cont. - Ashoka

Fellowship Express
What’s In
This Issue
AshokA
Achieving Global Impact Through Collaboration
Ashoka Global Fellowship Summer 2007 Issue 2
Africa Rising pg.1
■
Isaac and the Pursuit
of Sanitation pg.1
■
A Day with Young
Ashoka pg.2
■
Creating Integrity
Systems, Fighting
Corruption pg.5
■
Right to Information
Established in Nepal
pg.7
■
Caroline Casey’s
Beltway Diary pg.8
■
On the Brink of
Abandonment pg.8
■
ASE: Health & Law pg.9
■
Fellows in the
Spotlight
Dear Readers,
We are pleased to present the second issue of the Ashoka Fellowship Express! We hope
you will enjoy this edition’s mix of articles that highlight a diverse cross section of Fellowship
programs. Inside you will also find the very impressive recent accomplishments
of Fellows around the world. We hope these articles will give you a feel for the
exciting collaboration happening between staff and Fellows in the Ashoka community.
Happy reading!
The Ashoka Global Fellowship Team
Africa Rising: Jo’burg orientation-Induction
Ashoka Fellows lead an increasingly vibrant citizen sector in Africa
On April 16, fifty Ashoka
Fellows and staff from
across Africa converged for
the 2007 Pan-African New
Fellow Orientation and
Induction in Johannesburg,
South Africa. Fellows in
attendance came from eight
countries, all points in the
life cycle of a social entrepreneur,
and every field
of human concern, from
sanitation to literacy.
For the first time, simultaneous
French/English trans-
lation allowed for the full
participation of our Fellows
from the Sahel. The participating
Fellows reflected on
the diversity and vibrancy
of the citizen sector in
Africa. During one of the
early exercises, Fellows in
small groups drew maps of
the Africa they envisioned
Isaac and the Pursuit of sanitation
Bringing markets to bear on everyday pollution
Ashoka’s Citizen Base Initiative
(CBI) has spent over
ten years gathering stories of
successful innovators around
the world. Many of these
organizations have created
unique ways to diversify
their resource base. By sharing
the most successful stories
in a publication entitled
“150 Ways: How Citizen
Groups Can be Rich and Independent
without Government
and Foundation Support,”
CBI will educate the
public, practitioners, investors,
and philanthropists of
innovative strategies that can
be used to ensure long-term
sustainability of valuable
creating together—a safer,
healthier, and more autonomous
continent that treasures
natural resources and participates
as a peer on the
world stage.
After sessions on Global
Fellowship and how to
build fellowship in Africa,
Fellows identified over
thirty-five potential local
cont. pg2
social-impact organizations.
For additional success stories
and more on the Citizen
Base Initiative, please visit
www.citizenbase.org
Read on to learn about one
Ashoka Fellow’s creative
strategies for financial sustainability.
cont. pg4

Fellows in the
spotlight:
Prema Gopalan
India
SSP: Self Education for
Development founder
wins gender prize
May 2007. Indian Fellow
Prema Gopalan has
been selected the 2007
recipient of the Mary
Fran Myers Gender and
Disaster Award. Prema is
recognized as an expert in
community-driven, genderequitable
disaster response
and resilience initiatives.
Lenin Raghuvanshi
India
Human rights advocate
wins 007 Gwangju Prize
and $50,000 honorarium
May 2007. The 2007
Gwangju Prize for Human
Rights was awarded to
Fellow Lenin Raghuvanshi
for his work in northern
India. Dr. Lenin leads the
People’s Vigilance Committee
on Human Rights
which has over 50,000
members working against
caste discrimination and
torture across five Indian
states.
A Day with Young Ashoka
An Ashoka Fellow adept
at mobilizing funding for
gender empowerment, Rita
Thapa recently hosted a Nepal
Young Ashoka event at
her organization’s headquarters.
Acting on the principle
that Everyone is a Changemaker,
the program offered
a space for Fellows’ kids to
share their experiences as
children of social entrepreneurs
and to gain exposure
to Ashoka and Fellows.
