by lwang | Jun 22, 2012 | AIL, Award Ceremony, Community Development, Education, Female Empowerment, Health, Sakena Yacoobi
On June 7, Sakena Yacoobi, 2009 Kravis Prize winner and founder of the Afghan Institute of Learning (AIL), was honored with the Asia Foundation’s 2012 Lotus Leadership Award. The award recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations that have made major contributions to the wellbeing of women and their communities in Asia. At the awards ceremony, the Foundation screened this never-before-seen video of Yacoobi discussing the circumstances under which she started her organization. “It was scary. If I was caught, or if one of my teachers would be caught, they would be killed because the policy of that time was … no education at all. But we were doing something against the system. Through education, you can really, completely change an entire family. … Through this program, we graduate thousands and thousands of students.” Yacoobi also discussed the impact and goals of AIL: “Today in Afghanistan, AIL has reached 9.1 million people. I am proud of that. And when you have the power of people, you don’t have to fight with gun[s]. You can communicate and through understanding, you can really bring peace to Afghanistan.” She closed with a powerful message: “I will continue this fight because this fight is not finished yet, for the women of Afghanistan.” Another example of a Kravis Prize winner perpetually fighting for social...
by lwang | Jun 1, 2012 | Education, Pratham
A common characteristic of Kravis Prize winners is their widespread impact within their fields of expertise. 2010 Kravis Prize winner Pratham is a renowned innovator and leader in the field of education. The organization educates countless children through its programs, such as Read India, and also publishes cheap, accessible books through its not-for-profit publisher, Pratham Books. Through Pratham Books, the organization offers high quality books for children at affordable prices and in multiple Indian languages. For example, Madhuri Purandare, a reputable Marathi children’s book writer and illustrator, is publishing two of her books in English through Pratham Books! The books are already available in Hindi, Kannada and Telugu, and the publisher continues to expand its reach. In fact, Purandare’s books embody the spirit of Pratham Books: “It has simple language and consists of daily experiences, but not of the usual kind. These are ones, which the children can relate to. … Different topics should be taken and for different age groups. There is less literature for the 10 plus group. There is little literature available for those above 10, but nothing after that. If it is available, then I think the kids will read them.” “Words for children” [The Pune Mirror, May 25, 2012] Learn more about Pratham on our page and check out Pratham Books’...
by lwang | Apr 19, 2012 | Community Development, Education, Female Empowerment, Health, Sakena Yacoobi
Last month, Kravis Prize winner Sakena Yacoobi attended a 10th-anniversary gathering of the Global Peace Initiative of Women, where she discussed global issues including peace and reconciliation with religious leaders. According to the National Catholic Reporter, the event in Kenya, “Awakening the Healing Heart: Transforming Communities through Love and Compassion,” was conducted over eight days. Yacoobi shared her thoughts with people including Shomberwa Marina Ntamwenge, president of the Federation of Protestant Women in the Ecumenical Church of Democratic Republic of Congo, and Jessica Okello, general secretary of Pan Africa Christian Women Association. What’s even more fascinating is Yacoobi’s story. The article provided a synopsis of her amazing journey: “Dr. Sakena Yacoobi seemed to exemplify the possibilities of the individual against great odds in the extreme. The 61-year-old from Afghanistan came to the United States as a lone teenager just out of high school in the early 1970s at the encouragement of some U.S. Peace Corps volunteers who, she said, recognized that she had potential and that it would not be fully realized in her home country. … She eventually did a master’s in public health at Loma Linda University, and later completed a doctorate in that field.” In addition: “Along the way, she worked four jobs simultaneously at times to supplement scholarship money and in 1987, after her family escaped during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan to refugee camps in Iran, she was able to purchase a house in Michigan and sponsored 13 members of her family to the United States. Once they were settled, she took off for the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan and began collecting the...
