From Rajasthan To 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee: NGO Educate Girls Creates History

(MENAFN- IANS) New Delhi, Aug 31 (IANS) An Indian non-profit organisation dedicated to mobilising community and government resources for girls' education in rural and educationally disadvantaged areas of India, has been named a 2025 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee, the foundation announced on Sunday.

The Foundation to Educate Girls Globally, widely known as Educate Girls, is the first Indian organisation to receive the prestigious award, which is considered Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize.

The organisation starting out in Rajasthan was founded in 2007 by Safeena Husain.

“Starting out in Rajasthan, Educate Girls identified the neediest communities in terms of girls' education, brought unschooled or out-of-school girls into the classroom, and worked to keep them there until they were able to acquire credentials for higher education and gainful employment,” said the official press release of Ramon Magsaysay.

“Girls' education is the closest thing we have to a silver bullet to solve some of the world's most difficult problems,” said Husain, adding that“It is one of the best investments a country can make, impacting nine of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals, including health, nutrition, and employment.”

“Educate Girls remains committed to breaking the cycle of illiteracy and poverty for girls. By scaling our programs, deepening government partnerships, and embedding community-led solutions, we strive to create a brighter, more equitable future -- one girl at a time,” she added.

Notably, Educate Girls in 2015 launched the world's first Development Impact Bond (DIB) in education, aimed at tying financial aid to achieved outcomes.

“The results were dramatic. What began with fifty pilot village schools reached over 30,000 villages across India's most underserved regions, involving over two million girls, with a retention rate of over 90 per cent,” the statement said.

“Organised into Team Balika (Team for the Girl Child), local volunteers went door-to-door to identify out-of-school girls, address parents' concerns, and help with documentation. At the end of the DIB project in 2018, Educate Girls had surpassed its total learning targets by 160 per cent and its total enrollment target by 116 per cent,” it added.

Other 2025 winners include Shaahina Ali from the Maldives for her environmental work and Flaviano Antonio L. Villanueva from the Philippines.

Each recipient will receive a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize. The 67th Ramon Magsaysay Award presentation is scheduled for November 7 at the Metropolitan Theatre in Manila.

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