Humanity Unified

Meet Maria Russo of Humanity Unified

A few years ago, I met Maria Russo, founder of the award-wining online media platform for travel and social good, The Culture-ist  and Executive Director of Humanity Unified, a nonprofit organization that invests in education, food security projects and economic development programs to empower people to rise above poverty. I was instantly inspired by her incredible work to improve the lives of women and communities in Rwanda and have followed her work ever since. I had the opportunity to catch up with Maria and learn more about her life and what it is like to lead Humanity Unified. Here is what she has to say.

Tell me about your childhood. Where did you grow up? What were your hobbies and passions? Do you have any siblings?

I grew up with my parents, younger sister and maternal grandmother in a quaint little town in NJ called Berkeley Heights. Our house was always full and family time was everything – most weekends were spent visiting cousins, aunts and uncles and home cooked meals were always at the center of the celebration. As a child I was drawn to history, dance and nature. I could spend hours exploring rocks, worms, flowers and trees. I think my passion for humanitarian work was sparked by my involvement with the Girl Scouts of America. The service projects helped me to see beyond my own needs and focus on the needs of others at a very young age.

Did you travel as a child? Where was the first place you went that inspired you? When was the first time you left the country?

Most of my travels as a child were within the U.S, with a few trips to the Caribbean peppered in between. It wasn’t until my early 20s that I traveled across continents to Italy and shortly after to South Africa. These trips, particularly my time in South Africa, sparked an unquenchable desire to see the world that lead me to over 35 countries over the following 10 years.

Where did you go to college and what did you study? Why did you choose this area?

I went to American University in Washington DC. where I studied journalism and international studies. Throughout high school I became increasingly interested in politics and international affairs. I think it was the realization that a vast, complex, dynamic world existed far beyond the world I had known growing up. I became avidly involved in the Junior Statesman of America and traveled to D.C. three times a year for student conferences. It was through my involvement with the organization that I became infatuated with the history and culture of D.C., so the decision to attend college there seemed intuitive. My time at AU deepened my interest in journalism and helped me realize how I could marry it with my love of global affairs.

What inspired you to launch The Culture-ist and when did you start it? Tell me more about the mission behind it and how it is run. What did you learn from this line of work?

My husband and I launched The Culture-ist in 2011 as a passion project that allowed us to engage in and develop our passions – for me that was writing about things I cared most about such as travel, global affairs, sustainable development, women’s issues, entrepreneurship and humanitarian work. The Culture-ist was also a really powerful channel of connection for us. I was constantly interviewing people, working with other writers and collaborating with media organizations and brands…it was truly a gift to meet so many interesting individuals who were contributing to the world in unique and inspiring ways. So far I’ve learned that no matter the line of work you’re in, kindness and openness is key to building a business that is grounded in integrity. I’ve also learned that while it’s important to be flexible, sacrificing your vision to ‘keep up’ with fads and trends will have you chasing something that will steer you far off track only to force you to back pedal to your original intention.

Humanity Unified

Maria and Anthony Russo. Photo credit: Humanity Unified

What inspired you to launch Humanity Unified? 

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be involved in humanitarian work. To me, a life spent trying to make the world more equitable for all just seemed to make sense. It also creates a deep sense of purpose and gratitude for the life I have now. For years I waited for the right time to launch a nonprofit and an opening finally came in 2014. Right around that time Anthony and I traveled to Rwanda where we explored program possibilities. We knew that we were interested in investing in education, food security and economic development and serendipitously found a local Rwandan NGO that aligned with our vision and mission for Humanity Unified. After almost two years of developing our programming and completing the 501(c)(3) application process we launched our first project.

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“The Story of US”: How Humanity Unified is Supporting Women Farmers in Rwanda

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world”. – Desmond Tutu

Do you ever feel like the connections we make in life sometimes seems like fate? The more I work in this tiny niche of social good travel bloggers, the more amazed I am by the incredible friendships and network I’ve made online. I’ve met countless inspiring bloggers and humanitarians online through blogging and social media. One such person is Maria Russo, founder of the award-wining online media platform for travel and social good, The Culture-ist and the non-profit Humanity UnifiedIt all happened because I follow her on Instagram where I noticed the amazing photographs her organization was posting on women and girls during a trip to Rwanda.

