-
-
Banner
-
LifeRaft Prototype
-
LifeRaft Screens
-
Our Mission:
LifeRaft supports climate refugees and connects them with relevant resources, organizations, educational institutions, and researchers who can make a significant difference in addressing the challenges posed by climate change. By providing a place of support and open-source data, we can empower climate refugees and help them navigate their circumstances more effectively.
Our Vision:
Our vision is to create a future where climate refugees find solace, support, and opportunity through our virtual LifeRaft platform. In this transformed world, climate refugees no longer face isolation, but are connected to a global community of empathy and understanding. Our project aims to empower them with vital resources, knowledge, and networks, enabling them to rebuild their lives and contribute to the collective fight against climate change. By bridging the gap between climate refugees, non-profits, educational institutions, and researchers, we envision a society that embraces collaboration, innovation, and compassion to address the challenges of our changing climate. Together, we can build a resilient, sustainable future that leaves no one behind.
Problem
It’s estimated by 2050, around 1.2 billion people will be displaced from their home countries due to climate change.* Natural disasters, rise in sea levels, and desertification has put many developing nations at risk of being inhabitable. Countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan are already experiencing floods that have destroyed their land’s agriculture and put their people at risk of disease. This is not an issue of the far future but a current problem that needs immediate attention.
The term “climate refugees” has been unofficially used in activist communities to describe people who have lost their homes/country to climate change. This brings up the question of how will we respond to this global crisis, and how can we help these “climate refugees” properly adapt in the future.
Solution
The target demographic of our challenge is the younger generation. We primarily want to foster a future community of leaders who have the necessary tools and experience to address the urgent issue of climate change refugees. LifeRaft is a website that connects our youths to the climate change crises directly by focusing on these five main pillars:
1) Sharing Stories and Learning with Empathy
2) Create a Platform where All Voices Are Heard
3) Connecting the Community Through Peer-to-Peer Support
4) Open-Source Data for Researchers
5) Accessible Resources Hub
LifeRaft offers a comprehensive solution to engage and empower climate refugees, promote global awareness, and provide essential support. By providing our future generation with the necessary support, together we can reduce social helplessness in our community (check out our article in the home tab to learn more) and build a more resilient future for all.
Implementation Plan
Our target customers are non-profit organizations, independent schools, and school boards.
In the beginning, we will create an initial curation pilot program with a base fee or deposit of $2000 for unofficial members.
After the pilot program, we will transition into membership which will then have more premium additional add-ons that we wouldn’t offer in the pilot program. The price of the membership will depend on whether it is regular or premium.
Premium Membership includes: Training for children and youth would be provided through the membership as well as individual packages that can be bought by homeschools, private schools, and tutors. Alongside these workshops, we plan to bring an additional resource hub that includes the support of climate therapists to relieve the eco-grief many climate refugees have experienced.
To make these resources more accessible, a sliding scale will be implemented for organizations or schools that are low on funding. By creating that initial connection, our original price would be on the lower end; however, as their profit goes up, the cost would go up as well.
Our Ask
We would greatly appreciate a generous donation of $800 to develop the app and peer support hub as our first course of action. Next, we would love to reach to partnership and further improve our network of connections to non-profits and schools. Finally, the opportunity to gain insight from mentors and co-founders can really help us in providing further direction for our project!
Log in or sign up for Devpost to join the conversation.