FairMail’s impact from 2006 – 2015
FairMail dreams of a world in which ALL adolescents have equal opportunities to educate and develop themselves.
In our last newsletter you already read about the impact you help to create by purchasing FairMail’s fair trade photo products.
But as an image says so much more than words we asked the JAM Academy to develop this cool visual explaining FairMail’s input, activities, output, outcome and impact so far.
FairMail Peru photographer Juan Gabriel (17)
Imagine what would happen to the world if all people who benefit from a good deed by others, do a similar fevour to 3 others instead of repaying the original benefactor.
Just like in the “Pay it forward” movie, FairMail Peru photographer and former street child Juan Gabriel (17) decided to make use of the skills he learned at FairMail to support a Peruvian charity supporting children with Down syndrome.
Paying-it-forward
Juan Gabriel submitted this yoga picture of his for the 2016 Devayani Children’s Yoga calendar. With the sale of the calendar Juan Gabriel’s picture earned 192 euro which he decided to donate to Proyecto Yannick. Proyecto Yannick helps children with Down syndrome and their parents in Celendín, Peru by providing information, education and medical assistance.
Juan Gabriel’s Yoga picture
We are very proud of Juan Gabriel not forgetting to help others while he is working on improving himself. He is currently preparing himself for his entrance exam to the UPAO private university on the 8th of July were he hopes to study communication sciences.
To learn more about Juan Gabriel and get in contact with him, click here.
Angeles earning money while learning photography
We are proud to present the results of FairMail’s third annual Social Impact Measurement. Below you can read which actual impact you are creating by sending FairMail’s fair trade greeting cards and purchasing our fair trade images.
“Earning while learning”
In 2015 the 55 teenage photographers earned a total of 23.601 euro to invest in their own education, their families’ housing and medical care. Money they earned while learning photography for free in the self-funded “youth centre” that FairMail is for them. This means that one year before FairMail’s 10th anniversary we passed the 165.000 euro mark in total direct earnings by all of the teenagers.
Anidela in front of the university where she is studying
The top earning teenagers in 2015 were Anidela and Kzanier from Peru, with 1.666 and 1.132 euro in year earnings last year. Anidela (18) is presently studying business administration at a private university and Kzanier (16) is saving to start studying graphic design at a private university next year after he finishes high school.
FairMail dropout rate is much lower than national average
Their earnings are crucial for the teenagers to be able to fulfil their dreamed future plans. But money alone is no guarantee, as success also depends on their own perseverance, family situation and personal motivation.
Due to a mix of these reasons, 22% (21% in 2014 and 20% in 2013) of the teenagers who started FairMail did not make it to the retirement age of 19 years old. These 12 teenagers either lost motivation along the way, were drawn back into problems by “old friends” or faced such big personal problems that they could not continue with FairMail. In 2015 FairMail had to say good bye to 2 teenagers because of similar reasons. Both are still getting money from the sale of their cards to finance their current education. One of them is still in high school, the other one is studying to become an accountant.
Diana, Jorge and Angeles after finishing high school
47 of the 55 kids that started FairMail either finished or are still in secondary school (that was also the case in 2014 with a similar 85% and 86% in 2013). Not bad considering the background of the teenagers FairMail works with. Also if you compare the percentage to the national average of 42% of all Indian teenagers who finish high school (or 62% of the poorest quintile of Peruvian teenagers finishing high school). Unfortunately 8 FairMail teenagers did drop out of high school due to a mix of reasons like having to earn money to supplement the family income or lack of motivation for school.
97% of FairMail teenagers continue learning after finishing high school
Of the FairMail teenagers who finished high school, 59% (52% in 2014 and 40% in 2013) has continued on to (pre-) university. It seems like the will for academic education is becoming more and more contagious in FairMail’s positive group atmosphere. 38% (43% in 2014 and 47% in 2013) of them have continued with some sort of vocational training. In total that adds up to 97% of FairMail teenagers continuing with learning after finishing high school. We are very proud of this nearly 100% score! Only 1 teenager decided not to continue studying anything at all after finishing high school. He started his own business (buying and selling of livestock) which doesn’t require vocational training as his father-in-law taught him the necessary tips and tricks. So we are also very proud of him!
