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 | May 23, 2012 | Community Development, Entrepreneurship, Female Empowerment, INJAZ Al-Arab, Soraya Salti
What sets Kravis Prize winners apart from other social entrepreneurs is their aim to empower those who do not have their own voice. 2012 Kravis Prize winner Soraya Salti’s INJAZ Al-Arab is a perfect example. Youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa is the highest in the world and INJAZ Al-Arab is working to remedy this problem. As part of the Global Journal’s series on the New Global Generation of Female Change-Makers, the publication interviewed INJAZ Al-Arab Executive Director Soraya Salti, who discussed the importance of youth entrepreneurship. “[The youth] realize that due to population demographics governments are no longer hiring – they can’t cope with the influx of graduates – and the private sector discriminates against them. So their only avenue for economic inclusion is entrepreneurship, and we see that reflected very, very strongly in the motivation of young females we work with. They take the entrepreneurship experience and opportunity we give them as a raison d’etre. They put their hearts and souls completely into it.” Salti also offered some insight into how and why the government is beginning to work with the organization: “I think it was a moment of awakening for governments, that the biggest national security issue is unemployment. In the short-term, we have been looked upon as a solution provider – by the Jordanian government, by the Saudi government, by the Bahraini government. It’s made our life a lot easier in a way, because so much of our effort went into piloting, and proof of concept, and convincing ministries of education to really take us seriously and invest and give us the...
by lwang | May 10, 2012 | Female Empowerment, Health, m2m
Here at the Kravis Prize, we’re proud to say that our winners effect change and actively contribute to solving the leading issues in today’s society. Case in point: Today, mothers2mothers, along with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, Representatives Trent Franks, R-Ariz., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and James McDermott, D-Wash., are announcing a new bipartisan House resolution: “Recognizing the Potential for the Virtual Elimination of Pediatric HIV and AIDS and Keeping HIV Positive Mothers Alive.” Even greater news, you can get involved! Take the step towards eliminating pediatric AIDS by 2015 and saving mothers in honor of Mother’s Day! Find out more here and take action to support the...
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 | 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...