Young Ashoka Program
Young Ashoka aims to encourage
and enable a new
generation of social entrepreneurs.
It strengthens
Ashoka as a caring community
and an effective lifelong
network for Fellows
and their children.
Ashoka Nepal Representative
Sadhana Shrestha and
Nepali Fellow Vinaya Kasajoo
facilitated the session,
which was attended by eighteen
Young Ashokans. After
introducing the mission of
Thapa’s organization, called
TEWA, Rita’s daughter Riva
spoke about the importance
of philanthropy and public
service in modern Nepal.
Connecting those principles
with ways in which young
people can be involved in
society, she motivated the
children to enter the field
themselves.
Riva shared her own experience
as a child of a social
entrepreneur. It was hard for
her to cope with her mother’s
extended business-related
absences, though she gradually
came to understand the
value of her mother’s work
and draw inspiration from it.
Vinaya Kasajoo, a Fellow
who trains barefoot journalists,
then taught the children
principles of writing stories,
both fiction and non-fiction,
to spark what he calls
“logical creative thinking.”
To reach out to the visual
learners, he connected these
stories with pictures and illustrations
and showed how
each portion enhances the
value of the other.
Africa Rising: Jo’burg o-I (cont.)
and regional collaborations.
Patrick Gathitu and Adrian
Mukhebi, for example, want
to connect their agricultural
improvement projects in
Kenya. Agatha Chukweuke
wants to extend her Nigerian
support and advocacy network
for service industry
employees to Uganda and
South Africa, where Maria
Baryamujura and Noel
de Villers work. Rachel
Mamoss (Kenya) wants
to help Nkem Momah in
Nigeria to add a disability
component to his emergency
health care services.
One of the most popular
sessions was on Fellow
Security, led by global
fellowship director Samjhana
Upadhyay, where she
The children then divided
into groups and selected
pictures that they had to
formulate into stories. Enthusiastic,
they produced
creative pieces that Vinaya
is compiling and publishing
as a children’s book.
At the end of the day Sadhana
briefed the participants
on the importance of networking
with other Young
Ashoka members. Aiding
this is the new website www.
ashokitos.org, launched by
members Abhinav and Dipankar
Kasajoo. It is a platform
to share with, learn
about and engage other
Young Ashoka members.
Members were then given
their first task as a group. To
encourage true engagement
in their communities, they
each received a fundraising
box from TEWA. In three
months they will reconvene
and hold a formal event
pooling all the money each
child has raised and donate
it to TEWA. ■
addressed the three levels
of threat and appropriate
responses for each. The
many African Fellows
working in environments
of severe corruption sought
to make security a higher
priority in future meetings.
This session followed
from a Fellow Security
Consultation in Dakar in
early July where 15 Fellows
cont. pg3

Africa Rising: Jo’burg o-I (cont.)
and staff members from
the region met and built a
cohesive strategy for Fellow
Security focused in Africa.
The other popular program
was a Fellow Visit to two
Senior Fellows’ workplaces,
which exposed new Fellows
to projects that successfully
scaled. Veronica Khosa,
elected in 2000, started
Tateni Home Care Nursing
Services for HIV/AIDS
patients, a model that the
South African government
has adopted in more
than fifty places. Mandla
Mentoor, elected in 2002,
enables township youth to
clean up their communities,
changing garbage heaps into
what he calls Mountains of
Hope. Having converted one
of Soweto’s eyesores into a
thriving community center,
he is now spreading this
model to other townships.
Many of the inductee
Fellows were inspired by
both Veronica and Mandla.
“Many Ashoka Fellows work
alone,” said Dennis Sonkoi,
“but with Ashoka we get that
motivation, that support of
being in a family.”
Quotes from Fellows
Ashoka is like an engine,
it propels our ideas.
- Adrian Mukhebi, Kenya
Tailored to the African
context were workshops
on ethics by South African
Fellow Douglas Racionzer
and regional representative
Chimene Chetty and on
fundraising and resource
mobilization sessions by
CBI Director Geralda
Wildschutt and CBI Investee
Roche van Wyk.