The teenagers aiming for a better future
94% of “retired” FairMail teenagers have broken the chain of poverty
At this moment 69% (65% in 2014 and 68% in 2013) of the FairMail teenagers are still studying something. Of those not studying anymore 65% (77% in 2014 and 55% in 2013) has a decent job (varying from tourism to teaching to sales). 5 teenagers (29%, just like in 2014 and 23% in 2013) have their own business or are self-employed (varying from a bakery to producing soccer balls and from photography to mechanic). This way they have broken the chain of poverty and can start building a family that will provide much better opportunities for their children than the families where they grew up in. (7% of the ex-FairMail teenagers already have kids of their own!)
Not all is success though. One (17% in 2014 and 22% in 2013) of the former teenagers has a rather bad situation having to perform household chores and one teenager has passed away due to illness. Also we lost 12 teenagers along the way, dropping out of FairMail before reaching the retirement age of 19. We continue to sell their cards though and try to keep in contact with them to help however we can. Luckily all 12 of them are doing pretty well at this moment, either still being in school, investing in their own business or working.
Visual showing FairMail’s input, activities, output, outcome and impact in 2015.
Visual showing FairMail’s input, activities, output, outcome and impact in 2015. Click to view large version.
We were happily surprised upon hearing that FairMail was nominated for “Transparency Prize” organized by Price Waterhouse & Coopers.
After selecting 57 social enterprises, PwC researched which website had the most transparent communication about the social impact of the company. This way narrowing it down to 3 finalists. Besides FairMail the other two finalist are Dopper and Taxi Electric. You can read more about the prize here.
Transparency has always been at the core of FairMail, both internally and externally. But what does that mean in practice?
We are thankful for the trust our customers have that FairMail “walks its talk” and actually delivers what we promise. That starts with communicating clearly to the outside world about the money that the FairMail teenagers earn from the sale of their cards. This is stated per teenager on their personal profile page. Not only can you see how much each teenager earned but also the impact this money has had on their lives through the teenager’s personal stories and blogposts. To make sure this information is correct our customers can easily connect with the teenagers via email and Facebook on the profile pages and via the email address stated on each card.
FairMail Fair Trade guaranteed by the WFTO
Visitors to the FairMail website can also download our general year report giving an insight into the most important developments and numbers of the company and its social impact. FairMail’s social impact is also communicated every year in our blog and news letters. To be sure that all this information is correct, FairMail is externally audited by the auditors appointed by the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) both in the Netherlands and in our production countries. You can read more about the last audits here.
Thirdly we offer people the opportunity to experience FairMail at first hand. Either by working as volunteer or by travelling with the FairMail teenagers during our photography trips. This way experiencing exactly how FairMail works with all the ins and outs.
For those who don’t have the possibility to go to Peru or India we have made a very extensive list of “Frequently Asked Questions”. This FAQ gives the answer to just about every aspect of FairMail, the way things work, the teenagers, its environmental policy etc.
Transparency the FairMail way is not only about being transparent to the outside world. Equally important is being very transparent internally, assuring the teenage photographers that they are receiving their fair share of the profit from the sale of their cards. Therefore every three months we share the quarterly profit-loss statement with them. You can download an example here.
To facilitate internal transparency, the teenager’s personal earnings in their FairMail education-, housing-, clothing- and medical funds are always accessible in the teenagers’ personal folders we have in the office. This way the teenagers can always see how much money they have left in their funds and when they made withdrawals.
Apart from that we regularly invite teenagers to visit Europe to see first-hand how their greeting card market works, meet FairMail’s customers and understand the value chain.
