by lwang | Jan 18, 2013 | Community Development, Education, FAWE, Female Empowerment, Poverty Reduction
At the Kravis Prize, we’re proud to honor those at the forefronts of their fields and exemplary leaders in the nonprofit community, knowing that their work has a tremendous impact on the larger world. In 1992, female education ministers of from five African countries established Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) to advocate for the education of girls across Africa. At the time, an estimated 24 million girls were out of school in sub-Saharan Africa and FAWE’s founders recognized not only the personal benefits for girls who attend school, but also the extensive benefits for society at large. Since then, FAWE has been a tireless and effective advocate for education, constantly innovating and implementing programs to address the multifaceted problems facing educators and students throughout the region. Among the group’s activities is co-chairing the annual GIMAC (“Gender is My Agenda Campaign”) Summit, which this year featured as keynote speaker the African Union’s first woman chair, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. All Africa contributor Samantha Nkirote Mckenzie reported on Dlamini-Zuma’s address during the summit’s first day, which focused on education: With the majority of Africa’s population being youth, there is a particular responsibility to ensure that the continent’s young people have the skills they need, Dlamini-Zuma said. “Education does not wait – it is a window that closes in time,” she said, underscoring the urgency of the situation. Several FAWE scholarship recipients attended the 21st annual summit, which also featured a welcoming address by FAWE Executive Director Oley Dibba-Wadda She said: “It is imperative that women and youth are supported and provided with the right tools so that they can engage and make...
by lwang | Jul 27, 2012 | Education, FAWE, Female Empowerment
Kravis Prize winners are effecting change all around the world – and prominent policymakers are taking notice! For example, Claver Issa, acting permanent secretary of Rwanda’s Ministry of Education, commended the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) Rwanda Chapter at the organization’s seventh General Assembly earlier this month. Issa noted that the ministry is working to develop a special education policy with FAWE that targets all children with special needs. He added that FAWE Rwanda “has contributed much to the national steering committee in the promotion of girls’ education where schools competed and those who won awarded prizes with the help of the First Lady.” At the assembly, FAWE Rwanda Chairperson Rhona Nyakurama also shared the organization’s progress. The school is currently sponsoring 6,555 students in 62 schools around the country. Since the establishment of FAWE Rwanda, around 86 percent of the girls who have graduated were able to join higher institutions of learning. In addition, FAWE Rwanda has been able to mobilize girls’ education at the primary and secondary school levels, with 52 percent of girls now at the primary school level! To learn more about FAWE’s amazing work, go to our page. “FAWE Rwanda holds Seventh General Assembly” [The New Times, July 14,...
by lwang | Apr 27, 2012 | FAWE, Female Empowerment, Health
Here at the Kravis Prize, we’re proud to say our winners are at the forefront of their field and exemplary leaders in the nonprofit world. Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE), for example, is constantly innovating and implementing new programs that tackle the multi-faceted problems in education. FAWE partnered with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to develop a three-year program focusing on adolescent sexual and reproductive health and rights (ASRHR). Launched in 2010, the initiative aims to ensure that by 2013, some 10,800 adolescent girls from a total of 30 schools and close to 10,000 individuals, including teachers, in surrounding communities will have improved knowledge and skills in regards adolescent girls’ sexual and reproductive health and better access to reliable information and services on reproduction and sexuality. The program was introduced in Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. FAWE’s latest newsletter revealed the progress they’ve made: “To date, 600 girls have received scholarships and support to remain in school and are scheduled to complete secondary school by the end of the project in 2013. … To date, 150 teachers and 125 community facilitators have been trained in ASRHR and are in turn training other teachers and community members in the target schools and communities. At school level, community members and schoolgirls are being trained in the production of reusable sanitary towels.” Find out more about the program here. You can also read more about FAWE and their work on our...
by lwang | Mar 21, 2012 | Award Ceremony, BRAC, FAWE, Landesa, Vicky Colbert
The big day is here! In addition to the 2012 Kravis Prize winners mother2mothers and INJAZ Al-Arab CEO Soraya Salti, we’ll be joined by past winners including Landesa Founder Roy Prosterman, BRAC, FAWE, Escuela Nueva Foundation Founder Vicky Colbert. Our winners will be offering their expert advice and insights on a variety of topics including grassroots innovations for poverty alleviation, innovation in education and community engagement and much more! Check out the live stream here and our live Twitter...
by lwang | Feb 7, 2012 | FAWE, Female Empowerment, Poverty Reduction
Kravis Prize winners share many things in common, including an exemplary record of effective programs that drive socioeconomic development around the world. In fact, 2008 Kravis Prize winner Forum for African Women Educationists (FAWE) officially launched a $2.5 million program with children’s development organization Plan Liberia in Monrovia, Liberia last week! The five-year program, which will be implemented in the Montserrado, Bomi, Grand Cape Mount and Lofa counties, “seeks to empower over 40,000 girls and young women with education and other basic skills.” In addition, the program will protect girls from gender-based violence and increase access to post-primary education. You can also check out our page to find out more about...
by lwang | Jan 26, 2012 | BRAC, Escuela Nueva, FAWE, Fazle Abed, Landesa, Pratham, Roy Prosterman
The Global Journal just released their January/February 2012 issue, which for the first time ranked the top 100 best nongovernmental organizations in the world. We’re delighted to announce that FIVE Kravis Prize winners were ranked among the top 50 NGOs! BRAC even made it into the top five and has a nice feature on the website, which also mentions 2007 Kravis Prize winner Sir Fazle Abed. “Established by former Shell Oil executive Sir Fazle Hasan Abed in 1972 soon after the independence of Bangladesh, BRAC was part of an influential wave of organizations – alongside the Grameen Bank and ASA – that went on to revolutionize development strategies not only in their home countries, but across the world. Unlike its counterparts, however, which focused on refining and expanding their pioneering micro-credit and micro-finance models, BRAC also added a range of social programs to the mix and has continued to diversify and leverage its unique ability to achieve economies of scale over time.” Check out what else they had to say about BRAC here and the other Kravis Prize winners that are part of this year’s list, including Escuela Nueva (Founder Vicky Colbert, 2011), Pratham (2010), FAWE (2008) and Landesa (Founder Roy Prosterman,...
