Greetings my favourite Salesforce colleagues,

As many of you know, I've just arrived home from volunteering with Crossroads International in eSwatini, supporting Bantwana Initiatives eSwatini. Bantwana's mission is close to my heart, as they focus on empowering young girls and women, and combating gender-based violence, HIV treatment/prevention, and poverty.

eSwatini, albeit a beautiful country, isn't one with warm and fuzzy stories or stats. Over 27% of the population is living with HIV, and young girls under 29 are three times more likely to be infected; 36% of the population lives in poverty on less than $4 a day, and many of those that have a positive HIV status and have been a victim of domestic violence. It's a rough life filled with challenges.

During my time there, I had the opportunity to visit rural regions and witness the impactful work of Crossroads and Bantwana within vulnerable communities. I organized and led a team of three volunteers from Salesforce to contribute to our efforts there. We've been tackling problems that do support saving lives. The team jokes that these are 'real problems' because, in our day-to-day, our enterprise clients are working to optimize processes or increase revenue, with resources and a budget.

We've collectively donated over 400 hours of our time to date, created a Marketing Plan and capacity building to the local staff in eSwatini, and continue to build out a database to consolidate data in Salesforce which will support their impact reporting and fundraising efforts, we are additionally collectively raising funds. 

The Swati people are friendly and optimistic, with a strong sense of community. The team on the ground in eSwatini earns only a modest income (a couple of hundred dollars a month), yet their dedication is truly inspiring.

If you're able to, I kindly ask for your support in donating to Crossroads International. Your contribution will enable them to continue their remarkable work, not only in eSwatini but across Africa, to drive the empowerment and equality of young girls and women. You can donate https://secure.cintl.org/site/TR/Crossroads_Fundraising/General?px=1091533&pg=personal&fr_id=1100

Thank you for considering this request, it's awkward to make the ask, but it's for an important cause and I know we're all here just trying to make the world a bit better of a place amongst all the chaos (a Tax receipt and donation matching is a great incentive too :).

With love, light and kindness, 
Srikanth