We are very happy with this result. We couldn’t have made it so far without people helping us: we want to give a big THANK YOU to UNITid for making the interaction design of the FairMail website, TOOK Webdevelopment for actually programming the site and the Social Capital Foundation for providing the loan to invest in our new, and transparent, website.
FairMail Peru photographer Juan Gabriel
The high school graduation wave in Peru still isn’t over. After 3 teenagers graduating in December, it was Juan Gabriel’s turn last month. He didn’t just graduate, he actually got the highest marks of all of his class mates!
Because Juan Gabriel spent a period of his youth wondering on the streets singing for money he got behind in school. The staff of the street children project he moved into thought it would be best for little Juan to get a more practical education and job experience. In order for him to get a high school degree he assisted a special weekend school which allows its students to work during the week. And with great success!
Juan Gabriel’s certificate
It turns out that Juan Gabriel has quiet some academic potential though. He even wants to pursue further studies at the university. The coming months he will prepare himself for the admission exam at a private institute, with the money he earned from the sale of his cards. This way he hopes to get in uni to study communication sciences. He will need a high score in his admission exam to get in, so brushing up his knowledge will be necessary.
Juan Gabriel’s mother in front of their home.
On top of that he is also studying English at another institute and got a scholarship to study photography outside of FairMail. All in all Juan Gabriel is doing a great job in developing his potential and be able to help his family in the future. Because, despite the problems they had when he was young, he hopes to be able to build a real house on the piece of land his family squatted on the edge of the city. And that way providing him with a bed that doesn’t get wet when it rains.
Click here to congratulate Juan Gabriel.
Kaushal’s house with a new top floor
Despite the very sad news about FairMail India closing its doors in October 2014, we are happy that the sale of the Indian FairMail cards is still having a positive impact on the teenagers and their families. In the last few months of 2014 five of the teenagers invested more than 100.000 rupees (>1.500 euro) in the construction of their family homes.
For example 17 year old Aradhana started the construction of her families own house in the outskirts of Varanasi which means they will no longer have to pay rent from her father’s small wage as cart puller. Kaushal managed to provide his family with an improved second story of their home. Meanwhile Sandhya invested in fully replacing the tiny room she lived in with her entire family for a new 2 story house. Anil Kumar and Anil Rao also managed to make significant improvements to their homes and to provide due maintenance. In the case of Anil Rao allowing his family to earn more money renting out part of their home to other people.
Sandhya’s new home under construction
We are very happy with this tiny bit of good news after the difficult decision to close down FairMail India. Unfortunately our decision still seems like the least bad decision to take as tension between some of the former teenager’s families still persists. Also our former team member is still being held in jail since July 2014 on accusations which still haven’t been investigated properly. A very sad situation which seems increasingly difficult to influence despite our intents.
Yomira when still at high school
After FairMail’s first social impact measurement last year we are happy to present the new figures of FairMail’s social impact over 2014.
When FairMail was set up in 2006, besides bringing photos with an original perspective into the market, our – more important – goal was to accomplish our social mission:
“to give at-risk teenagers the opportunity to create a better future for themselves.”
But how much impact did we create in our eight years of operation and in 2014 specifically? And what did the teenagers accomplish with their earnings?
“Earning while learning”
In 2014 the 52 teenage photographers earned 32.080 euro (20.530 euro in 2013) to invest in their own education, their families’ housing and medical care.
This way, for the first time in FairMail’s 8 year history passing the 150.000 euro mark in total direct earnings by the 52 FairMail teenagers.
The top earners in Peru and India were Elmer and Sandhya with 2.025 and 3.564 euro respectively. In second place came Yomira and Dhiraj with 1.349 and 2.132 euro each.
FairMail dropout rate is much lower than national average
These earnings are crucial for the teenagers to be able to fulfill their dreamed future plans. But money alone is no guarantee as success also depends on their perseverance, family situation and motivation for FairMail.
