Feb 25, 2015 | AIL, Education, Kravis Prize, Sakena Yacoobi
In the pages of the Christian Science Monitor, Afghan Institute of Learning founder Sakena Yacoobi offers a passionate commentary about lowering the cultural barriers to educating women and girls with outreach that includes males, too. “The women who come to our centers feel the same way,” she says of AIL’s centers, whose health and education efforts were recognized with the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership in 2009. “Men and boys need to be educated, not ignored.” Development efforts in disadvantaged countries can cut two ways, especially when those efforts highlight and publicize one group to such a degree that another group feels forgotten. Yacoobi’s Monitor article, “In Afghanistan, teaching men that education is not a threat,” points out that while AIL’s work has focused on one specific segment, the actual goal is more universal, more all-embracing than her organization’s stated mission. “Educated, wise men,” she writes, thinking of her own father, who supported her pursuit of an education (she holds U.S. degrees from the University of the Pacific and Loma Linda University), “do not abuse women or children and recognize the worth and value of women and children.” Since AIL’s founding in 1995, the lives of more than 10 million people have been affected by the organization’s work. Yacoobi, however, acknowledges that this impact must be broader, and more inclusive, as she shares in the following anecdote, which is included in the Monitor article: One day in early 2002, I went with my female staff to visit one of our Women’s Learning Centers in rural Kabul. Suddenly a group of teenage boys with weapons appeared, blocking the... read more
Feb 11, 2015 | Education, Kravis Prize, Poverty Reduction, Pratham
Are education efforts and outreach to children in rural India producing positive results? The answer is both encouraging and troubling, according to NGO Pratham’s 10th Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), released this week in New Delhi. “While more than 96 percent of children in the 6-14 age group are attending school,” reports Indian media site IBN, Pratham’s analysis suggests that “there are still some worrying signs as reading and mathematical abilities are still not up to the mark.” Pratham was honored in 2010 with the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Nonprofit Leadership for its literacy efforts throughout the country, particularly the program Read India, which has reached more than 34 million children. But as the organization’s latest ASER indicates, much work remains to be done even though the report presents substantial success. Among the findings announced this week: for the 6-14 age group, the percentage of children enrolled in schools across the nation remains at more than 96% for the sixth year in a row; the percentage of children not enrolled for that age group is 3.3% in older age groups, particularly for 15- and 16-year-olds, the number of children not enrolled in school jumps to much higher percentages: 15.9% for boys, 17.3% for girls simple reading and basic arithmetic skills continue to be “a serious and major source of concern,” with increases in various age groups of children struggling with number and character recognition daily attendance percentages for primary and upper primary schools continue to climb, which is a hopeful sign, as are improvements in facilities (availability of clean drinking water, toilets, equipment) which is improving the... read more
Jan 21, 2015 | INJAZ Al-Arab, Kravis Prize, Soraya Salti
A recent celebration of INJAZ Al-Arab’s efforts to stimulate entrepreneurial growth among Arab youth featured Jordan’s Queen Rania, who has long been a key supporter of this organization, which was awarded a Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in 2012. The Queen chaired a discussion earlier this month in Qatar that brought together several of the organization’s leaders, including Soraya Salti — who was honored three years ago with the Kravis Prize for raising Amman-based INJAZ Al-Arab’s impact from a local to a regional force affecting the lives of millions of students in surrounding countries. According to the Reuters news site Zawya, job creation and employment opportunities are the two biggest challenges facing Arab youths today — they have also been Salti’s twin priorities for her organization over the past ten years. The successful expansion of INJAZ Al-Arab, Salti noted during the discussion, has been possible because of government supporters, especially advocates like Jordan’s Queen. “We would not be here today without the support of Her Majesty,” Salti told an audience of listeners, who also heard inspiring success stories about 14 young entrepreneurs based in Jordan, Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, Palestine, and elsewhere in the Arab world. What has been instrumental to the non-profit’s success, Salti added, is the Queen’s “belief in our mission to plant the seeds of entrepreneurship and promote it among our youth to encourage self-employment and the creation of more jobs.” RELATED: Visit here to read more about Soraya Salti’s work at the Kravis Prize website. Visit here to read more about Queen Rania’s participation in the event at Qatar’s The Peninsula new... read more
Jan 9, 2015 | BRAC, Helen Keller International, Kravis Leadership Institute, Kravis Prize
The Kravis Prize team would like to extend warm wishes for a Happy New Year to all of the members of the Kravis Prize and Claremont McKenna College communities. We look forward to kicking off the spring semester at CMC with a number of exciting upcoming events. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the founding of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership at CMC, an important milestone that we will celebrate in April alongside another important event: the twentieth anniversary of the College’s Kravis Leadership Institute. In recognition of these events, we are so excited to host the past ten Kravis Prize recipient organizations, including early recipients like Fazle Abed’s Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (pictured above) as well as more recent ones like Helen Keller International (decorated for the holidays, pictured below) for their upcoming retreat as we welcome them back to Claremont McKenna College. DON’T FORGET: Students who are interested in having social impact during their undergraduate years should remember: The Kravis Prize team is looking forward to welcoming student applications for partnered summer internship positions with past recipient organizations. Deadlines for these applications are February 2, 2015 (for international internships) and March 2, 2015 (for domestic internships). For more information on the application process, please go to the embedded link here. Or see our recent posts on the Kravis Prize blog for more information. CURRENT PRIZE UPDATE: At the moment, the Kravis Prize is moving along the selection process and we look forward to announcing the eleventh recipient of the $250,000 Prize soon! Stay in the loop, follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, and... read more
Dec 8, 2014 | Community Development, Entrepreneurship, Kravis Prize Intern
Strong turnout marked the recent Kravis Prize Internship Fair, which opened its doors to CMC freshmen, sophomores, and juniors interested in summer internships at home and abroad with several Prize recipients. The internship fair also sparked student interest across the 7Cs to learn more about the College’s Kravis Prize, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2015. On Thursday, Dec. 4, KLI’s Sherylle Tan and CMC’s Alia Kate and Karan Saggi ’14 welcomed interested undergraduates to learn more about upcoming Prize internship opportunities. The Kravis Prize internships, both domestic and international, will offer students a valuable chance to receive work experience in various development sectors (including micro-finance, education, public health, and women empowerment). Students also had a chance to talk to past interns Anthony Contreras ’15, Alexandra Ruark ’15, Juetzinia Kazmer ’15, and Samantha LaPierre ’15 about their experiences and hear more about what it’s like to work on the front-lines of the non-profit, social impact sector. The Kravis Prize recognizes extraordinary leaders in the nonprofit sector with a $250,000 prize, celebrates their accomplishments, and shares their best practices with others. For CMCers, the Prize also provides summer internships with Prize recipient organizations around the world. Internships with partner organizations challenge interns with meaningful responsibility and leadership development as well as expose the student intern to organizational leadership dynamics. The following internships are available for summer 2015: BRAC USA (New York), Helen Keller International (New York), Right to Play (Canada and one country in Africa TBD), Escuela Nueva (Colombia), FAWE (Tanzania), INJAZ Al-Arab (Jordan), and Pratham (India). Interested? For application instructions, go to this embedded link for information. The... read more
