Grant Proposal Reflection

For my grant proposal, I worked alongside Jackie Sabbag in our work with the organization, I Am a Girl. In our proposal, we asked for $4250 to fund an essential research project out of Mbarara, Uganda. This research will ultimately identify the best (most sustainable, culturally acceptable, and easily used) menstrual product for young Ugandan girls experiencing period poverty.

Jackie and I felt incredibly nervous leading up to our project, as the responsibility of representing an organization is a very large task. Because this project extends so far beyond me or Jackie, we did our best to approach our presentation with the understanding that what we were saying to the judges carried real weight. We had to work hard to narrow in on what was most important to share with the judges during our 3-minute window. Right before giving our presentation, Jackie and I had to make some very last-minute tweaks to ensure that we would stay within the time constraints.

Receiving the grant money was one of the most exciting moments of my life. The amount of work that we all put into these projects was immense, so not only were we able to see that work pay off, but also to see that we were going to be able to enact the change we so desperately wanted to enact. I know Jackie and I are immeasurably grateful to Mr. Caragher and Ms. Diederich for their guidance, as well as the mentorship of Ms. Estrada throughout our Grant Proposal.

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