Aug 24, 2011 | AIL, Education, Kravis Prize, Sakena Yacoobi
Here at the Kravis Prize, we are proud that our winners have noble aspirations that impact regions across the globe. This article in the Associated Press highlights our 2009 Prize winner, Sakena Yacoobi, and her tireless efforts to bring education to women and girls in Afghanistan. Yacoobi envisions the work of the Afghan Institute of Leadership (AIL) as a vehicle for peace in the region, although she admits that she is “no idealist” when it comes to large-scale change: “She said she hopes to one day have centers in every province of Afghanistan ‘and there wouldn’t be one single individual uneducated or not able to read and write,’ Yacoobi says. ‘But reality is reality. Fact is fact. Education takes time. It takes a lot of time.'” Part of Yacoobi’s approach to making AIL successful is recruiting employees who are “more dedicated to the cause than their paychecks.” “We have lots of students who are with the U.N. programs, the USAID program, they are making triple my salary,” Yacoobi explained. “I say go ahead, do a good job, go. I am proud of them.” Pragmatic Afghan woman educates thousands [Associated Press] To learn more about Sakena Yacoobi and AIL, click... read more
Aug 10, 2011 | FAWE, Kravis Prize
What is it going to take to bring universal education to children in Africa? In a recent op-ed on the Africa.com blog, FAWE Executive Director Oley Dibba Wadda and Research, Communication and Advocacy Officer Irmin Durand argue for a renewed global commitment for action on education in developing countries. “The most urgent priority is to ensure access to, and improve the quality of, education for girls and women, and to remove every obstacle that hampers their active participation.” Wadda and Durand highlight FAWE’s advocacy efforts on behalf of the 54 percent of girls in sub-Saharan Africa who are out of school “to ensure that girls and women enjoy the same opportunities as their male counterparts, opportunities to learn, thrive, be productive and autonomous, and participate in every aspect of development of their societies.” To achieve their goals, Wadda and Durand write that “all those with a stake in education, empowerment, and gender equality must work in synergy,” which is why FAWE “engages with governments and decision-makers across sub-Saharan Africa to encourage policy reform” and “encourages communities to act for enduring and positive change in their attitudes and practices.” We’re thrilled that FAWE, the recipient of the 2008 Kravis Prize, is working so diligently and creatively toward instituting educational initiatives for women and girls in... read more
Jul 27, 2011 | Pratham, Rukmini Banerji
We’re excited to bring our readers another guest post from Pratham’s Rukmini Banerji! Here, we learn about one of Pratham’s innovative computer literacy programs in rural India, Education for Education. We’ll be posting more content from our past recipients in the near future, so stay tuned! – Kravis Prize It was mid morning. We were in a remote area of rural Katihar district in the state of Bihar in eastern India. The village road wound through the fields and past mango orchards. We stopped outside a small house with bamboo fencing. We walked in through the little gate into the courtyard. A few bicycles were parked under a tree. The house in front had two small rooms and a small verandah. Shoes and slippers were lying neatly at the edge of the room. The floor and the walls were bare – just simple mats on the floor. But in the center of the room we could see two laptops. Four young people sat with the computers – two to one computer – with the computer instructor right next to them. She was young – not more than 20 or 22. Her students were also probably the same age. They were learning how to make PowerPoint presentations. I sat quietly behind this group for a long time. The instructor spoke and the students did what she said. It was the best lesson on making PowerPoint presentations that I had ever witnessed. Apart from a quick welcome, neither the students nor the instructor paid any attention to me. They concentrated on the work they were doing. I later learned that the... read more
Jul 21, 2011 | Kravis Prize, Pratham
Absolute silence reigned over the cavernous hall in MoMA – New York’s Museum of Modern Art – which plays host to the Kravis Prize award ceremony. A mass of people waited to listen. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Henry Kravis made his comments, handed me the check and stepped off the dais. Now it was my turn. It was only at that moment, as I stood facing crowd, that the enormity and the significance of the award hit me. I was here representing Pratham, a vast network of young leaders throughout India who unselfishly strive to provide the country’s children with high quality education. The momentum generated from the strength of these individuals working together brought me to this stage in New York City, and thinking of all of their earnest faces, suddenly I no longer felt alone. It was around this time last year that I went to New York City to receive the 2010 Kravis Prize in Leadership on behalf of Pratham. We had learned that we won the Prize some weeks in advance and recognized the experience as a big honor. But, many thousands of miles away in another part of the world, the Kravis Prize seemed distant and unreal. After spending 16 hours on a plane, I arrived in the U.S. and had the opportunity to meet with Henry and Marie-Josée Kravis. We discussed our respective interests in a conversation that moved easily between anecdotes and identifying approaches to create change. Although I had never previously met Mr. and Mrs. Kravis, it was clear they both thoroughly understand and support our work... read more
Jun 27, 2011 | BRAC, BRAC UK, BRAC USA, Escuela Nueva, Fazle Abed, Kravis Prize, Vicky Colbert
Congratulations to Vicky Colbert from Escuela Nueva Foundation! We are so happy that Vicky is being honored with this tremendous award. It is a well-deserved and hard-earned recognition. This year’s award announcement brought back memories of my own experience in 2007. When I was awarded the second annual Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership, the news brought a whirlwind of excitement, gratitude, inspiration and exhilaration for all of us at the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC). The Prize’s financial award had an immediate impact as it helped BRAC establish offices in the United States and United Kingdom. These offices have helped to support and grow BRAC’s programs beyond Bangladesh. Since 2002, BRAC has expanded to nine other countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Southern Sudan, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, Uganda and recently Haiti. The Prize helped not only to begin our work in the U.S. through BRAC USA, but also to give our new institution credibility in the U.S. Though BRAC began in 1972 and is today one of the biggest development organizations in the world, not many people living in the U.S. had ever heard of it and even fewer were aware of its remarkable history and successful track record. The recognition we received from the Kravis Prize allowed us to establish BRAC USA and begin telling our story to a new audience in America and the U.K. Throughout 2010, BRAC USA has been working to tell the story of our organization’s successful approach to development. Members of the BRAC USA team have attended and participated in several conferences and panels in the last year. We also have... read more