I commented on the photos and began a relationship online that resulted in an interview  and a post on her and her husband Anthony’s work as the founders of Humanity Unified. I was instantly drawn to Maria and Anthony’s passion for making the world a better place by starting at the grassroots level by improving the lives of women and girls in Rwanda. I have been working with Maria ever since.

This past International Women’s Day (on March 8th), I held a fundraising dinner to support Humanity Unified and I was elated by the results. In one night, we raised over $400! Although that may seem like a small amount to you and me, in Rwanda that money goes a long way. Roughly 70 % of Rwandans are substance farmers who rely on their harvests for income and with unpredictable weather, environmental disasters and climate change, a good or bad harvest can make a tremendous difference. Humanity Unified is trying to change this reality by empowering rural communities to rise out of poverty through education, food security projects and economic opportunities. They start by investing in women.

Humanity Unifed

Photo credit: Anthony Russo

Since 2015, Humanity Unified has been working in Rwanda with their partner Aspire Rwanda, a local NGO that empowers poor women to rise above poverty. The two organizations share similar missions dedicated to poverty alleviation through education, food security projects and economic opportunities.

Humanity Unifed

Photo credit: Anthony Russo

Humanity Unifed

Photo credit: Anthony Russo

Currently, the organization is empowering 110 women through a farming cooperative project that will ensure each woman earns a self-sustaining, livable income after completing a one-year intensive educational program.

The program provides the women with the skills and knowledge necessary to triple the cooperative’s yields over the course of one year. The 100 women enrolled in the cooperative, most of whom earn less than a dollar per day, are also attending workshops on gender-based violence, women and children’s rights, nutrition, positive masculinity (which includes male partners) and workshops designed specifically for single and widowed women. The program also provides training in cooperative management, financial planning and effective agriculture methods.

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Humanity Unified

Humanity Unified International launches first fundraiser to help Rwandan Women

Do you ever feel like the connections we make in life sometimes seems like fate? The more I work in this tiny niche of social good travel bloggers, the more amazed I am by the incredible friendships and network I’ve made online. I’ve met countless inspiring bloggers and humanitarians online through blogging and social media. One such person is Maria Russo, founder of the award-wining online media platform for travel and social good, The Culture-ist and the non-profit Humanity Unified InternationalIt all happened because I follow her on Instagram where I noticed the amazing photographs her organization was posting on women and girls in Rwanda.

A young girl in Rwanda. Photo by Arielle Lozada

A young girl in Rwanda. Photo by Arielle Lozada

I commented on the photos and began a relationship online that resulted in an interview  and a post on her and her husband Anthony’s work as the founders of Humanity Unified and Humanity Unified International. I was instantly drawn to Maria and Anthony’s passion for making the world a better place by starting at the grassroots level by improving the lives of women and girls in Rwanda.

The more I work in social good and advocacy, the more I understand how these kinds of programs work. It is a proven that investing in women makes a tremendous amount of sense and investing wisely in programs that provide training, education, health and sustainable agricultural practices is even better. Women invest 90% of their income back into their families while men invest approximately 30 percent (UNAC).

On a personal level, like everyone I am bombarded with requests for donations every day thus I choose my charities wisely. It is a arduous task since I would love to donate to every single cause I write about or hear but obviously I have to pick and choose which causes are most important to me. I donate locally to help our schools and families living in poverty, and I also donate quite a bit abroad.

The more I travel and witness the impact of poverty on women and girls and the additional barriers they face in creating a better life, the more I desire to give them opportunities to create a better one. I also prefer to create sustainable change, not just a band-aid approach that won’t fix the problem. This is why I love the work that Humanity Unified is doing so much. 100% of my investment will go towards empowering women and creating sustainable change.

I will never meet the woman who I am supporting but in my heart I will know that far away, in Rwanda my donation has helped change her  life. That is an incredible feeling! Whether it be vaccines for a child in Nigeria, a clean birth kit for $20 for an expectant mom in Laos or $100 to provide training for a woman in Rwanda, I’ve made a difference.

Even using my words to spread awareness by writing this post has helped and that is free.

