Pact women's program wins distinguished international award in Frankfurt ceremony
This is the fifth international award received by the Pact program. In three short years in the field, 125,000 of Nepal's poorest women have increased their literacy rate from 39% to 90%, while supporting the creation of thousands of savings groups and over 1,500 savings-led village banks. From their savings, which have grown to over $2 million, the women have started over 65,000 new microbusinesses that have generated annual revenues in excess of $10 million. So successful has this self-help program been, the women in Nepal are now replicating the program in neighboring communities entirely on their own, at the same time that Pact is initiating adaptations of the program in other countries in Africa and Asia. "This is a program about liberation and breaking the dependency cycle, not only for women but for whole communities," said Dr. Odell. "We are honored that the Club of Budapest sees this as a pilot project because if a thousand women can change their lives, then a million can do it, and if a million can do it, it will work with a hundred million. When we can think in those kinds of numbers, we really can change the world." Cited as a "Nobel Prize" for innovative social and ecological projects, the Change the World award is given annually to three or four exemplary international projects by the Club of Budapest, which is an informal association of creative and recognized leaders in the diverse fields of art, literature and the spiritual domains of culture. It is dedicated to the proposition that "only by changing ourselves can we change the world." Members include the Dalai Lama, Mikhail Gorbachev, Sir Arthur Clark, Desmond Tutu, and Liv Ullman. Read more on the Worth homepage. |
In a colorful ceremony in Frankfurt's historic St. Paul's church on the eve of Oktoberfest, the prestigious Club of Budapest International presented Pact's Women's Empowerment Program with its Change the World award. Pact's Dr. Marcia Odell, who directed the program from 1997 to 2001, accepted the award on behalf of the Nepal implementation team and the 125,000 poor women of rural Nepal responsible for the program's success. Odell shared the limelight with three other Change the World award winners, including the Reciclar-Institute of Brazil, FUNDAEC of Colombia, and the Frank Foundation of the USA and Russia.