Digital Hope

Andrew Greene has two decades of experiences in using creative and innovative approaches to help solve national and global problems. His efforts has won him an array of prestigious international awards. He received the Cable and Wireless Childnet International Awards in London 2003, UN Fellowship at the first World Summit on the Information Society in Geneva, Jeanne Sauvé Scholarship at McGill in Canada 2004/5, a World Bank, World Ethics Forum Young Global Fellowship at Keble College, London 2006, UN ITU Telecom World Innovation Fellowship in Geneva (2011), Pan African Awards for Entrepreneurship in Education UK 2012, Build Peace through technology fellowship at MIT Media Lab in Boston 2014, Hive Global Leader in San Francisco 2015. Andrew holds a BA in International Relations, Civil Law and English from Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone in 1998. He is currently an MSL student at the Francis King Carey School of Law.

The Digital Hope Project is narrowing the digital and socio-economic divides that 20,000 victims of amputation of war face in Sierra Leone. We are affirming that modern technologies do not discriminate against those who are poor, vulnerable, marginalized and can ill-afford as a result of the overwhelming difficulties they face. The project creates opportunities for marginalized groups to use the vehicle of technology which they otherwise will not have. The initiative assists those who are doubly marginalized as a result of their physical indifferences. These technologies will bring the amputee victims of war ‘to a journey of hope’ as they use their remaining or extra limbs to access technology. These technologies can give them a powerful voice in the mass media, and become an extra ordinary tool, that they can use to bear witness to their plight, thereby bringing attention, hope and healing to people who are almost forgotten victims

Sierra Leone's Civil War resulted in some of the worst atrocities that the world has ever seen, namely the maiming & mutilation of an approximated 20,000 innocent civilians and leaving thousands amputated. In a country with very severe economic and social challenges, this is even more of a challenging situation when it comes to amputees and disabled people in the country. Youths within the age’s bracket of eighteen and thirty five (18-35) years experience the greater percentage. This circumstance posed future economic, social, political and cultural threat for this vulnerable group if not addressed. This innovative opportunities help amputees gain access to tools, resources, opportunities and the task of meeting daily economic commitment such as catering for their children’s education, food, quality medical services and many other amenities. This innovation highlights and addresses this call for concern for intervention. Due to the above constraints, many amputees go into the streets begging as the only option for survival regardless of the negative impact it brings to their lives and immediate families. The project builds self-esteem, enhances self reliance and sustainable livelihood among amputees. The project is determined to ensure that no one is forgotten during this critical times around the world. 

In Sierra Leone's war, mass amputation was used as a weapon of war. The project helps provide a unique voice for war victims amputated during the war to be  given a lease of hope through access to technology. The project is helping to bridge the digital divide by targeting an approximately 20,000 amputee war victims marginalized from information technology. The project is giving war amputated victims the tools and a way to learn skills with a potential for employment and empowerment. Amputees will bear witness and share their wartime stories to the world thereby creating attention to their plight, hope, and healing to people who are almost 'forgotten victims'. Although there is peace across the entire country currently, most of the war victims still cannot live a normal life, and marginalized from the mainstream of using Information Communication Technologies (ICT). This innovative education creates the leverage for people who are unable to access innovative  facilities at a formal education setting because of their conditions to be able to do so at last. The project does show what can be achieved by creating innovative spaces for people with disability to gain access to educational, advocacy tools for their survival and empowerment. 

The project works in several amputee camps across the country and targets 20,000 persons with disabilities especially Amputees and War Wounded who face various forms of discrimination across the country and within the community the live. This will develop their residual skills and day to day functional abilities and therefore eliminating the dependency syndrome on others due to their being deprived of gainful livelihood opportunities. The project will help eliminate discrimination levels and neglect in the areas of employment, access to innovation, technology to access loans or grant support. The community perceptions and attitude towards disabled generally is not encouraging and this to a large extend have left a larger portion of PWD frustrating. Members of these communities and families still hold on to the belief and view that disable persons are witches, a curse to the family, and are unproductive. Their existence is seen as a menace in society and their occupation is begging for alms. Lack of access to innovative tools, funds is a major obstacle for progress. This innovative approach will mobilize them into innovation centers and given supportive skills and incentives, increase their economic capacity and restore their lost social and cultural values in the communities.