Other highlights included
sessions on scaling up
organizations by Olivier
Kayser and engaging the
business sector by Lisa
Nitze, Ashoka Vice-
Presidents in London and
Washington. Fellows then
practiced at a Business-Social
Bridge Breakfast Roundtable
with representatives from
Danone, Woolworth’s retail
chain, investment banks, and
Ashoka Fellows and staff in Johannesburg for the
2007 Pan-African Induction
the citizen sector. Resulting
fundraising and partnership
opportunities have already
set the groundwork for the
Ashoka Support Network
in Africa and for African
Roadshows in the US and
Europe in 2008. Local and
national media coverage of
the Orientation/Induction
enhanced this, landing
Ashoka on allafrica.com and
on South African radio.
Fellows showcased their
achievements to the one
hundred thirty attendees of
the Pan-African Induction
event held at an historic
downtown Johannesburg
hotel. Regional representatives
and veteran
Fellows welcomed their new
peers with warm words and
embraces. Participants spoke
to Ashoka’s value on the
continent. Newly elected
Kenya Fellow Dennis Sonkoi
said, “when you are working
in your little corner, Ashoka
brings you out and lets you
see how many people think
your idea is good, how you
are respected and recognized
and validations of what ideas
you work on.”
Special thanks go to the
Southern Africa regional
team for hosting its guests
brilliantly. As the hope for
Africa grows, Ashoka will
be growing right along with
it—with social entrepreneurs
leading the way. ■
Fellows in the
spotlight:
orri Vigfusson
Global
Ashoka Global Fellow wins
the presigious Goldman
Environmental Prize
April 2007. Orri’s innovative
approach and unwavering
commitment to reverse
the near-extinction of wild
North Atlantic salmon
recently earned him the
$125,000 Goldman prize. It
is awarded annually to six
environmental heroes and
is the largest award of its
kind in the world.
Mercedes De Freitas
Venezuela
Transparencia Venezuela
wins the $5,000 Changemakers
competition,
Ending Corruption:
Honesty Instituted
June 2007. Three Ashoka
Fellows’ programs were
selected finalists in the
most recent Changemakers
competition. Merchy’s,
one of three winners,
enables citizen groups to
openly evaluate their local
governments in an effort to
prevent corruption.

Ashoka Fellow:
Isaac Durojaiye
aka Otunba Gadaffi
• Studied graphic
design and business
administration,
but ended up in the
security business
• Worked for years
as the Chief of
Security for an
American Express
executive
• Hired to provide
security at a large
wedding, he recognized
that the
toilet facilities at
the venue would
constitute a security
threat
• Suggested and proceeded
to construct
18 toilets inside
three containers.
In his own words,
“this worked
perfectly well,”
giving rise to DMT
Mobile Toilets
Isaac and the Pursuit of sanitation (cont.)
Concerned about the health
and environmental issues
created by the absence of
public toilets in most Nigerian
cities, Ashoka Fellow Isaac
Durojaiye launched the
country’s first portable toilet
initiative. In Nigeria, most
public places have no toilet
facilities, worsening the
already heavily polluted
waterways, rivers and seas.
As many Nigerians rely
directly on unfiltered water
for cooking, drinking and
washing, contamination only
adds to the spread of infectious
diseases such as dysentery
and cholera. Contaminated
drinking water and unsanitary
waste disposal are closely
associated with diarrheal
diseases, the second biggest
cause of childhood death in
Nigeria.
DMT Mobile Toilets locally
manufactures toilets and then
leases them to community
members, who charge a
small fee for their use.
Employing primarily jobless
youth to run and maintain the
toilets, DMT allows a oncedisenfranchised
part of the
community to reintegrate and
earn income.
By providing toilets, DMT
promotes a healthier environment:
it simultaneously
educates the community
about proper waste disposal
and provides a viable alternative
to streetside waste
practices. DMT’s system
results in a healthier, more
dignified environment
throughout Nigeria while
creating hundreds of jobs.
Recently profiled in the New
York Times and by the BBC
Network, Durojaiye was
also selected as the Schwab
Foundation’s Social Entre-
preneur of the Year in
Nigeria in 2005.
