Hi and welcome to the Impact on FinTech TV.
I'm your host, Jeff Guitterman.
I'm joined this morning by Georgie Padel Liberty.
She is the CEO of the Georgie Badiel Foundation, and we're gonna talk about impact and water, my favorite topics.
Georgie, welcome to the show.
Thank you, Jeff, for having me.
It's so nice to be here.
Like your studio is so impressive.
Thank you, thank you.
I'm so excited to talk to you because you really work in an area that I first started in.
Impact is the first segment of the market that we actually invested in was water 15 years ago.
So talk to me a little bit about, before we jump into the actual topic, why are you in Impact in the first place?
Um, you started a long career in other areas.
What eventually brought you back to Impact?
Yes, Jeff, uh, so basically, to be honest with you, I never thought that I would be in the Impact world.
I started off as a model.
And, um, but what inspired me the most is as a young girl, I used to walk 3 hours with my grandmother to fetch water.
Uh, fetching water wasn't something that I liked, uh, because I'm not a morning person.
I'm sure a lot of people will relate on that.
So, uh, every morning at 6 a.m. my grandmother would come in.
She would knock at the door.
Georgie, let's go get the water, and I would fight her back.
And, um, I was blessed to become Ms.
Burkina Faso in 2003, then Miss Africa in 2004.
Following that, I went to Paris to start an international modeling career.
And uh living in Paris was amazing.
I could take any bubble bath, I could flush the toilet, you know, I could do anything that I wanted with water, right?
That is when you.
Take water for granted.
And uh my sister was having a baby after years living in Paris, she's like, Why don't you come home?
And I'm like, OK, sure, I'll come to work with my nephew.
But unfortunately, I have to watch her waking up between 2 a.m. and 40 a.m. to get water.
That is when I was like, Oh my God, this is so unjust.
When we were a kid, we used to do this.
And now my sister, she's a wife, she's a woman.
She has to do that.
That is when I started uh my um activities in water.
So talk to me about how you serve your population and how you bring water to the villages in Africa.
Yeah, absolutely.
The Georgi Pariel Foundation is an impact organization.
We strongly believe in doing the work.
So we build wells, we build oasis, but most importantly, we focus in the sustainability part of the project.
We teach local women basic engineering.
Uh, when I started, uh, back a decade ago, I would go to some villages.
I would see a well, and I ask women, what can I do for you?
And they would tell me, we need a well.
I couldn't understand because my village didn't have a well, but they have a well.
And I asked them, Where do you go and get your water?
They will say we walk 2 hours, 3 hours away to the next village to get water.
And I was like, what, what about this one?
You have one?
Oh, an organization came in, they build it.
After 6 months, it was broken.
Um, we don't know how to fix it, so we go to the next village.
We walk 3 hours to the next village to fetch water, and I was like, well, if you don't know how to fix it.
Why don't we call the engineer of the organization, have them broke down what they learned for so many years.
That's why we call our program, uh, basic engineering, woman engineering.
So we broke down the curriculum of, uh, building wealth, and, uh, we teach that, uh, to the women, to local women.
So far we have told over 391 women and we give them motto.
So they have a motorcycle, they drive from one village to another uh to fix wells.
Uh, it's, it's been really uh fulfilling, you know, to see this woman, um, driving the motto, go check on the next village well, how it's doing.
And are also making a living for themselves because they work now for the community.
They make money uh fixing this water project.
Was there resistance by the community at all to getting women trained and educated to do these jobs?
Um, you know, uh, Burkina Faso is a very special place on earth, I have to say, uh, when we started the program.
Uh, men were, they were laughing at us.
They were, when I said they were laughing because they were like, oh, these women are good at nothing.
They can do nothing.
Uh, and I was like, OK, you, you want to challenge me, no problem.
So we start when we, we started the program, we start training 50, 100, and then the numbers start to grow.
But most importantly, these women became independent because they start to make a living.
Out of fixing this world now the men, I could see them coming in.
Oh, can you teach us to?
Can you train us to?
I was like, I remember you.
You were making fun of us.
Uh, so that's, uh, when you see such a result, you know, uh, such an impact, uh, with the programming we've been doing, uh, is, is really beautiful.
It's really nice.
We, I'm so proud of that program.
So, when you hit some of these struggles, is there a moment or a story that really reminds you of why you're doing the work that you're doing?
Obviously your sister, but are there other instances of how you've really seen impact on the ground of the work that you guys are doing?
Yes, absolutely, um, my grandmother, I love so much my grandmother, um.
Around March 19th, the well from my village was broken, and you know my grandmother passed away in 2018.
And we went and restored that well.
That same night, my grandmother came in my dream.
She was just standing there slyly.
You know this type of moment just remind me that um what I'm doing personally is I'm doing my calling.
I am doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
I'm serving my community um.
That's that's one of the greatest rewards, and some other ones is when we drill the wells on the ground, when you know water gusts from the ground, I see the people having access to water.
Sometimes I meet old people like 80, 90 years old.
They would tell me we never thought we'd see clean water in our lifetime.
Because all of our lives, we have to walk hours away from our village to get water.
So when I see them have access to clean water, saying thank you, it's just it's such a great feeling, like.
Yes.
You're talking about like the finished product and everything, but a lot goes into getting a well delivered and tapping into water, that sanitation around it.
How have you navigated through all of those kind of on the ground challenges that have to be worked through?
Mm.