Persons with Disabilities are traditionally left behind and this is true of Amputees and War Wounded who face a lot of discrimination within the communities they live.The project offers innovative programmes that will develop their residual skills and day to day functional abilities and free PWDs  from being dependent on others and access gainful livelihood opportunities through innovative skills.

The project will help eliminate these discrimination by providing the tools that Amputees and War Wounded need to over leap the discrimination and neglect they face in the areas of access to innovative tools, employment,  grant and access and other support.  

My efforts to address the needs of vulnerable communities turned by attention to amputee victims of war in Sierra Leone. Previously, I have worked on my initiative called the 'child soldiers' project for many years, and then turned my attention to amputees after a visit to one of the amputee camps in 2010. 

I have been for many years a powerful model of peace in my home country of Sierra Leone. Though my life has been surrounded by violence and war, I continually have chosen to pursue actions that lead to peace. My efforts have changed countless lives during and after the war, and my innovative rehabilitation techniques have caught the attention of world leaders.

During the course of the war over 50,000 people were killed, 12,000 children abducted as child soldiers and hundreds of thousands displaced and about 20,000 faced amputation.  Like many youths who came of age during the war, the psychological effects of the violence damaged the stability of an entire generation. Instead of giving in to the violence and chaos, I chose to become a leader of positive change in my community and decided to educate youth about actions and attitudes of peace.  I trained children and youth to chose peace over violence, encouraging them to use their new skills to exchange ideas about peace as a way to cleanse their thoughts from the agonies of war. Slowly the youth began recovering from the war and redirecting their energy towards becoming positive agents in social issues around them.  

I have successfully initiated and piloted several projects including the 'Child Soldiers Project', 'The Bearing Witness Project' Children Connecting Children for Peace, The Peace and Reconciliation Project. 

For several years, I have overseen and coordinated the successful implementation in Sierra Leone of War Child Canada’s No War Zone, funded by Foreign Affairs Canada. I consult widely on issues of children and youth in conflict and have produced two video documentaries for the World Bank’s World Development Report 2007 focusing on youth unemployment in Sierra Leone and the ‘Next Generation’. 

I have gathered multiple awards, citations, and bursaries for my peace-building efforts and Internet-based innovations. 

I am also skilled in creative arts and writing, in the internet and new educational technologies, skilled in Trauma Healing and counselling of Children in armed conflict, non-violence, Conflict Resolution, conflict prevention, peer mediation, Human Rights Educator, innovative, analytic and leadership skills. I Initiate projects from scratch to finish and until they become productive and effective. I am also skilled in public speaking and have been a global speaker.
I have been summoned as a Guest Speaker in: Doha-Qatar, USA (Ohio, MD, NY, DC, SF, LA), United Kingdom, Canada, Belgium, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Russia, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Ghana, South Africa
My Specialties include:
• Video
• internet and new educational technologies
• peace building and peace promotion
• human rights
• children's rights
• creative approaches and non-violence
• youth leadership

Going to amputee camps where amputees have faced unbridled terror, where expectations are high, frustrations rife, and people who are just daily expressing frustrations of being left out was a challenging one for me. In 2010, I began to visit the amputees and hear their difficult stories with the hope to support them. The communities where isolated, with bad roads, rugged with holes, hard for vehicles to ply. I mostly took Honda to travel there and hear first-hand the injustices of the war and how to help tell their stories. It was a bigger problem with desperate people, hungry, suffering from pains and the physical wounds, venting their anger and frustrations at everyone who tries to go there. They felt left out saying 'people promised them without actually delivering the services'. They were bitter about the governments disregard for them and social benefits. The anger is deafening and will make the faint of spirit abandon the goals. I braved it to the camps many times to identify their problems and took actions by creating several programs. The first project was the Support to survivors of amputation and then the Digital Hope and the Show Some Love Project

I came of age in a beautiful country that was ripped apart by the violence of war, and children were recruited to do horrific acts of violence for the self-interests of greedy leaders. I could easily have chosen the path of blaming others for the tragic circumstances of my country. I could have wallowed in self-pity, never moving a muscle to help rebuild a destitute country by clinging to the status quo of survival for survival's sake. Instead, I chose the road less traveled. I did not give into the violence but became a leader of positive change educating children about actions for peace. I have been instrumental in setting Innovation centers, ICT’s and Peace education Clubs in over 20 schools and communities across the country.

