that are selected.

This particular solution allow the most needed communities to benefit from the relationships that EVOLUTION foundation has built over the years, as the foundation helps, analyses, cross references and manages the data obtained. The information obtained will allow us to implement a fairly uncomplicated  solution that would enable small and mid-size businesses to create (or keep) jobs in the area, paying living wages to its employees, as well as keep the communities afloat. The solution will also provide for educational opportunities in the areas of technology and digital literacy to those who wish to participate.

We would rely on the phone towers and services provided by the local phone companies to push data gathered and cross-referenced between the Ministry of Economics, Ministry of Statistics, surveys and visual/qualitative analysis of the areas, so we can help small and mid sized companies to create jobs and keep communities alive.

This project will impact impoverished communities in the country.  The results of analyzing and cross-referencing data obtained from a variety of sources, as well as engaging the community to do needs analysis and visual/qualitative surveys, will allow us to not only better understand the needs of specific communities, but also help in the creation of maintenance of jobs.

With the advent of the pandemic, both men and women who used to work either in their own town, or travel to work as store clerks,maids, chauffeurs are finding themselves with no job opportunities due to lack of education.  Their ages range from 16 to over 60. Both, men and women. 

We hope that our solution address their financial needs which in turn, will make them be secured in terms of housing and food.

The solution presented herein will enable small businesses in impoverished communities to survive and perhaps to prosper beyond the pandemic. Our idea will allow the creation of jobs allowing the businesses to keep and create jobs, and their employees to earn living wage and build financial security during these uncertain times.

At the same time, we will provide the technological skills to the employees so they can stay in the job market by creating and managing a partnership with universities which will offer courses to help employees train.

Our approach is innovative because of multiple reasons: 1) no one has had the connection and the expertise to do this kind of partnership before; 2) we are leveraging existing technology, which should help in keeping all costs of  implementation lower; 3) because we are hoping to engage the community's senior leaders, company owners and the workers in coming together to ensure jobs are kept, and the community can survive.

Our solution offers partnerships and cooperation between corporate entities (EVOLUTION, Phone companies, Government, Universities), as well as engagement from business/people in the community.  This is a new concept in the Dominican Republic.  We hope our solution is sustainable, and long-lasting. We also expect that in areas where COVID's economic ffects closed some businesses, we will be reinventing, based on new needs.  For example, it has been shown that waste has shifted from corporate (mostly plastics, card boards, and glass) to domestic (mostly organic).  Maybe there will be an opportunity for those who used to sell the corporate waste to learn how to create fertilizer and use it for agricultural purposes.

Our team members will implement the solution utilizing current technology (cell phones) and either google mail or whatsapp, to push notifications out to the end user (potential or actual employees) about potential and open jobs or training opportunities.

The technology (phones with internet access) has been proven to work all over the world.  Whatsapp is an application also proven to work with any cell phone technology.  For those people that can't purchase a plan with internet, we will rely on voice mails and in ensuring hot spots are created precisely to allow people to receive these kind of messages.

Our solution will impact all working-age people living in the impoverished communities selected. The cooperation of small-mid-size companies will be invaluable being they are part of the community, know what is needed the most, and in some cases, know the people they are hiring.

By introducing the potential/current employees to technology, we hope to cause some real and long time change.  These employees will also gain the exposure to the good will of universities who will offer online classes so they can further their education.

Conservatively, we expect our solution services about 1,000 people per community.  We hope to do 5 communities at a time, for a total of 5,000 people in about 4 months.  This means 20 communities within the first year, for a total of 20,000 in a year.

We do expect that once the results are shown, we can get more visibility and more donations of technology and consultants, speeding up the progress.  So, in 5 years, we hope to service 100,000 people.

Conservatively, we expect our solution services about 1,000 people per community.  We hope to do 5 communities at a time, for a total of 5,000 people in about 4 months.  This means 20 communities within the first year, for a total of 20,000 in a year.

We do expect that
once the results are shown, we can get more visibility and more
donations of technology and consultants, speeding up the progress.  So,
in 5 years, we hope to service 100,000 people.

