EMpower Grantee Partners recognized for outstanding work!

Posted 10 April 2017 in EMpower News, Grantee Partner News   |   Share

We are excited to share a few examples of the impressive recognition that some of our grantee partners have recently received for the work they do every day to improve the lives of at-risk youth. EMpower’s supporters enable our continued partnership with these stellar organizations!

AFRICA

Waves for Change, South Africa, was honored with the 2017 Laureus Sport for Good Award at the Laureus World Sports Awards in Monaco! This prestigious award is won by an organization or individual who has used the power of sport to overcome violence, discrimination or disadvantage.

James Kofi, Founder of Challenging Heights in Ghana, talked to the BBC World Service about his personal experience of child trafficking and how he escaped, went back to school and set up Challenging Heights to save other Ghanaian children from slavery.

ASIA

India grantees Feminist Approach to Technology (FAT), Vacha Trust and Lend-a-Hand, were featured in an article for News Deeply, “STEM in the Slums: Giving India’s Girls the Skills to Rise Up!”. It highlights opportunities adolescent girls are being given to end the cycle of poverty and fulfill their potential, by learning skills such as science.

Amina Evangelista Swanepoel, Founding Executive Director of Roots of Health in the Philippines, spoke on the panel at the Philanthropreneurship Forum in Vienna. The theme
was “Generation Impact: Harnessing the Power of Giving”. The Philanthropreneurship Forum is a global initiative that connects, empowers and inspires leaders from philanthropy, civil society, academia, business and governments to foster innovation and encourage collaboration.

KOTO Founder, Jimmy Pham, was awarded the 2017 POSCO TJ Park Prize for Community Development and Philanthropy, in recognition for his significant contribution to disadvantaged youth in Vietnam.The annual POSCO TJ Park Prizes recognize individuals and organisations, which have made contributions in the fields of science, technology, education, and philanthropy.

RUSSIA AND TURKEY

Upsala Circus, Russia, was featured in an article in UK newspaper the Telegraph, “The Russian Circus Where Troubled Children are the Stars”, which discusses how Upsala focuses on the transformation of at-risk young people’s lives in St Petersburg. These young people are referred or recruited through outreach programs to Upsala Circus, and have often been in trouble at school or with the police, come from poor families or have a parent with an addiction to alcohol.

LATIN AMERICA

Abril Morales, Program Coordinator, and youth participants from SiKanda in Mexico, took part in a panel discussion at a World Forum on Bicycling, about women and bicycles. They also joined in with the First University Workshop on Bicycling, at the Benito Juarez Autonomous University of Oaxaca.These opportunities not only gained exposure for SiKanda’s “Chicas Bi-cibles” program (started with an EMpower spark grant), but also provided an opportunity for the girls to strengthen their public speaking and leadership skills, and self confidence. Hear more about the bicycle program here.

Luta pela Paz, Brazil, held its first UK screening of its feature film Fighting for Peace in London. It follows the lives of two young Luta pela Paz boxers, Sugar and Douglas, from Maré, a complex of favelas in Rio de Janeiro, who are dealing with the touch reality of a community suffering from violence, exclusion and social inequality. Luke Dowdney, Founder and Director, described the film as “a perfect example of the reality of thousands of people who live in the favelas of Rio. It’s a very real depiction of what young people have to confront on a daily basis when living in communities like Maré.”

You can find a full list of our 100+ grantee partners here: Global Reach