by lwang | Apr 11, 2013 | Community Development, Education, FAWE, Kravis Prize
Who can solve the problems facing under-developed communities in Africa? FAWE girls! 2008 Kravis Prize Winner FAWE is teaching African girls not only to improve their own lives, but also the lives of all of those around them. And the work has paid off: A team of students from FAWE’s Girls School in Rwanda just won a debate on good governance in Rwanda. The high school debate, run by the Rwanda Governance Board, was centered on the question of whether the “private sector has contributed more than the public sector in the economic development of less developed countries.” The Deputy Director General of the Rwanda Governance Board, Fatuma Ndagiza, complimented the quality of the debaters, saying that the candidates spoke “with confidence and clarity. They provided rich ideas and documented on key sectors of the country’s development.” FAWE isn’t the only Kravis Prize winner to have an impact on international education: Pratham USA was recently awarded a Social Impact award in the category of “International Contribution to India” from the Times of India. The organization was acknowledged for its work to improve the quality of education in India. RELATED: FAWE: Gender is My Agenda (GIMAC) Summit Escuela Nueva: Learning Guides in Action Egypt: Soraya Salti puts her money on Egypt’s youth...
by lwang | Apr 10, 2013 | Kravis Prize, Landesa, Pratham, Roy Prosterman
Every Indian citizen has a “right to education,” but are they receiving it? Despite attempts by the government to improve education in the Indian province of Uttar Pradesh, this year’s Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), published by 2010 Kravis Prize recipient Pratham, has revealed that the state is falling short on the implementation of its Right To Education (RTE) program. According to Pratham’s report, only 15.6% of schools have achieved a pupil-teacher ratio that meets the RTE requirements. The central government had reported that 38.57% of schools have achieved the proper ratio. The Times of India reports that other experts, adding to Pratham’s quantitative evaluation of RTE, say that: “RTE has boosted enrollment in schools, but the learning outcomes are still very low. “The focus is on infrastructure issues like building, enrollment, teacher-student ratio, mid-day meals but focus on education, a child’s ability to read, write and learn is not visible,” said a primary school teacher.” Until that imbalance is addressed, the efforts of Pratham as well as Roy Prosterman’s organization Landesa will remain crucial to improving the quality of life in India, especially in areas like Uttar Pradesh. RELATED: “Where’s Right To Play Headed Next? The United States” “Celebrity support for mothers2mothers and Pratham events” “A garden makes a difference: Seattle Times spotlights Landesa’s work with young Indian...
by lwang | Mar 27, 2013 | Johann Olav Koss, Kravis Prize, Right 2 Play
Right To Play, founded in 2000 by Olympian Johann Olav Koss (this year’s recipient of the Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership), has spent the last decade empowering children through play in more than 20 countries all over the world. But the Canadian-based organization has never established a foothold in its neighbor to the South. Until now. In January, Koss and his organization announced the development of Play at the Core: The Right to Play New York City Play-based Early Learning Program. This partnership with the New York City Department of Education is Right To Play’s first domestic program in the United States. Soon the program will be addressing the achievement gap among low-income families in the Bronx. Currently, educators are being trained to bring Right To Play’s message of of building life skills to urban youth through the power of play. Work and play might be treated as mutually exclusive areas for adults, but current research from the child development arena demonstrates how the two are interconnected. Play is crucial to learning and identity development in young children: This offers a channel through which they receive early impressions of teamwork and other people’s responses to them. For Sophia Pappas, executive director of the Office of Early Childhood Education in New York City’s Department of Education, that means that the new partnership with Right 2 Play is nothing less than a golden opportunity to help local children. The partnership will support “strengthening problem-solving skills of young learners,” Pappas says, “so that children at the pre-kindergarten age level are positioned to be successful learners in later years.” According to the organization, Play...
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 14, 2012 | Award Ceremony, Kravis Prize
We’re only one week away from the 2012 Kravis Prize ceremony, where we will be hearing from this year’s winners, Soraya Salti and m2m, as well as past winners! Stay tuned to our Facebook page and Twitter feed for daily highlights and features on our 2012 winners in the coming week! We’ll also be live Tweeting from the event next Wednesday, so be sure to join in on the conversation then! In the meantime, you can get more acquainted with the Prize’s winners...
by lwang | Feb 15, 2012 | Kravis Prize
It’s that time of the year again! We’re only one week away from the 2012 Kravis Prize announcement and we’ve got some very exciting news this year. Stay tuned to our Facebook page and Twitter feed to get all the latest news and join in on the conversation. We’ll also have highlights and updates about each of the past six Kravis Prize winners in the coming week! We’ll of course feature the winner on our blog next week, so check back then, too! In the meantime, you can get more acquainted with the Prize’s past winners...