COVID-19 has definitely been a barrier as it has shifted all funds to projects that deal with the fallout.  This could also impact the good-will of the corporations we are looking at partnering with. It could also have an adverse effect on us getting grants, but we will continue pursuing them, as it is for the benefit of the poor people in the Dominican Republic.

We will continue pressing forward.  Applying for grants and looking for partners.

We have 3 full time contractors that help us with grant-seeking.

On the ground, we have 5 full time contractors who help us logistically, to achieve the variety of projects accomplished.

By itself, this solution hasn't been worked on yet.  However, the relationships with the potential partners has been worked on for a multitude of years.

SIUBEN - This is the government organization that collects data and has statistics on poverty.

Ministry of Economics - This is the branch of the government where we can get information on what and where the small-medium companies are at, and what their line of business is.

UNIBE/UCMM /UNPHU - Universities in the Dominican Republic with which we have worked on before, and with which we have built relationships.

CLARO/ALTICE - Phone companies that operate in the DR and claim they are donating equipment in light of the pandemic.

Our business model is based on the concept of creating impact, and building mutually beneficial partnerships and encourage cooperation between corporate entities (EVOLUTION, Phone companies, Government, Universities), as well as encouraging engagement from business/people in the community to make projects sustainable.

There will be marketing done by the universities and by the Phone companies that get involved in helping, which will turn into profits in the long run.

EVOLUTION has been sustained by grantors and volunteers who believe in the work we do.  We have started to seek grants because we can't sustain the amount of work that has to be done with such limited resources.

Besides this solicitation, we are also knocking on other universities around the US and hope we can get some grants to support the work that needs to be done to support our people and our community.

MIT Solve can help by supporting our idea, and helping us help the people in need in the Dominican Republic.

If our solution is selected, 5,000 people that don't have jobs now, could have a way of making a living along with the opportunity for education within 4 months.  And this is just the beginning!

There will also be a benefit for MIT to develop partnerships with everyone who gets involved, from government contacts, to local universities and other companies.

There will be a benefit for EVOLUTION Foundation to be recognized by MIT.

So, this will be a win-win for all!

EVOLUTION Foundation has been building relationships and helping the people in need in the Dominican Republic for the last 10 years.  We have done so with limited financial resources and volunteers.  After COVID hit, thousands of people have lost their jobs, some of them, to not ever come back.

We believe we are positioned, willing and able to hit the ground running and start helping the people in the most impoverished areas of the Dominican Republic right away.  A partnership with MIT Solve is the last piece of the puzzle for us, one that will bring good will to thousands of people, as well as recognition and partnerships to MIT.

Potential partners would be those who can take our idea and either help us connect with similar companies in the US (ie, universities wishing to do work internationally, or wishing to donate old equipment to the Dominican Republic), or partners with cell phone companies who can donate [old] equipment to the people who participate in the implementation of this solution.

The Dominican Republic has, since the earthquake in Haiti in 2012, accepted almost 1,000,000 Haitians as refugees. Their living conditions are below poverty and make up a large part of the inhabitants in the communities we hope to develop this solution.

In the past 100 years, the men were the main bread-winners of the households.  However, due to the increased cost of living, we have seen an increase of women living their homes, living the children with elderly parents, and going to work as well. Most women end up working as nannys, maids, seamstresses, prostitutes or as a 'buzo' in the landfill (picking up stuff to sell on the streets).

EVOLUTION Foundation's president is a woman, and so is the secretary.  The consultants hired by us in the past are women, so we understand the struggles and the limitations, the desires to see a better life for their children, and can better connect when we go to these communities and explain the need for these women to get an education, to get trained to do something different and in most cases, better.

EVOLUTION Foundation hopes that this solution empowers and trains people to access better paying jobs in the changing marketplace we live in.

Our solution will definitely increase the literacy rates among adults who live in the communities we go to.  We will increase their knowledge and their digital literacy.  We will be implementing the first pilot and learn from mistakes, learn what we could do better and faster so that the next set of communities will go faster.