Report from an investor leadership trip to India

One of the most powerful opportunities for The Hunger Project (a non-profit organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger) investors is to travel to one of The Hunger Project`s Program Countries as a member of a delegation to experience the local work first hand, be a part of strategies on the ground, and return more empowered as an activist.
Last month my friend Filippa Odevall from The Hunger Project Sweden participated in an international delegation who visited India.

Filippa, this was your second trip to a Program Country. What was your impression?
The feeling I bring back is if these women leaders, without any resources but themselves, can bring water to their villages, get all children to school, make healthcare available for all villagers, implement governmental schemes etc. then societies in "the western world" truly can achieve much more than we can ever imagine, since we do not meet even half the resistance.

Tell us a little bit about the trip and the program!
The five-day visit began with a day-long session in Delhi where The Hunger Project (THP)-India team shared the strategic focus of our work to empower elected women's leadership in the country. The following day, the team of 18 investors, staff and activists traveled to Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and took a three-day bus ride across the districts of Katni and Umaria, where we met 50 elected women representatives. These women are effective change agents for the end of hunger in their villages. Most of the villages we visited battle daily with age-old issues of the caste system, high rates of poverty and gender inequality.

During your trip in India The Hunger Project had been honored as a winner of the EdelGive Social Innovation Honors 2011. What was the motivation for this prize?
Yes! THP-India was honored as winner of the EdelGive Social Innovation Honours (ESIH) 2011 in the category of Governance for its work strengthening women's participation in government. The ESIH awards, given in the areas of Health and Well-Being, Education, Livelihoods, Governance and Social and Cultural Rights of Women, raise awareness of issues surrounding women and girl children by supporting organizations with path-breaking approaches to these challenges.

How was the selection process conducted?
Finalists and winners were selected from among 235 non-governmental organizations across 21 Indian states and were evaluated in a stringent, four-round selection process. During the final round, THP-India was invited for an interaction with the Final Jury, comprised of prominent members from civil society, media and the corporate sector. THP-India was represented by Country Director Rita Sarin and Senior Program Officer, Ruchi Yadav.
THP-India completed the rigorous selection process and was declared the winner on February 18, 2011. Three other organizations were honored as runners-up in the category of Governance, all working to strengthen the participation of women in government. In addition to the awareness generated by the announcement, a cash prize was awarded in the amount of US$112,500.

Finally, why are young people like you working for a non-profit organization like The Hunger Project and what is your next task as a fundraiser?
I think that an awareness is slowly but safely rising about how everything is connected and that each one of us is responsible for the development of our planet. Once you are working for something that you feel truly influence our societies in a good way, you meet other people who inspire you and it gives so much energy back to you that you get hooked :)
My next step as a fundraiser is to mobilize and maximize the potential of The Hunger Project’s volunteers, ambassadors and partners to take the fundraising to the next level, which in the long term will prove that it is possible to end hunger, once and for all.