Citizen Base Strategy
Put the boys to work. DMT
made a bold decision to hire
idle street youth, popularly
known as Area Boys, to
manage its public toilets. By
giving youth an opportunity
to make money—workers
earn income by charging a
$0.02 USD fee for toilet use
and giving a percentage to
DMT—young people gain
a sense of ownership and a
stake in keeping the toilets
clean and functional. A
typical day’s proceeds
amount to roughly US$15,
a wage well above Nigeria’s
average income. The
partnership ensures that the
street youth not only earn
decent salaries, but also gain
meaningful work experience
and join in broader society.
Target high-volume needs
for high profits. DMT covers
93% of organizational costs
by income from events
How We Have Changed Nigeria: DMT Mobile Toilets’ Own Perspective
Sector Effect Impact
health
economic
empowerment
Introduced a sustainable, innovative solution for improving environmental
sanitation and public health
Created a national consciousness about Mobile Public Toilets
Enhanced convenience when attending major events
Empowered youth and women with the Neighbourhood Mobile
Public Toilet Scheme (PAY-AS-YOU-SHIT)
Create job opportunities in waste management
Pioneered Nigeria’s human waste management industry
Demonstrated that there are practical ways for Nigerian youth to
reintegrate into greater society
Proved that with passion, focus and determination, you can
achieve your dream
Proved that the smallest idea can become a goldmine
There is nothing to be ashamed of in turning “shit business into
serious business.”

and sales of their goods and services. For
example, it both rents and sells its toilets
to companies at premium prices. Cross-
subsidizing operations, the organization is
then able to place toilets in heavily used
public spaces. DMT also receives income
for providing services at major events,
such as The 8th All African Games and the
Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting in Abuja. It supplements its income
through stall advertisement sales while
trying to keep costs low by working directly
with sanitary product manufacturers.
Adapt imports for local production. Local
production both empowers the community
and reduces organizational costs. Originally,
DMT manufactured its own wagon toilets,
basically wooden outhouses. In 1999, DMT
imported 30 portable plastic toilets from
the UK, toilets that were both lighter and
easier to clean. To reach the long-term goal of
producing toilets locally, the company
acquired the necessary knowledge and technology
to begin manufacturing high-quality
plastic toilets on its own. This eliminated
the costs of purchasing and shipment,
created local jobs, and eliminated
dependence on external resources.
Lessons Learned
Encourage ownership. Part of the reason
DMT’s model works so well is that each
toilet is “owned” by a community member
– a young person motivated to maintain and
care for the product in order to continue
earning a livelihood.
Hire locally. To ensure a steady supply of
mobile toilets, Durojaiye established a local
factory to manufacture the toilets where he
trained and hired exclusively local employees.
This increased employment, decreased
costs and made the organization more independent.
Be open to feedback. Women from the
local community once remarked to DMT
that the majority of those leasing the toilets
were men, leaving women out of the cycle
of prosperity. DMT therefore began working
with various states’ Ministries of Women’s
Affairs. To increase employment and
alleviate poverty among women, it gave
them toilets in strategic locations to maintain.
The organization also founded DETOWES
(Descent Toilets for Schools and Women
Empowerment Scheme), a social service
arm that empowers women and provides
free toilets for schools in order to promote
better health and hygiene. ■
Celebrating the government’s donation of latrines
Creating Integrity systems, Fighting Corruption
On May 24, twelve Ashoka staff and
Fellows from across Latin America
gathered in Lima, Peru, to find new
approaches to fighting corruption. The
consultation occurred as a follow-up to
July’s Changemaker’s competition on
“Ending Corruption: Honesty Instituted”.