Photo by Arnelle Lozada

Photo by Arnelle Lozada

This week, Humanity Unified International launched their first fundraiser on Generosity by Indiegogo to develop funding for their project in Rwanda. Here are some details on the campaign and how you can help.

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Humanity Unified

Humanity Unified: Empowering Women and Providing Hope

“We empower communities to rise out of poverty through education, food security projects and economic opportunities. We start by investing in women”. – Maria and Anthony Russo, co-founders of Humanity Unified. 

It all began with a trip to Rwanda. In 2014, Maria Russo and her husband Anthony, the creative minds behind the award-wining online media platform for travel and social good, The Culture-ist took a leap of faith and went to Rwanda in search of opportunities to start a non-profit organization. As world-travelers who over the past 12 years have visited over 35 countries, Maria and Anthony both felt compelled to give back and help the amazing people and cultures they had seen.

For a few years prior to going to Rwanda, the pair had been running The Culture-ist, an online media platform for social good that revolves around a community of storytellers, travelers, creatives and change makers who aspire to make the world a better place. Although The Culture-ist has seen extraordinary success, Maria and Anthony yearned to do more. They had tossed around different ideas in their head on what else they could do to make a difference and impact change when they connected with the founder of Kula Project who invited them to go to Rwanda and see the work they are doing. The trip was in three months.

Humanity Unified

Maria and Anthony in Rwanda.

It was in Rwanda where Maria and Anthony met an amazing Rwandan woman named Peace. Peace’s story was heartbreaking and filled with hope. Peace’s family fled to Kenya in the 60’s when civil conflict erupted in Rwanda, and spent several years in Kenya where she opened her home and her heart to women survivors of the Rwandan genocide. Many of the women have suffered unimaginable trauma and are widows or single mothers, illiterate and unskilled, HIV positive, and victims of domestic abuse. The women were poor with little opportunities to support themselves or their children. Peace’s home became a place of support, empowerment and hope for over 300 women.

In 2009, together with Sophie McCann from the non-profit Network for Africa, Peace co-founded Aspire Rwanda, an organization that equips Rwandan women with literacy, vocational skills, and training in sustainable agriculture, health and human rights that helps lift them and their families out of poverty.  Aspire’s mission is founded on the belief that the promotion of human dignity and women’s rights will lead to sustainable community development and strong and lasting grassroots reconciliation.  Aspire Rwanda also provides counseling, nutrition, family planning services and childcare for young children so the women can attend the 12-month training program. After graduation the women join a cooperative where they work and support themselves, contributing to a self-sustaining and peaceful community. In the last five years, Aspire has helped 450 vulnerable but resilient women rebuild their lives in the aftermath of Rwanda’s genocide.

“Aspire helps to give resilient, hard-working women the skills and confidence to make their own choices, become self-sufficient, and take control of their lives.”

Humanity Unified

Mamerica, one of the 100 women enrolled in the farming cooperative project, working in her community garden. Photo by Arnelle Lozada

 

When Maria and Anthony heard Peace’s story, it felt like fate. Aspire Rwanda was the organization that had captured their hearts and was the perfect partner to launch their first project with through their soon-to-be non-profit organization. “We will work together” Peace smiled as she held Maria’s hand. Serendipitously the opportunity that Maria and Anthony had been looking for was right before their eyes.

Humanity Unified

Dativa, 75, one of the 100 women enrolled in the farming cooperative project. Photo by Arnelle Lozada

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Macy’s Celebrates 10 years with Rwanda’s Path to Peace

Given the scale of trauma caused by the genocide, Rwanda has indicated that however thin the hope of a community can be, a hero always emerges. Although no one can dare claim that it is now a perfect state, and that no more work is needed, Rwanda has risen from the ashes as a model of truth and reconciliation. – Wole Soyinka

Where were you in 1994 during the Rwandan genocide and do you remember what you thought about it? I clearly remember where I was at that time. I was a student completing the last year of college at the University of Wisconsin. The world was my oyster. Nothing could stop me. Of course I’d heard the news of Rwanda and the mass killings but at twenty-two years old, I could hardly relate. It felt surreal and far, far away from the carefree lifestyle I had as a student in Madison, Wisconsin.