My efforts go far beyond statistics and data and has changed countless lives. My innovative programs have caught the attention of world leaders. I am humbled that my work has been recognized as a model in other countries with similar challenges. I work passionately because I know a time will come when my children's children will experience the impossible possibility of peace, justice and freedom from the scars of war. That’s why I persist.

The project is innovative and unique because war victims amputees are  given new lease of hope through access to technology which was not the case before the project began. The project is helping to bridge the digital, socio-economic divide by targeting an approximately 20,000 amputees marginalized from information technology. It is giving a new voice to victims through ICT tools and a way to learn skills for employment and empowerment, to bear witness by sharing wartime stories to the world thereby creating attention to their plight, hope, and healing. Although there is peace across the entire country currently, most of the war victims still cannot live a normal life and largely marginalized in many sectors including the mainstream of using  (ICT) and access to livelihoods. Our approach relates to sustainable economic activities through encouraging amputees to have their online products. The project is also related to entrepreneurial skills, capitalizing on new innovative educational tools to give opportunities to amputee victims. These set of learners are encouraged to collaborate on projects that enhance capacity and growth. Trainers teach essential IT/ICT academic, entrepreneurial and personal skills through a scaffold of sequential activities. The unique initiative is creating access to innovative  facilities to amputees who were unable to access these. The project creates an innovative space to access innovative tools, gain lively skills and economic empowerment. The project is also a strategic effort to help redress the wrongs, assuage the pain and addresses the ill-feelings nursed and heal the wounds of the past.

My theory of change is that  assumed that improving the lives of the most marginalized people by developing their residual skills and day to day functional abilities will prevent Persons With Disabilities in this community tend to grow up being dependent on others and deprived of gainful livelihood opportunities in most cases. The livelihood and skills training outcomes will lead to access to jobs and employment, build self esteem. 

The project currently serves 1500 people, in a year it will serve 5000 people and in 5 years it will serve 25,000 people

My goals in the next 5 years is to reach half of the targeted population of10,000 victims of amputation and war wounded with the tools and training in innovative technologies that will lead to building of capacity, access to jobs, build self-esteem, and an inclusive information society. In the next 5 years, B-Gifted would have created a digital platform in the form of deploying or adapting a software or app that can exclusively benefit those victims, war wounded and amputees who are physically challenged to access educational and training resources. In the next 5 years, B-Gifted would have raised additional revenue to be self-sustaining and built capacity with more effective Board, staff volunteers and activist. In the next 5 years, B-Gifted would have created stringer network of partnerships across the private and public sectors to help accelerate growth. In the next five years the project would have been replicated in at least one country that has been impacted by similar acts of violence cause by war and where people who face amputation or disability can have access to resources to as part of the healing and recovering process as well as learn the new educational skills and be included in the information society. 

Barriers are largely access to funding that can help us scale our efforts. Additional challenge are changing the perceptions of society that limit their potentials. This circumstance posed barriers for future economic, social, political and cultural threat for this vulnerable group. Due to the above constraint, many amputees and war wounded members resigned to the fate of going into the street begging, which means they considered as the only option for survival regardless of the negative impact it brings to their lives and immediate families. Persons with Disabilities (PWD) especially Amputees and War Wounded faced a lot of discrimination within the community they live. They face discrimination and neglect in the areas of employment, access to technology, loans or grant and access to agricultural support. The community perceptions and attitude towards them generally not encouraging and this to a large extend have left a larger portion of PWD frustrating. Society's perception both from the communities and families is negative as they still hold on to the belief and view that disable persons are witches, a curse to the family, and are unproductive. Their existence is seen as a menace in society and their occupation is begging for alms. Amputee and War Wounded experience numerous barriers including negative attitudes, lack of access to training, information and inaccessible work places when seeking employment.

Through mass media publication and news about the success stories of amputees overcoming barriers, through empowerment in training via innovative technology, creative abilities. By developing their potential to generate residual skills and day to day functional abilities in order that PWDs  grow and thrive being independent from others.  

We are currently seeking new partners. Our past funding partners have been the UN ITU in Geneva, the National Telecommunication Company, and the Teach A Man to Fish UK through the Pan African Awards for entrepreneurship in Education, and KoR NGO Lisbon

Our business model provides educational technologies which are deployed in amputee communities, easily accessible and controlled by the communities themselves. These educational technologies include mobile phones, desktops and laptops, internet, printers to be assembled and installed in such a way that amputees can have access and learn the useful software programs (ICT) and digital technologies.

