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9km for 5 days - Gender Equity movement 2.0

  • Opening up a new chapter 🎥

      26 June 2023
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    We did it!!!! THANKS to YOU! 🫶🏾

    Introducing kōpū: Unconventional Motherhood Wisdom. A documentary exploring the rich diversity of motherhood and the far-reaching skills that the experience yields. A purpose-driven production company using storytelling to advocate for equity, fostering multi-ethnic and pangender solidarity.

    Ko te whaea te takere o te waka | Mothers are the hull of the waka (ship)

    Kōpū, the Māori word for womb, represents the great life-giving power that mothers possess. Another Māori term for the uterus, te whare tangata, literally translates to “the house of the people”--the original origin of us all. Kōpū is also the Māori word for Venus as the morning star - a persistent feminine symbol in many Western cultures but also, as the brightest object in the sky, a guiding star in several mythologies, religions and provincial cultures.

    Our eponymous film channels the wisdom that accompanies this power and examines its influence on different spheres of life. In recent years, mothers have been thrust to the sideline of our culture as they care for their children. Yet care is the life-giving force that sustains health and well-being, binding together societies and ecologies. While motherhood archetypes have gently evolved, a constant remains: the perceptions bound to the role.

    Read more: www.mykopu.com

    Get the latest updates on our documentary production journey by signing up to our newsletter.

    This was all made possible thanks to YOU. Ngā mihi nui, Merci.

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  • The first milestone as a team ✅

      28 December 2021
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    Can you remember the last time you set yourself a goal with narrow chances to hit it?

    When we embarked on our crowdfunding journey, the odds of making it through were abysmal.

    One of us was starting a new job while anchoring down in a new home and having to deal with the unfathomable grieving pain of losing a relative overseas with no other option than “zooming in” at the funeral.

    One of us was going through rounds of laborious interviews and a myriad of obstacles to access a dream job.

    One of us was moving a whole family across the globe during a pandemic and having to reinvent a new life on a new continent.

    One of us was taking on a new contract of work while co-sharing the burden of homeschooling two primary school children during a four months lockdown.

    One of us - also in lockdown - was kickstarting a new freelance career while tending for three little kids, mostly on their own.

    One of us was utterly challenged professionally having to raise investment for the company they led while isolating at home with children.

    Some of us - if not all - were pushed to the edge of what our mental health could take on.

    Yet, we made it through. We hit our very first milestone as a team thanks to the generous support of 46 sponsors who contributed to raising $2,240. A touching gesture of trust that was purely built on our words and each and everyone’s commitment to achieving a 9km challenge for 5 days.

    We are beyond grateful for what took place over the last three months regardless of the challenges we all faced. This milestone is allowing us to build confidence in the next chapter and what we can achieve to get our documentary off the ground.

    With only 3 days left before our Give A Little page closes for good, we want to thank you all.

    Whether sponsor or not, your attention in sharing or discussing our message has been priceless. And for those of you who left it to the last minute - now is the time to contribute.

    Rest assured there will be other opportunities and that we will keep you posted on our progress. It is undeniable you deserve that.

    Bring on 2022! Mā te wā

    📷 photo credit: Herve Villard from Unsplash

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  • 270km in, sore legs but final stretch!

      7 December 2021

    As we close in on our crowdfunding goal, AJ had a sit-down with Claire to discuss what we aim to accomplish through a documentary that explores the unique skills associated with motherhood.

    Watch the video for a taste of it :)

    A gigantic THANK YOU to everyone who has supported us in our journey so far. We are humbled to see so many of you cheering us on and joining our quest for gender equity - we can’t wait to take our filming to the next level.

    Your astonishing generosity is allowing us to kickstart the work required for a pitch trailer starting with branding, digital assets purchase, travel expenses and video equipment rental.

    More than ever, we are determined to put ‘the motherhood penalty’ to rest and that’s precisely what we intend to do through compelling, action-oriented media.

    Fundamentally, our #9to5Challenge, inspired by the 9 to 5 Movement has reminded us that we should "never doubt a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world" - Magaret Mead. Beyond our crowdfunding campaign efforts, we have reached hundreds of individuals across the globe and triggered conversations on gender equity in many households, according to the feedback we have received.

    This is an undeniable win on its own, but it's only a start.

    With $180 missing, it is our final stretch and our last call to help us get there. We're asking you to share this campaign today simply because we need to secure more funding to cover the forthcoming documentary making costs.

    Ngā mihi nuī, thank you very much, merci beaucoup, ačiū from our international team.

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  • 180km in and picking up the pace!

      19 November 2021
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    Claire T. and AJ have joined the enviable ranks of Asmeet and Romas in completing the challenge. If there’s anything our team comes away with from this, it’s strong calves.

    Jokes aside, we are making incredible progress towards our goal – in the last five days alone, we’ve raised over $400. This project, which started as but a dream, is getting more real by the day – and it’s all thanks to contributions, small and large, from each and every one of you.

    With your help, there’s little doubt in our minds about what we can accomplish.

    The ultimate mission is increasingly clear: change the way society values motherhood.

    Because the hard truth is that gender equality cannot exist under our current system of laws and social mores.

    Here’s an excerpt from AJ’s Day 4 post, which adds an anecdotal touch to the discussion. He dedicated the day’s walk to his own mother, and reflects on the work she put into raising him and his brother:

    “Not only did she masterfully raise two boisterous boys, she did so while balancing a highly challenging job, marriage, & host of other commitments, small and large. It’s a miracle that she pulled it off.

    My bet is that your mom pulled off a miracle in raising you too. Because frankly, the world we live in doesn’t make it easy. Gender-based discrimination, pay gaps, domestic violence… the list of things that disproportionately affect women & mothers goes on.”

    So! Let’s build a better future. Walk with us, share this campaign with your friends, donate what you can :) let’s lay The Motherhood Penalty to rest once and for all.

    Photo credit Gayatri Malhotra from Unsplash.

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  • 90km and still going

      6 November 2021
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    While Asmeet Hansra and Dr Romas Malevicius completed their challenge, we could read in the NZ news this week: "New Zealand's gender pay gap widens after trending down for nearly a decade.

    It means that compared to Pākehā men, Pasifika women effectively started working for free on September 22, wāhine Māori on October 3, Asian women on October 23, and Pākehā women on November 15." (https://bit.ly/3bGRZv3)

    In France, the Minister in charge of Gender Equity, Diversity and Equal Opportunities, Élisabeth Moreno wrote an article that presented the latest statistics from Eurostat. “French women are on average paid 16.5% less than French men. In other words, French women started working for free on November 3.” (https://bit.ly/2ZXqbQs)

    In the US, the Biden administration that “had initially proposed 12 weeks of paid family leave as part of his sweeping proposal to expand social benefits and climate programs — a provision adopted by House Democrats was baulked at the $494 billion price tag, forcing negotiators to consider a sharp reduction of the benefit — down to 4 weeks — before Biden slashed it all together in the framework he unveiled last week.” (https://bit.ly/3BUYyEV)

    Unfortunately, as pointed out by Jody Heymann, founding director of the policy centre and a U.C.L.A. distinguished professor of public health and public affairs “Some leave is better than none, researchers said, but evidence from around the world suggests that four weeks is too little to reap the full benefits. [...] 12 weeks is a modest amount, and anything less is grossly inadequate. The rest of the world, including low-income countries, have found a way to do this.”

    These sobering updates may add to your “crisis overload”. Yet, the fact is one crisis has exacerbated others including Gender inequities and mothers in the workplace particularly are facing and feeling a pushback.

    That is NOT okay.

    Initially, when we embarked on the 9km for 5-days challenge it was to crowdfund for a documentary that will unveil the skills women develop when tending to children with the belief of changing the narrative around the motherhood penalty, which tends to be the centrepiece of gender inequity.

    However, the more we walk, the more we realise how much we want the 9to5 challenge to be a statement.

    If at the very least our efforts make you aware of the depth of these inequalities, their ramifications and current status, then that’s a win.

    Perhaps in your own time, you’ll decide to act.

    For now, we do and we thank you for your sponsorship. You can contribute further by sharing this link: https://bit.ly/3Egaz9D with your network.

    Heck, take the next step and “march” with us.

    Use the hashtags #9to5challenge #motherhoodwillnotstopme - walk 9km for 5-days and show us you care as much as we do.

    "Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi Engari, he toa takitini." - “My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many.”

    Photo credit: Rochelle Brown from Unsplash

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