Category: News

Women’s roles as village council (Panchayat) leaders are transforming the way people live in India. Although they often have much adversity to overcome – due to social conditioning and attitudes around gender – women are emerging as powerful leaders motivated by a desire to provide better lives for their families and communities.

When women are empowered with skills and knowledge, they act as change agents – creating opportunities to improve life and participate in the positive development of their community. The training they receive through our programs allows them to realise their full potential and instils the confidence required to approach local governments with authority. As such, they develop voices that are heard in public forums and generate the support of the people.

Through the Panchayat, they interact with people who can assist them in creating the changes they prioritise, such as –

• Ensuring all children (particularly girls) have access to an education
• Ensuring quality healthcare is available and accessible to all
• Installing clean water systems and sanitary facilities to meet basic human needs
• Addressing violence and inequality against women – so that all may live to their fullest potential

Elected women, like Geeta (pictured below), carry with them a deep sense of pride and responsibility to act in the best interests of all. By taking time to speak with people in their villages – including those previously left out of the development agenda – they find out what is truly wanted and needed and act on it.

 

“I draw determination from my heart, from within…I feel I’m not a regular woman – I’m a special woman! I am proud to be elected as the President of my local council area. I won by 1,500 votes because I took the time to speak to people in my community about what they wanted.” – Geeta Rao – An Elected Woman Representative trained by The Hunger Project in India.

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the Decjuba x THP t-shirts.

The t-shirts are available for purchase in black and gold or black and white in-store or via the link here.

All of the proceeds from this limited edition t-shirt will go towards The Hunger Project’s work empowering women to end hunger.

A special thank you to our wonderful partners at Decjuba.

Roger Massy-Greene, long time The Hunger Project Australia National Board member and investor, has been appointed as a new member of The Hunger Project’s Global Board of Directors.

Sheree Stomberg, Chair, The Hunger Project Governance, Nominating, and Human Resources Committee announced the appointment on 3 May 2016.

Roger has been an investor for more than a decade and has been a member of The Hunger Project board in Australia since 2010.  He currently serves as Chair of two publicly held electricity utilities in New South Wales, Australia. He was previously the Chair of Networks NSW, a joint venture entity that managed the three electricity distribution networks in that state. Roger is a director of OneVentures Pty Ltd, a technology venture firm. He co-founded the ASX 200 company, Excel Coal Limited and was its Chairman until its acquisition by Peabody Energy in 2006. He previously worked for Bank of America and for Rio Tinto plc.

Roger also serves as Chairman of the Salvation Army’s Sydney Advisory Board and of Eureka Benevolent Foundation (EBF), a family foundation focused on social justice issues. EBF has been The Hunger Project’s funding partner for the Champiti Epicentre in Malawi since its inception. He is the Deputy President of Cranbrook School in Sydney. Roger holds a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Engineering with Honours from the University of Sydney, and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.

Already a vital member The Hunger Project family, Roger has been instrumental in supporting the dynamic growth trajectory of The Hunger Project Australia. We now welcome his leadership as a member of our Global Board.