It wasn’t until years later when I began to follow my passion for international affairs and travel that I watched the tragic 2004 film Hotel Rwanda and read the 2009 novel by Gaile Parkin “Baking Cakes in Kigali” that I began to truly contemplate the sheer tragedy and horror of what surpassed in Rwanda. Even today, it is hard to believe that in just three months, nearly a million people, 20% of Rwanda’s population, was massacred when tribal hatred between the Hutus and Tutsis turned into ethnic slaughter. It was unimaginable. Neighbor killed neighbor in one of the worst genocides in human history.

Like in most cases with war and tragedy, women and children were the most severely impacted by the genocide. After the violence ended, many Rwandan women found themselves thrust into the unfamiliar role of being sole breadwinners for their families since their husbands, fathers and sons had been killed. Others saw their husbands jailed for committing unspeakable atrocities. If women were going to survive, it was up to them to take action and do whatever they could to improve their lives for their children.

After the genocide, Rwanda was looking for ways to move forward and many women embraced opportunities that would help them heal. It was around this time that an American woman named Willa Shalit, a social entrepreneur, artist and activist, visited Rwanda and vowed to make a difference to help the Rwandan women. She noticed that weaving beautiful baskets has been a part of Rwanda’s culture for centuries and that perhaps this tradition could become a way forward towards peace and reconciliation.

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In 2005 Shalit showed the baskets to executives at Macy’s (one of America’s largest retailers) who committed to sell the baskets through a program called Rwanda Path to Peace. Like her counterpart Macy’s Heart of Haiti (which I had the honor of seeing for myself last February), Rwanda Path to Peace is a trade not aid program that is not a charity but a business initiative. Women from both sides of the ethnic divide have come together to weave baskets,creating an industry supporting thousands of Rwandan women and their families. It has had a huge impact on the community lifting the women and their families out of poverty and giving them sustainable hope for the future.

Each Macy's Path of Peace basket comes with a story.

Each Macy’s Path of Peace basket comes with a story.

Gifts that Give Back SOCIAL GOOD

SOCIAL GOOD SUNDAYS: Cows R Us with Heifer International

Today’s Social Good Sunday’s post is written by Betty Londergan, Global Blogging Ambassador of Heifer International. Betty is currently on a one-year trip visiting 12 countries in 12 months to document the impact of Heifer. You can read about her travels and work on her beautiful, inspiring blog Heifer 12 x 12.

Cows R Us


Rwandans love cows. They have songs about cows, they have dances, their whole culture is based on the love of the cow.

The beautiful umushagiriro (cow dance) — I guess those are their horns.

And Rwandans are infinitely patient and gentle with their cows — even when they are being kind of .. pushy.

This Heifer heifer walked right into the ceremony, butted the speaker, went for the drinks & nobody batted an eye.

Kirehe, Eastern Province

So it makes sense that the Rwandan government would partner with Heifer, an organization named after its favorite animal, to help 6,382 families in the poor rural district of Kirehe earn a living, improve their land, and feed themselves. It’s part of the government’s national initiative called A Cow for Every Poor Family — that remarkably (well, not really) is based on Heifer‘s beautiful training/giving/passing on model.

Why a cow? I asked Kirehe veterinarian Dr. Jean de Dieu Niyitanga that question and he had this succinct answer, “Cows mean milk and money.” Then he waxed poetic and scientific about what cows need to thrive. For someone like me who thinks a cat requires far too much attention, raising a cow sounds like an inconceivable amount of work. So I asked him to elaborate.

“First you have to love your cow, because if you love your animal, you’ll treat it well, feed it well, and keep it clean and healthy.” Okay, but what does that exactly mean?

The cows Heifer gives to poor farmers in Rwanda are pure breeds, either Jersey cows (brown) or Friesians (black & white). They produce a lot of milk (up to 30 liters a day) but they also demand a lot of food– about 1/10th of their weight in food a day in grass, cereals and legumes that the farmers must grow and harvest. Cows also need a salt lick to provide calcium, potassium and sodium to replace the minerals lost when they are producing milk.

Like any nursing mother, heifers drink a lot: 50-80 liters of water a day, depending on their weight, and that also has to be carried on somebody’s head back to the home.