Fellows addressed key questions on the
issue of corruption (see side bar, page six)
and shared their unique approaches. Ashoka
staff introduced Ashoka’s Law For All
Initiative (LFAI) to show them how LFAI
provides legal guidance and resources to
Fellows. This gathering in Lima was the first
in a sequence of consultations to occur on
5
cont. pg6
DMT Results
Impact to date:
• Since 2003, DMT
has manufactured
1,500 toilets
• At the 8th All African
Games, DMT
provided and managed
over 300 mobile
toilets
• The Nigerian government
recently
donated 2,000 free
toilets to DMT
• DMT plans to
expand to 13 other
cities in Nigeria
• DMT is working to
devise creative avenues
for the future,
including recycling
waste to generate
bio-gas, electricity
and fertilizer for
farmers
• DMT has contributed
tremendously to a
cleaner environment
and improved sanitation
in major cities in
Nigeria
• Others listed at
dmttoilets.com

Questions on
the Table
Here are examples
of questions that set
the groundwork for
the consultation:
• What contributions
can social entrepreneurs
make to fight
corruption?
• Are there barriers or
approaches specific
to the Latin American
context?
• Which are the
current networks
that are working
on corruption and
transparency? What
is their scope?
• Do social entrepreneurs
need to
interface with those
networks?
• Is it necessary that
socially entrepreneurial
initiatives
transform into
public policy? Why
or why not?
• What are the risks
and challenges of
taking that leap?
• How would we
transform Fellows’
innovations and
strategies into a
public policy?
• What changes are
needed to push
Fellows’ models to
their full potential?
Creating Integrity systems (cont.)
corruption. The next will be
held with Fellows in Asia in
the fall of 2007.
Highlights and Outcomes
of Consultation
To spotlight the most effective
practices used by experts
in the field, each Fellow
presented his or her unique
approach to fighting corruption.
Methods presented
included programs aimed at
developing citizen groups
that monitor corruption at
the local level, increasing
governmental transparency
and citizen access to information,
and mobilizing youth
to play a more active role in
their local government.
Expanded Definition
of Corruption
Corruption is not only the
embezzlement or misuse
of public funds or resources,
but any action taken
by a government official
that is not in the best interests
of the people they
represent.
While each Fellow employs
his or her own method, it
was apparent that the focal
point of each approach was
catalyzing citizen involvement
and participation, putting
citizens back in control.
Taking stock of their many
approaches to fighting
corruption, Fellows then
identified critical areas to
engage citizens. Individuals
need to develop a sense of
ownership of the state, its
Ashoka Fellows and staff gathered in Lima, Peru for
the Global Fellowship / Changemakers
anti-corruption collaboration
resources and their representatives.
As one Fellow put it,
“No one would let you come
into their house and steal
from them, but because it
belongs to the State, no one
does anything.”
Changing the public’s
perceptions and attitudes
towards its government
is crucial for marshaling
citizen participation. Apathy,
cynicism and fear can cripple
even the most open systems.
The group identified several
key areas in which a shift in
popular public attitude could
have significant impact.
Other key components to
achieving effective citizen
control include:
• Recognizing, promoting
and helping honest
leaders, institutions and
citizens.
• Developing systems to
enable better inter- and
intra-sector collaboration.
• Effectively using the
justice system and other
mechanisms to denounce
and punish corruption.
Fellows also developed a
regional mosaic of solutions
for corruption based on
the online discussions on
Changemakers.net and on
the fruitful collaboration in
Lima. While this collaboration
was only the start of
a long and complicated
Redefinition of Government Responsibilities
Governments, and more importantly government
officials, have a duty to their constituency. They
have a responsibility to put the best interests of the
public first and foremost, whether they are voting on
new legislation or negotiating contracts with private
industry. They are the primary watchdogs.

discourse, the group did adjourn with
several clearly defined goals:
• To create a basic anti-corruption and
freedom of information course for Fellows
working in other sectors.
• To continue the dialogue and develop
additional cross-sector best practices to
fighting corruption while engaging other
Changemakers in Asia and Africa.
• To launch the Law For All Initiative in
South America.
The group was also joined by Ruchika Bahl,
the Director of Ashoka’s Law for All Initiative
in Asia and Gaston Wright, who leads
Ashoka Group Entrepreneurship programs.
LFAI supports human rights defenders, facilitates
pro bono legal assistance, and fos-
Right to Information Established in Nepal
The revised Nepalese Right
to Information Bill was
unanimously passed by the
country’s interim parliament
on July 13, 2007. Its earliest
drafts had many loopholes,
spurring Law for All
Director Ruchika Bahl
and country representative
Sadhana Shrestha to start
a national debate on its
provisions.