Due to a mix of these reasons, 21% (20% in 2013) of the teenagers who started FairMail did not make it to the retirement age of 19 years old. These 11 teenagers either lost motivation along the way, were drawn back into problems by “old friends” or faced such big personal problems that they could not continue with FairMail.
85% (86% in 2013) of all the kids that started FairMail either finished or are still in secondary school. Not bad considering the background of the teenagers FairMail works with. Also if you compare the percentage to the national average of 52% of all Indian teenagers that makes it to tenth grade (or 65% of all children in Peru finishing high school).
95% of FairMail teenagers continue learning after finishing high school
Of those FairMail teenagers who finished high school during their time with FairMail 52% (40% in 2013) has continued on to (pre-) university. 43% (47% in 2013) of them have continued with some sort of vocational training. Only 5% (13% in 2013) decided not to continue studying at all after finishing high school, because they could get a job which didn’t require vocational training.
83% of “retired” FairMail teenagers have broken the chain of poverty
At this moment 65% (68% in 2013) of the FairMail teenagers are still studying something. Of those not studying anymore 77% (55% in 2013) has a decent job (varying from administration to construction to sales). 29% (23% in 2013) has his or her own business or is self-employed (varying from a bakery to producing soccer balls and from photography to mechanic). This way they have broken the chain of poverty and can start building a family that will provide much better opportunities for their children than the families where they grew up in. (8% of the ex-FairMail teenagers already have kids of their own!)
Not all is success though. Still 17% (22% in 2013) of the retired teenagers are either unemployed or have a marginalized or an unstable job (varying from doing household chores to being in jail). 2 out of 3 teenagers who are in this situation happen to be teenagers that didn’t finish the FairMail program until the age of 19. This only shows the importance of FairMail’s long term approach and guidance.
Diana, Jorge and Angeles with their high school certificates
As you can read in FairMail’s second yearly social impact report, 2014 was a great year for most of our Peruvian FairMail (ex-) participants: half of the team graduated from high school! A big congratulations to Anidela (16), Angeles (17), Diana (16) and Jorge (18) for persevering in their high school years.
Angeles already graduated in the beginning of the year. Since then she is studying extremely hard at the private Kepler academy, preparing for the exam to enter the national university of Trujillo on the 15th of March. This is the hardest university to get into and her public high school level isn’t high enough so that is why she invests in this expensive academy. Her grades during the trial exams are very promising but as she says herself she shouldn’t become overconfident and relaxed. To be continued…
Jorge with his certificate
Jorge finished high school in June as he attended a weekend school aimed at people who need to combine their high school with work. Since then, besides attending FairMail, he has been working and orienting on his further education. This month he is enrolling to study as chef and as driver/mechanic of heavy vehicles. He hopes to combine working as a cook on the short term with finishing the heavy vehicles course on the long term. This would allow him to get a well-paid job in a construction company in one of the many new mines in Peru.
Diana with her certificate
Diana just finished high school in December, in the same school as Angeles. Instead of taking well deserved summer holiday’s she went straight on taking summer courses. In March she will start a 5 year communication sciences study at the Cesar Vallejo private university in Trujillo.
Anidela also finished in December, in second place of her high school class. She is also skipping summer holidays to attend the preparatory academy for the Leonardo de Vinci private university in Trujillo. In March she will start to fulfill her long cherished dream of studying business administration at the university with the scholarship she earned.
Mariaflor (r) after the ceremony with her friend Cinthia
We are very proud of the fact that FairMail Peru photographer Mariaflor was awarded with the prize for being the best student of her faculty over the past semester. As special as this news sounds, it is actually already the third time that Mariaflor, who is 23 years old by now, managed to achieve this!