Cows are big, gentle animals but they require shelter from the elements. So before getting a cow, every participant has to build a shed with 6 bags of cement (@$16/bag) provided by Heifer for a concrete floor to keep the cow’s feet out of dung, wet mud, and to facilitate manure-collection. They’re also given aluminum sheets for roofing – and required to pass on the same cement & aluminum when they pass on the gift of the cow to another poor farmer.

Veneranda Mukagakwandi & her cow & her cow sheds.

Alfred’s son digging the fields.

Then there’s the issue of keeping the cow clean: the shed needs to be shoveled out at least once a day, and the animal washed with soap and water twice a week (more water to carry). Cows must also be sprayed to protect against flies and ticks that can give them theileriosis, a tickborne disease that can kill them if left untreated. And the heifers are always watched closely for mastitis – or they can permanently lose use of a teat.

My brain was whirling with the possibilities for bovine disaster, but to Rwandans a cow simply means milk, money and manure. One cow will produce 3 tons of manure a year – and that is hugely important to the farmers planting their crops in the over-cultivated, poorly producing soil in Kirehe. Farmers report a 75-100% increase in ag productivity with the addition of cow dung– and that’s no small potatoes.

So, how has a cow specifically changed the life of somebody like Alfred Nsengimana? After Alfred had a home visit and was designated as able to raise a cow, (if you don’t have enough land or strength to take care of a cow, you’ll first be given goats or pigs), he built his shed and received the 182 hours of training that Heifer gives all participants – to make sure they know how to breed, lead, raise and take care of the animal.

After those six months of training, Alfred received a pregnant Friesian heifer, it gave birth to a female that he’s passed on to a neighbor, and now Alfred is earning $50/month from the cow’s milk – in a country where 60% of the population earns under $1/day. With that milk money (I love this entrepreneurial spirit so much!) he bought more goats and rabbits that are easier to raise and quicker to sell than cows, if the family needs money for school fees or health emergencies.

Then, Alfred dug a cistern in his back yard and he is also harvesting rainwater from the roof –so his family can make fewer trips to the town well to carry water back on their heads.

Water harvesting with a plastic-lined tank — how clever!

With milk to drink, meat to eat, and money in the bank, Alfred & his wife put a new cement floor & walls in their house—a real luxury. He would like to keep at least two cows, because then he’ll have enough manure to qualify for a bio-gas unit (half paid for by the government) that will mean they don’t have to collect and burn firewood and can cook in half the time.

Biogas – a giant leap for woman-kind: no collecting wood/cooks in half the time!

Alfred’s neighbor Jean de Dieu Habayarimana is 24 years old and an orphan responsible for raising his two younger brothers. He doesn’t have land to grow forage for a cow, so he received the gift of 2 pigs from Heiferlast December and proved himself so good at raising them, he was given the stud pig for the community – which means that he’ll get 1 piglet from every brood his pig sires.

If you’ve got no land for a cow, take the pig!

This Kirehe Project is a massive undertaking, requiring a daunting amount of work from Heifer (home-visiting every prospective family and giving 182 hours of training to each beneficiary), the government, and all the local organizations across five pilot zones in 12 sectors of the Eastern Province. But 1,000 heifers have been already given in 2011 (and 360 passed along), with 1,145 more to be given this year (plus 2,000 South African Boer goats and 562 purebred pigs). That means that families like Alfred’s will be given the chance to take this opportunity and leverage it to feed their families, earn a living, double their agricultural productivity, and climb out of poverty.

The real beneficiaries of Kirehe’s big project.

Makes me feel like hollering Oyee! Amata Iwau Kuruhimbi, which means something like Let us always have milk in our homes!

Yes indeedy.

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About Betty:

Betty had a 30 year career as a creative director in advertising and then changed her focus to writing in philanthropy. She wrote two books, started a blog called “What Gives 365” on January 1, 2010 and gave away $100/day for 365 days to people, causes and organizations that she believed were making the world a better place. Her current adventure is volunteering as the Global Blogging Ambassador for Heifer International. In this role, Betty is dedicating a year of her time, writing and photography to visit 12 countries in 12 months in 2012 and write about Heifer’s work to end poverty and hunger
around the world. It is an amazing feat!

If you enjoyed reading Betty’s post on Cows R Us, here are a few more that you would love:

SOCIAL GOOD