Five Hidden Heroes Unveiled at the First ever Award to recognize Nepalese Social Entrepreneurs
The Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award (SNASEA) has awarded 5 social entrepreneurs in a ceremony at Yak & Yeti Hotel on 21st November 2011.
There are many ordinary people doing extraordinary work to create social, environmental and economic value. Often we do not even know about their great achievements. The five winners have been recognized for their achievements and should encourage others to follow these examples of individuals creating value for the people, planet and profit. The vision of the award was not only to celebrate the hidden heroes for their great initiatives but also to showcase their ventures and the impact they have made.
After an intense process of short listing amongst 66 applicants, to narrow it down to the winners, ventures were physically visited to verify all relevant information and documents. The winners are:
1. Ram Sapkota (Mountain Delights Treks and Expedition and Tukee Nepal, Jyamrung) for the impact that has been made in Jyamrung, Dhading. The projects range from eco toilets, micro hydro electricity, and health to education.
2. Sabita Maharjan (Kirtipur Hosiery, Kirtipur) - Sabita has been impacting women through the cooperative that she started along with Kirtipur Hosiery. The cooperative which is only for women currently has approx 375 members with 130 shareholders. Overall, she has impacted women by providing them with employment as well as making them financially independent.
3. Shyam Badan Yadav (Kalash Milk Industry, Dhorey Village, Parsa) provides income generating sources through the milk collection centre he has established and by distributing free livestock (39 to start with and increasing to 100 in 1.5 months) to poor people in the village of Dhorey and neighbouring villages.
4. Vijaya Development Resource Centre (VDRC, Nawalparasi) has mainstreamed different dimensions of development under one umbrella encompassing education, media, microfinance and various other thematic areas following its vision of an equitable, affluent and self reliant society.
5. Chhahari Services (Kathmandu) caters to women with no skills to generate income by empowering them through capacity building and income generating trainings. These women when empowered go back to their respective communities to start their own entrepreneurship and others look for employment in reputable industries.
The winners will each get a package which includes a cash prize of Rs. 1 Lakh from Surya Nepal Private Limited along with the opportunity of networking through ChangeFusion Nepal. Each of the winners will have to disclose how the funds will be used and the money will be handed over by ChangeFusion Nepal. Updates on each of the winning ventures will be regularly posted on the ChangeFusion Nepal Social Media sites as well as the website. Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award 2011 is sponsored by Surya Nepal Private Limited, organised by ChangeFusion Nepal and supported by NBI.
