Vienna, Austria, June 11, 2014 - Ashesi was named as one of two African NGOs granted the 2014 OFID Annual Award for Development. Ashesi and the Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE) in Kenya were selected based on significant impact on promoting grassroots-level education, while addressing cross-cutting issues such as women’s empowerment and leadership. The Award, which comes with a US$100,000 prize, was divided equally between the two recipients.
The announcement of the recipients was made as part of the proceedings of the 35th session of the Ministerial Council of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) in Doha, Qatar. (View video highlighting OFID's Annual Award for Development.)
The Kakenya Center for Excellence (KCE) in Kenya, which seeks to empower and motivate young girls through education and break the cycle of destructive cultural practices, was established by women and girls’ rights pioneer Kakenya Ntaiya in 2009. Since the establishment of the center, hundreds of girls have received life-altering education and leadership training.
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) is the development finance institution established by the Member States of OPEC in 1976 as a collective channel of aid to developing countries. OFID works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international donor community to stimulate economic growth and alleviate poverty in all disadvantaged regions of the world.
The OFID Annual Award was instituted in 2006. Past winners of the award include: Malala Yousafzai, in appreciation of her struggle to uphold the right of girls and women in the Swat Valley of Pakistan to receive an education; Dr. Mazen Al-Hajri, a renowned ear, nose and throat surgeon and philanthropist who has performed countless operations on Palestinian children; and, Bartolina Sisa National Confederation of Peasant Indigenous Native Women of Bolivia, among other distinguished personalities and institutions.