As part of International Women’s Day, international development agency Hashoo Foundation has teamed up with leading make-up artist Zaynab Mirza to raise funds for its 500 for 500 Appeal, to help empower women in Pakistan.
Zaynab Mirza, who created leading cosmetics brand Provoke, is one of the campaign’s ambassadors and will be donating £3 from each sale of one of her most popular products, the Yellow Fizz shadow dust.
The 500 for 500 Appeal aims to invite and engage 500 women from the UK to join hands with 500 women in the Northern areas of Pakistan, through the Foundation’s award-winning Plan Bee project.
Plan Bee, which won the BBC World Challenge in 2008, is Hashoo’s innovative project that provides women in the Northern region of Pakistan with the opportunity to become beekeepers.
Plan Bee is based on a system of social barter, designed to promote social change, whereby Hashoo Foundation agrees to provide hives, training and then to link them to the lucrative markets to sell their honey in Pakistan, provided that the families agree to send their children to quality schools, have regular health check-ups and improve nutrition at home.
Zaynab says of the special initiative: “International Women’s Day seemed like the perfect time to launch this fund-raising activity. If we can get 500 women to each buy one unit, we can together change the lives of six women in Pakistan and give them the resources to set up their own bee-keeping business.”
Every £250 raised from the sale of Yellow Fizz will provide each woman with:
– 3 beehives to start her business
– Access to Hashoo Foundation’s mentor and training facilities
– Access to HF’s commercial network to allow the women to sell their honey
Ms Mirza continues: “As an entrepreneur it felt like a natural fit – these are products that I created for women all over the world, and if the sale of these can help empower other women, that’s a fantastic result.”
Sarah Hashwani, chair of the Hashoo Foundation launched the UK chapter in October of last year, with the 500 for 500 Appeal being its first major fund-raising initiative in the UK.
She adds: “I have been amazed and delighted by the number of different fund-raising initiatives that are being developed by women in the UK to help empower these women in the remotest areas of Pakistan. International Women’s Day is to not only celebrate the success of women, but to also help us focus on making sure that women all over the world are given the tools and knowledge that will enable and empower them to change their lives. It is through these women, that future generations will have access to better health and education to help improve their lives.”
To buy the Provoke Yellow Fizz and help the drive to empower women beekeepers in Pakistan through the 500 for 500 Appeal log on here. Donations to the 500 for 500 Appeal will be made on all sales of Yellow Fizz starting from International Women’s Day on 8th March through to the end of the month.