Taking input from Ashoka
Fellow Mandira Sharma,
they invited Indian Fellow
Arvind Kejriwal to Nepal to
share his experiences with
Right to Information issues
and local governance.
Ruchika and Arvind met with
many Ashoka Fellows, key
CSOs, advocates, lawyers,
and journalists. Arvind
shared his perspectives on
India’s RTIA, potential
amendments to the draft of
the Nepali bill, and thoughts
on how they would affect
citizens.
Nepal Fellow Rajendra
Dahal used a national newspaper’s
full page interview
with Arvind as a springboard
to engage other CSOs and
parliamentarians, organizing
a working session with them.
It stressed a few critical
clauses needed for an
effective RTI Act outlined
by Arvind.
1. Penalty clause: There
should be compulsory
penalty for an officer who
fails to provide information
within prescribed time or
provides false, misleading,
incomplete or irrelevant
information.
Ana Teresa Bernal at the consultation
ters access to justice. The initiative was
launched in India in December 2003 and has
been active throughout Asia. Fellows immediately
identified with its goals and saw
its connection to their earlier work on corruption.
As a result, LFAI will soon launch
in South America. ■
7
2. Independent appellate
body: An independent Information
Commission should
be set up where people who
do not receive satisfactory
information within the pres-
cribed time can file appeals.
Information Commissioners
should have judicial backgrounds.
3. Exclusion clause: Items
excluded from RTIA should
be as few as possible.
In testament to the work of
all of these Ashoka staff and
Fellows, the bill that just
passed in Nepal incorporated
all three pieces of advice,
finalizing this historic
legislation.
Congratulations to the Fellowship
team in Asia for
their successful role in making
this legislation reality. ■
Fellows in the
spotlight:
Victor Ananias
Turkey
Fellow honored by Turkey’s
Today’s Zaman for
ecological contributions
May 2007. Victor created
Bugday, an organization
that has created the ecologically
friendly agriculture
movement in Turkey.
Elected the country’s first
Ashoka Fellow in 2000,
after 15 years of work he
has finally handed full control
of the organization over
to its Board of Directors.
John Mighton
Canada
Education reformer set to
publish his second book
on teaching methodology
May 2007. Canadian Fellow
John Mighton, now
a mathematics PhD, challenged
conventional math
teaching with his first book,
The Myth of Ability. Now,
drawing on examples from
JUMP Math, a resoundingly
successful tutoring program
he began in Toronto,
he has published The End
of Ignorance: Multiplying
Our Human Ability.

Fellows in the
spotlight:
Ayyappa Masagi
India
Oustanding service to
society and environment
May 2007. The Essel
Group and Zee Network
recently honored Ayyappa
Masagi with the Essel
Karnataka’s Best Social
Service Award. Ayyappa
helps farmers learn and
implement water management
techniques, showing
them how to collect and
best use available rainfall.
Apolonio Gomez
Mexico
Sexual health pioneer in
Mexico heralded at premier
Latino conference
June 2007. Apolonio
Gomez, an Ashoka Fellow
from Mexico, was given
the Hero of the Community
award at Alianza 2007, the
largest Spanish-language
Latino conference in the
US. He created the country’s
first primarily mobile
HIV/AIDS information
center, bringing education
and contraceptives to areas
without traditional access.
Roshaneh Zafar
Pakistan
International recognition
for financial transparency
June 2007. Roshaneh
Zafar, founder of the Kashf
Foundation, a microfinance
organization for women in
Pakistan, received a Merit
Award from the Consultative
Group to Assist the
Poor, international certification
approving of her
organization’s contribution
to financial and accounting
transparency.
Caroline Casey’s Beltway Diary
Persevering as a social entrepreneur
Irish Fellow Caroline Casey,
who was selected in 2006
for her work improving the
employment prospects for
the disabled in Ireland,
made a trip through the
United States this spring
as an Eisenhower Fellow.
