Here is our press release on our crowdfunding success, set to transform lives of 60 Pakistani women through photography:
Lensational, a social enterprise aiming to empower underprivileged women in developing Asia through photography, has reached its crowdfunding goal of £2,000 today on HelpingB, the first crowdfunding platform helping young changemakers bring their social impact ideas to life. £2,000 will equip 60 Pakistani women and their families in Pakistan with digital cameras and photography training. Not only will they be able to express themselves despite illiteracy, photography will also give them new sources of income.
Given the new impetus gathered around the global solidarity movement after Malala Yousafzai winning the Nobel Peace Prize, we believe that this is the right moment to launch an ambitious project in Pakistan – giving the women permanent access to digital cameras. With 22 days remaining in the campaign, Lensational has successfully raised the seed capital it needs for the project.
In September 2013, Bonnie Chiu, co-founder and Director of Lensational, travelled to Pakistan on her own to conduct photography workshops when she was still 20 years old. In Pakistan, she partnered with the Citizens’ Commission for Human Development, AIESEC Pakistan, Leadership College Network, Executive Lions Club as well as Lahore University of Management Sciences and National College of Arts, to conduct photography workshops. Bonnie believes that, “Photography is a powerful medium that transcends geographical borders and gender stereotypes, and is a universal language in itself.”
The link to the crowdfunding campaign is: http://bit.ly/lensationalcrowdfund. For further information, you may get in touch with us on info@lensational.org, or call Bonnie Chiu, at+447472 267221. To connect with us on social media, you may visit our website, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
More on Lensational: We have empowered 150 women in Hong Kong, Myanmar, Pakistan, the US and the UK; results were shared with 800 visitors to our exhibitions in Hong Kong, New York and London. We have won prizes in several international social venture competitions, including the Resolution Project Social Venture Challenge in Australia in March 2013, the Social Venture Challenge Asia in South Korea in December 2013, and the McKinsey Venture Academy in the UK in May 2014. We have also been interviewed by radio, TV and print media in all the above countries as well as Australia and Indonesia. The driving force of Lensational is young people united by a passion for shaping our future today. Founded in March 2013, it has quickly grown to a team of 30 students and young working professionals of more than 15 nationalities, with average age of 23 years.