Our business model considers that transition from war to peace is fundamental for those who have endured agony from war. They are provided with the space to address the problems of the past and build the future. This model works with our mission and values to not only use technology for access and job prospects but as a tool for harnessing online humanitarian appeal and exchange of ideas about building peace.

Because wars have stifled the growth of amputees to become productive citizens, our tools and services uses special software programs for amputees such as voice recognition and other easily accessible technology has proven to be effective and allowed our beneficiaries to grow and nurture a hopeful feeling for the future. ICT's amputees can communicate across borders, market their work and exchange ideas about promoting peace, reconciliation, and forgiveness to build a strong foundation for a lasting peace. The business model is intertwined with technology and peace initiatives and designed to help attain livelihoods and promote understanding between cultures, heal scars from war, communicate peaceful reconciliation and act as a catalyst for peace and harmonization of communities ripped by war.

The project will be sustainable in the long term through fund-raising ventures and exploring other grant possibilities, and services to non-beneficiaries who will use our model. Crowdfunding will also be used to access resources from people in our network. Through our partners and Board we will be able to tap on new resources to accelerate growth. In the years to come, we anticipate creating an app which can be used by a wider network of people who face similar challenges and subscriptions from organizations and institutions who wish to use our model.

We have raised funds through an international grant competition from the UN ITU in Geneva. The UN ITU supported the Digital Hope Project with $9,000. The Project was supported to build the pilot phase.

The Pan African Awards for entrepreneurship in Education through the UK charity Teach A Man to Fish also awarded B-Gifted Foundation through a grant competition $1000 to help in the ongoing project to create opportunities for Amputees.

KOR NGO in Lisbon supported the initial support to survivors of amputation, which is linked to the Digital Hope Project by sponsoring a professional from Lisbon. The professional is a Therapeutic trainer who co-hosted a workshop on location in Sierra Leone on healing, forgiveness, peace, harmonizing.

The National Telecommunication Company in Sierra Leone (NATCOM), supported the exhibition of the project with a grant of $1000 to produce materials for exhibition of the project at the UN ITU Telecom World in Dubai in 2012.  

The project will seek to raise further funds in the future by exploring other donor websites, foundations, international grants on disability, human rights, peace and innovative technology. Therefore, by exploring other grant possibilities now (going forward) and in early 2021. The prokect will also provide IT support services to non-beneficiaries who will use our model. Crowdfunding will also be used to access resources from people in our network.

Fixed Costs/Overhead

• Rent:                            @ 3 years                  $15000
• Utility bills:                                                   $2500   
• Phone bills/communication costs:                  $2500 
• Accounting/bookkeeping                                $2000
• Legal/insurance/licensing fees:                      $2000
• Postage                                                          $1000
• Technology:                                                   $150,000
• Advertising & marketing                                 $20,000
• Salaries                                                          $65,000

Variable Costs

• Cost of Goods Sold                                       $3000
• • Materials and supplies                              $20000
  • Packaging                                                 $2000
• Direct Labor Costs                                         $10000
• • Customer service                                      $2000
  • Direct sales                                               $2000
  • Direct marketing                                        $3000

I am delighted to apply for The Elevate Prize because I truly believe it will help to scale my work and provide the platform for it to reach a critical mass of people and ultimately make a difference in their lives. The support will create a long-lasting network with professionals at the Elevate Prize and B-Gifted and an opportunity to tap into the extraordinary pool of human and financial resources that will serve as a catalyst for the growth and expansion of my project. The ripple effects created will provide an expansion of the project and replications across other nations. Although we have impacted several lives at the pilot phase of the project, without a doubt, additional funding will accelerate growth of the project, and allow our organization to be visible through the multiplicity of high-profiled media channels and networks that Elevate Prize can expose our work to. By elevating our project, the prize will bring huge opportunities for the myriad people we served, who are marginalized and left out and who face daily challenges. The funds and support will provide a critical milestone for growth and will become a valuable traction to tap on other resources to pivot the constrains and create the growth that is needed for the idea to be sustainable in the long term.

Partnership will help immensely to reach our goal in raising additional revenue beyond the support provided by the Elevate Prize. It will help us learn from partners, gain mentoring, get the assistance from Board members and advisers that will be critical for helping the organization reach its goals.  

I will like to partner with organizations that help in innovation, philanthropy, human rights and peace, education, disability and issues around youth development.