During that time she wrote
The Beltway Diary, a weekly
column for The Irish Times,
from which these two pieces
are excerpted.
There is something incredibly
arrogant about believing you
have to be listened to, about
getting up after being kicked
down, and fighting blindly
to get what you want, but I
would rather call it passion...
In 1992, the government
of Balochistan (a state in
Pakistan) asked me to
promote girls education in
the rural areas of the state
where no schools for girls
existed. My approach involved
organizing community
educators and identifying
potential teachers––women
with an eighth grade
education. Site visits to rural
communities were routine.
But this time it was
different: the community in
Balochistan was complex,
and I had to leave my newly
married son and his bride.
In my culture it is a very
important occasion when a
new daughter-in-law joins
the family, and it was my
responsibility to make the
bride feel comfortable and
It seems to drive creativity.
This passion is reliant on
moments of success. It is
what we live for. We are
addicted to those moments
when we shift a person’s
point of view, bag a fabulous
funder, watch a vision
become reality, but mostly
when we experience
the wonder of unexpected
opportunity.
My first day in New York is
a perfect example. At 10am I
find myself sitting in front of
a senior partner and global
managing director in Ogilvy.
I can hardly believe my
luck as my half-hour meet-
on the Brink of Abandonment
A story from Fellow Quratulain Bakhteari
settled in as part of the
family. But I had a commitment
to the government
of Balochistan, so I left for
Panjgoor district.
Officers in the district’s
Department of Education,
I discovered, were cold
and uncooperative. They
were not interested in promoting
girls education and
had not helped identify any
potential teachers. After
three days of meetings, for
the first time in my life I
grew very unhappy and
frustrated with work. I could
not get through to the local
government officials. I began
to miss the happiness
and warmth of my family,
wishing I was home
celebrating the marriage of
my son.
ing rolls into a two-hour
discussion about how an
idea I have been nursing for
some time around media and
disability could become a
reality. I have come to this
advertising guru and, right
across the table from me,
this man gets it! And, what’s
more, he asks me back!
On the third night, as I lay
in the heat and dust under
a dark sky with few stars,
I thought of my family and
children, my son looking so
handsome with his lovely
wife, the room I decorated
for her but could not see
her enjoy. As I lay there, I
decided to leave this village
and project and go home the
next day.
Suddenly, I heard a young,
cheerful female voice
calling me by my name
and using the title of “Baji”
which means “elder sister”.
“Qurat Baji, Qurat Baji,
is it you?” said the voice
from the darkness. I was
completely shocked. “Who
are you my child?” I asked.
The young woman lifted
cont. pg10

Later that evening I am
eating a green curry with
The Eisenhower
Fellowship
EF gives its participants
professional insights and
contacts, a broadened
international and crosscultural
perspective, and
a lifelong network of
colleagues and friends.
Its purpose reflects the
conviction that greater
understanding among individuals
fosters greater
understanding among
nations and contributes
to peace and progress
for all.
Shirlene, an art entrepreneur
from Singapore, and Chien-
Chi Chang, a Magnum
photographer from Taiwan.
As I launch my diatribe
about disability representation
in the media and arts,
Chien gently pushes his
recent book across the table.
It is called The Chain, and
is a shocking testimony of
life at the Lung Fa Tang
mental asylum in Taiwan.
He gets it!
By the time we leave the restaurant,
I have the support
of someone I could not even
have dared hope for.
By the time I get back to
the hotel, with the Manhattan
lights twinkling outside
Advocates for social Entrepreneurs
ASE at the intersection of health and law
The Advocates for Social
Entrepreneurs (ASE) network
is mobilizing a pro
bono, voluntary legal network
around the world. The
program has supported nearly
one hundred Ashoka Fellows
through introductions
to high-quality legal services.
Together Ashoka Fellows,
legal networks and law
firms are strengthening the
pro bono movement globally.
Most recently, Edith Grynspancholc,
a Fellow from
Argentina who founded the
Natali Dafne Flexer Foundation,
expressed her interest
to better understand laws regarding
cancer treatment for
children in Latin America
countries. Her Foundation
supports children suffering
from malignant diseases
(mainly childhood cancer)
by helping their families obtain
critical information, get
the best available treatment,
and improve their quality of
life.