by lwang | Apr 13, 2012 | Community Development, Education, Female Empowerment, Health, Kravis Prize, m2m
As one of the Mentor Mothers at mothers2mothers (m2m), our 2012 Kravis Prize awardee, Nozi Samela has an amazing story to share. As she recently blogged for One.org, Nozi described the transforming power of mothers like her who are living with HIV and are providing education and support to HIV-positive pregnant women and new mothers across sub-Saharan Africa through their work at m2m. “Before I came to work for mothers2mothers, I was a client of the program at a clinic in Cape Town, South Africa. When I learned that I was both pregnant and HIV-positive, just sharing my story with a Mentor Mother helped to lift some of the despair and loneliness I felt. When I joined a mothers2mothers support group and learned how to keep my baby free from HIV, I decided that my story was something that I would determine on my own. And when I gave birth to a healthy baby boy, I learned how important my story had become to women who, like me, were looking for a source of hope where there seemed to be none.” Today, Nozi is inspiring other mothers to spread the impact of mothers2mothers by sharing their own stories. Across nearly 600 m2m sites in sub-Saharan Africa, she is part of an effort that encourages women to help others by telling their stories of how the organization helped them overcome the “fear and stigma of HIV, give birth to healthy children and become role models in their communities.” mothers2mothers was established in 2001 to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV through the education and support of pregnant women and new mothers...
by lwang | Mar 9, 2012 | Community Development, Education, INJAZ Al-Arab, Soraya Salti
In 2009, PBS’ Frontline/World discussed problems that youth are facing in Cairo, Egypt, noting that there is an average five-year wait for a decent job, even for college graduates. Thankfully, one of this year’s Kravis Prize winners, INJAZ Al-Arab Executive Director Soraya Salti, is working to broaden opportunities for Arab youth. INJAZ Al-Arab runs programs in a dozen countries in the Middle East and North Africa region, including Egypt, that aim to provide experiential education and training to Arab youth in work readiness, financial literacy and entrepreneurship. PBS interviewed Salti regarding the organization’s mission. She discussed the importance of teaching students practical business-related skills in conjunction with their regular educational curriculum: “When you have youth who are educated and unemployed, what will they do with their lives? Either these youth become a burden on our economies or they become an engine of growth and prosperity. We want to catch them before they’re unemployed and we want to instill in them the entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial skillset so that they can create their employment opportunity. We want to create excitement. What’s the best thing to do more than create the competition for entrepreneurs?” As part of INJAZ’s goal to inspire entrepreneurship and invigorate Arab youth, the organization holds an annual competition for the best student company, which is judged by the innovativeness and profitability of the businesses. Watch the video to see how INJAZ is inspiring Arab youth to pave their own future through creative and interactive programs! You can also read PBS’ extended interview with Soraya Salti. To find out more about Soraya Salti, check out her Kravis Prize...
by lwang | Jan 20, 2012 | Education, Pratham
2010 Kravis Prize winner Pratham, the largest non-governmental organization in the world, works to provide quality education to underprivileged children in India. But that’s not all! The organization is also a reliable research source and released their seventh Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) this week, which was cited by the Indian Ministry of Human Resource Development. India’s National University of Educational Planning and Administration also released a comprehensive report this week that echoes the findings of Pratham’s ASER. The report has sparked discussion in media outlets about what can be done to improve the educational system in rural India. The Times of India published several articles about the study, pointing out important statistics. The Hindu and other Indian news outlets also discussed the results of the report. Here are some highlights from the study: • The dropout of female students in the age group of 11 to 14 years is currently 9.5 percent in the state of Jaipur. This was 20 percent in 2006. • The rate of enrollment in private schools has gone up from 19.15 percent to 26.6 percent since 2006. • The number of class III students able to solve subtraction problems fell from 36.6 percent in 2010 to 29.9 percent in 2011. “Rural India going to private schools: Report” [The Times of India, January 18, 2012] “Sharp decline in dropout of girl students” [The Times of India, January 18, 2012] “Enrollment of marginalized primary students on the wane” [The Times of India, January 18, 2012] “Alarming decline in reading and mathematical skills in 6-14 age group, says ASER” [The Hindu, January 18, 2012] “Failing...
