Video of Westminster Alum’s Project Featured by Clinton Global Initiative

What did Sahadev Yangmali Rai ’14 do when he saw a need to help women and children improve their lives in his home country of Nepal?

He walked 9 and a half hours, carrying 150 books, to establish a library.

What did he do when he knew that library wasn’t enough and a self-sustaining economic initiative was needed to change lives?

He applied for funding from the Clinton Global Initiative University. In 2013, Rai’s project was one of only nine projects out of 600 competitive presentations from 75 different countries and all 50 states to win seed money funding.

Since that time, Rai has not stopped working. He completed his degree in transnational studies, international business, and a self-designed major in international relations/diplomacy at Westminster, plus established the Yang-Ward Foundation. He has used his $9,000 CGIU seed funding to create a self-sustaining project to bring greater economic prosperity to the lives of women in Nepal. The Yang-ward Foundation Inc. aims to empower underprivileged women by engaging them in revenue-generating activities such as cash crop production, poultry farming, animal husbandry, and pig farming. He is currently enrolled at the London School of Economics, pursuing his Msc in international relations.

CGIU recently shared a video update of Rai’s success to help promote their open application period for new projects. Watch the video above or click the link.

Are you a Westminster student with an innovative idea to help change the world? Check out the CGIU web site for information on available funding. The early decision deadline is October 17; the final deadline is December 1.

More on Westminster and CGIU – https://news.wcmo.edu/academics/students-shine-at-cgiu/

http://www.westminster-mo.edu/news/news/Pages/ClintonGlobalInitiative-Rai.aspx