With her hard work when she was still taking pictures for FairMail she already earned 7.379 euro. Money which she is investing to study communication sciences at the Cesar Vallejo private university in Trujillo. With her first prize she won a scholarship which means she has to pay only 45 euro per month instead of 110 euro. A discount that is more than welcome to allow Mariaflor to have enough funds to finish her career at the expensive private university. Her mother was present during the award ceremony at the university. According to Mariaflor, her mother says she is proud to have a daughter like Mariaflor. And we are very proud to have a FairMail teenager like her!
It comes as no surprise that Mariaflor works very hard to achieve this incredible result. She understand and fully makes use of this chance to get ahead in life. Therefor she spends an average of more than 50 hours per week on her study.
Can you believe she even manages to combine all that hard work with her part-time job as co-manager of FairMail Peru? She doesn’t make a big deal of this herself. She just points out the unique opportunity she is grasping to be able to practice what she learns at university, while getting paid job experience at the same time.
Her next goal is to specialize her career abroad as this increases opportunities for finding a job afterwards. If anybody has an idea for an organisation where Mariaflor can do her practical period abroad, please let us know. They won’t regret working with a smart and ambitious girl like Mariaflor!
We have a lot of faith that Mariaflor will achieve this and are very grateful to have such a lighting example for the new generation of FairMail teenagers in our Peruvian team!
If you want you can send Mariaflor an email here.
Yomira’s life changing photograph
FairMail’s goal is to impact teenager’s lives through the art of photography. Never before though did just one photograph have such a big impact on the life of a teenager as with this photo taken by FairMail Peru photographer Yomira (17). In November her photo was selected by a big Dutch college for their corporate Christmas cards. Five months later the full impact on Yomira’s life becomes clear. She is now on her way to be the first in her family to go to university.
Until November Yomira’s perspectives weren’t very bright. Although she had managed to finish her high school with the help of her FairMail earnings she was running short to be able to finance her dream of studying business administration. Also she had serious problems at home and with her boyfriend. We were quite worried about Yomira’s situation and if she would be strong enough to stay on the right path.
Yomira in front of her pre-university institute
Things changed when FairMail’s profit results for the 4th quarter were announced. She had earned the record amount of 4.500 soles (1.200 euro), mainly due to the sale of her picture on ROC Aventus College’s corporate Christmas card. Suddenly she had enough money to prepare herself for the university admission exam at one of the best private training institutes. Preparing for university admission in a private institute is essential in Peru as the level of public high school education is not sufficient. Plus the entry exams are very competitive with only 5% of the applicants being admitted for some courses.
Yomira seems to be quite happy studying at the institute. It is a totally different world than Peru’s public schools as the teachers use better teaching methods, are more patient and are able to explain more about the subjects, according to Yomira. But it is also quite exciting as now, after talking and dreaming about it for years, she is at the point of taking action to make her dream turn into reality. But what a great opportunity it is to become the first in her family to continue studying after finishing high school. Not many teenagers in her surrounding have that opportunity!
Still it is a big challenge for Yomira. She was a bit scared about how difficult and competitive it would be. She is expected to study 45 hours per week at the institute and has about 4 hours of homework per day! It is also difficult for her that she doesn’t know anybody as none of her high school friends were able to go with her. She says she still doesn’t have much new friends but she enjoys learning new things and achieve her goals this way.
Yomira studying at her new institute
Preparing herself for the university admission exam costs about 2.000 soles (about 550 euro). In September she hopes to be ready for the entry exam for the UNT (National University of Trujillo) to study accountancy. The battle will be tough though with about 400 candidates for only 30 seats. Even if she doesn’t make it in the first go she is determined to keep trying and give it a second shot if necessary.
Yomira wishes to thank all the people who bought her pictures and cards. And adds that if anyone has any tips or suggestions about the kind of photos they would like to see on FairMail cards,to please let her know.
The picture that changed her life is also available on a normal FairMail card and a best seller in Germany. Want to stock up on your Christmas cards early this year, then order here?
You can contact Yomira here
In this short video Yomira presents herself: