THE STORY OF ZAKIA
Growing up, everybody holds the goal of making a contribution to humanity; to be able to make a lasting impact that could help those in need in one way or another. In my first semester attending the University of Virginia, my peers and I came to the realization of the waste of food coming from the mandatory first-year meal plan. To anybody, two meal swipes a day, $300 plus dollars, ten guest swipes, and unlimited entry to any dining hall on campus might sounds a little too excessive. For this reason, the initial plan behind Zakia was to develop a network connecting those who were planning on giving their left over and untouched food, with those who were more in need (i.e. upperclassmen & those facing financial hardships).
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Nonetheless, towards the end of developing Zakia, we have decided to broaden its services to have a more beneficial financial, sustainable, and useful form. In doing so, Zakia is now able to target individuals throughout and connect them with gathering gathering a variety of resources to better meet their needs.
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Our Objective
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The objective of Zakia is to form a community where we can offer those in need the resources they need to succeed. Our goal is to form a network between students attending a campus and those near a campus to enhance the opportunity of utilizing all nearby tools. For instance, while a freshman might be in desperate need of a certain material for modeling a project, an upperclassmen may have those materials that he/she would throw away otherwise. Due to this, the importance behind Zakia is to reduce wasting all type of items, and repurpose them. This is crucial in terms of financial experience for those facing hardships, and sustainability for those believe they have something that could be reused and be convenient.