In order to assist Edith, the
Ashoka ASE team contacted
The Cyrus R. Vance Center
for International Justice.
Founded on the principle
that lawyers have an important
role to play in promoting
social justice and strengthening
democracy, The Vance
Center works with organizations
in democratic countries
seeking to advance the role
the legal profession plays in
promoting access to justice.
The Center also facilitates
collaboration between public
and public sectors in or-
my window, I have to pinch
myself. I may not have
changed the world but I have
seen the possibility of it.
We do what we do because
we know we can change
things; because our belief
and courage are fuelled by
the entirely unexpected moments
of chance, where serendipity
throws you a line and
an idea you have could very
possibly become a reality.
In the business of business,
social change or just taking
a risk, never forget: among
the good, bad and ugly, the
bloody marvelous exists too.
And that, I have learnt, can
come any time, any place.
Just keep your eyes open. ■
der to achieve meaningful
access to justice and instill a
genuine ethic of societal responsibility
in the legal profession.
By encouraging a global exchange
of information and
ideas that builds the capacity
of members of the legal
profession to affect positive
change in their societies,
The Vance Center immediately
agreed to help Edith in
this project.
Now gaining the appropriate
legal knowledge, she hopes
to build partnerships with
other leaders in the field to
influence public policy and
to ensure that laws related
to childhood cancer are respected
and implemented
throughout Latin America. ■
Fellows in the
spotlight:
Aaron Pereira
Canada
Social Investment Ventures
Fellow named an
Architect of the Future
June 2007. Aaron Pereira is
pioneering Canada’s only
national financial institution
dedicated to serving citizen
sector organizations. It provides
resources that CSOs
currently lack: savings accounts,
credit, investments,
and financial advice. For
this vision, he was awarded
a full scholarship to attend
the conference of the Waldzell
Institute in September.
Anshu Gupta
India
India Fellow wins grant to
scale up in a global World
Bank competition
May 2007. Anshu’s organization,
GOONJ, has built
a nationwide movement to
manage a massive transfer
of used clothes, household
goods, and other essential
material items to India’s
rural poor. For his work he
was named a winner of the
World Bank Development
Marketplace competition.

A special
Thanks To:
Rachel Land
Lanna Walsh
Scott Rechler
Bruno Borges
Gaston Wright
Carol Grodzins
Ali Levine
Jessica Lee
Caroline Casey
Sadhana Shrestha
Samjhana Upadhyay
Quratulain
Bakhteari
Dan Tuttle, Editor
on the Brink of Abandonment (cont.)
the lantern to her face. She was about 20
years old and her eyes sparkled with deep
excitement and love.
Then she began to explain. She grew up in
a town called Baladia, a town of squatter
settlements I worked in during the early
eighties to bring sanitation and hygiene
education.
“You came to my house and talked to my
mother about sending me to school,” she
said, “and it was after hours so I could still
work and earn money for my family. You
used to visit us a lot and gave us books.
“Because of you I was able to go to school
until the tenth grade.”
Her name was Bano. She had followed her
husband home to Panjgoor four years ago
and is now a math teacher at the only school
in town.
Her hug sent a flow of warmth through my
sad and frustrated body.
To learn more about Global Fellowship and Fellows featured
in this issue, go to ashoka.org.
0
Then I looked at her with excitement––I
had found my first ally in the entire town!
I asked her if she would help me to find
villages where there were literate women to
recruit to be teachers. She jumped at once
and said “Oh yes, I will come tomorrow and
I will take you to meet these women.”
With Bano at my side I established 60
girls schools in Panjgoor in one and a
half months. It was an accomplishment
I thought impossible upon my arrival.
Now not only would girls have equal
access to education, but the corrupt local
officials would no longer be able to sell
fake teaching posts and pocket the money
for themselves.
My encounter with Bano gave me the
strength, vision, and motivation to
continue doing my work. She was proof
that I was helping to change lives. ■