Fresh out of undergrad in 2012, Kuro took a backpacking trip to Pakistan, India and Nepal. As he talked with locals, he discovered how women in developing countries faced extreme gender-based violence and assault on a daily basis. Sadly, it wasn’t a matter of if a woman would get attacked, but when. As if the attacks weren’t bad enough, local law enforcement does little to help. In some cases, victims are killed by their families to avoid shame. Women live in such fear that they can’t get an education or travel to work to improve their livelihood.
Kuro returned to the U.S. with a powerful idea. What if he could provide these women an effective way to protect themselves – a chance to fight back against these attacks? Imagine how that could elevate their confidence and their outlook on life. So in 2013 KUROS was born; started with the mission to create a sustainable company that could provide free safety tools (pepper spray) to at-risk women in need.
Six years and eight international trips later, KUROS has impacted the lives of more than 100,000 women in El Salvador, India, South Africa and the Philippines. KUROS partners with NGOs and local governments in these countries to ensure the pepper spray and training are distributed safely and correctly. KUROS sees and hears, firsthand, the empowerment that comes with protection of pepper spray. Many women express that carrying pepper spray deters violence in their communities. Even better, they feel confident when they leave their homes and walk through the world.