Um, we have a wonderful team of engineer of water project of expert that, uh, take care of, uh, all of the project, putting the project together, and the women we've been training, uh, we build what we call an oasis, uh, back, uh, back in, I believe, 2017, 2017, my grandmother called me, she said, Georgie, we are hungry.
And I couldn't understand.
I'm like, Grandma, like don't tell me you are hungry.
Uh, they were farming for the first time in the entire country, and uh she's so generous that when anyone will come see her, she will give what she has, she will give her food, she will give everything until she couldn't help.
So when she said we are hungry, I was like, huh, let me just make some phone calls, call different mayor, and understand.
Then I understood that we are farming and uh we went to different villages.
We asked him what would be the best water project we can bring to you.
They talked about clean water, equipped with solar power.
They talked about toilet and sanitation so important for us women when we have a period.
They talked about agriculture.
To fight food security and also electricity for kids to study at night, so with the community we designed what we call an oasis with all of these components clean water, toilet and sanitation, electricity, a space for the community to farm around so that we fight food security.
Um, so they, I, I would say what we do is just more than clean water and we provide drugs as well for the community.
Villagers can, uh, can make, uh, enough money to take care of the family, to send the kids to school.
I always say what GBF does is true, it's charity, but let's remember that Burkina Bay are hardworking people.
If you give the people of Burkina Faso the basic.
They will show you how an economy should look like.
The proof is we're the 2nd producer of organic cotton in Africa.
And the first one, and the first one in West Africa.
So all these numbers are real, and that makes me really proud to be a Burkinabe a woman and say we're hardworking people with access to clean drinking water, but we thrive as people.
So, I mean, first of all, this sounds incredible, very regenerative, very full circle, um, the Oasis name, love that, and be really doing incredible work.
You're not just giving them fish, you're teaching them how to fish physically.
Um, how do you raise money and how do you draw capital to help keep the philanthropy going?
Yes, uh, so right now we are partnering with Cosway.
Um, is an impact, uh, investing company, uh, where you invest and you, you, you make money back and also, uh, that helped to, uh, create an impact, uh, for the people of Burkina Faso and, um, you know, we go through different organizations, foundations, um.
Uh, myself, I, The Water Princess, my children's book.
The next one, by the way, is coming out on October 6th.
It's called The Water Princess Build a Well, uh, so people can pre-order the book on Amazon and, uh, other platforms.
Um, we go to schools, we create awareness.
Um, right now we're creating a game that is coming up soon.
Uh, that is how we usually, uh, uh, raise funds, uh, for the organization.
Do you know how many wells that you guys have installed?
We have a total of over 285 water projects.
Build, restored, and I maintained as well.
When people discover your foundation, um, what do you hope they'll feel or understand for the first time?
Um, I would say that, um, impact is number one, because I used to not have clean water.
So for me, it's very important to cut all of the all of the fanciness around.
Bring clean water to my community and sustain it because the sustainability aspect is the hardest.
You were asking earlier, is the hardest part.
Burkina Faso has over 5700 wells that are broken.
Wow, meaning that organizations, the government, amazing people go and say, oh, you need a well, let's build it, but no one actually installed a sustainability part, a sustainability aspect behind this water project.
It's like you live, we live in New York, right?
Someone like the.
Um, and in-law tell us, oh, maintain your water.
How would you do that?
You have no knowledge.
So over on like how your water project work in your building.
So think of it as a saying when you build the well.
This community don't know how to maintain it, um, so the woman engineering, uh, aspect that sustainability part of the organization is difficult, like honestly it's difficult sometimes I cry. have to say.
I, I cry.
I'm like, why is this so hard?
Why do we have to go and restore our wealth at least 5 times in one year is a lot, but, um, the joy here is we are building water project that will last for generations to come, and that makes me very happy and proud of what I do.
And uh also for the donor to know 10 years later, your water project is still working.
Are you starting to see like 2nd generation where a mom was an engineer and she wants to bring her daughter into the program?
Absolutely incredible.
Absolutely.
So that is how I want people to see the Georgie Pariel Foundation, a sustainable organization that creates real change in people's lives and jobs and.
Uh, food security, uh, proper sanitation.
It's incredible because you're started with a very simple theme.
I mean, water is life, so how do we get water?
But it's grown into this beautiful landscape of really providing jobs and education and income and food.
It's a really incredible work that you're doing.
I hope you feel incredibly proud.
Of the work that you've done, if people want to get involved and want to contribute, um, what's the best way for them to reach out to you?
Absolutely.
So right now we are drilling a borehole before the raining season.
So anyone that can we want to drill 20 boreholes before the raining season, which is in June.
So anyone that can contribute, please join the causeway platform to contribute.
Is it Causeway.com?
What's the website?
Yes, uh, it's Causeway Impact.org.org.
Causeway Impact.org.
Yes, ogocom I'm sure you will like get the right link and add it.
Yes, and, uh, all the Georgie Bariel Foundation.org.
Uh, yes, any support will help, but, uh, let us build this like 20, um, new wells.
Uh, for, uh, before the raining season, that would be wonderful and great, and you can pre-order the Water Princess, uh, my children vote that is coming out.
I'm so happy and excited, so proud to know you and really congratulations on the great work that you're doing, George.
Thank you, Jeff, for having me.
This, this is a great opportunity and I'm so thankful to you.
It's my pleasure.
Thank you.
Thank you.
That's it for the impact on FinTech TV.
I'm your host, Jeff Guderman.
Until next time.
