Hyderabad|India|March'2011: EdelGive Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Edelweiss Capital Ltd. announced the winners of the Third EdelGive Social Innovation Honours (ESIH 2011). Prajwala, an Andhra Pradesh, NGO and four other NGOs won the award in the Economic Security & Livelihoods. Prajwala has emerged as an anti-trafficking organization that rescues women and children from prostitution, enabling their psychological recovery, and rehabilitating and reintegrating trafficked victims back into the society. The Prize money of Rs. 50 Lakhs is being awarded to the winners across five categories.

EdelGive Foundation is the philanthropic initiative of Edelweiss Capital Limited, one of India’s leading and fastest growing diversified financial services firms.

The winners have been selected from a pool of 235 participants across India. The selection process involved a four stage evaluation process supported by Ernst and Young as process advisors and official tabulators and included an initial application, short listing by an internal jury, visits by field assessors from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and final selection by an external jury of prominent members from the corporate, media and social sectors. The jury panel this year consisted of Chandra Iyengar, ex civil servant, Kalpana Sharma, Independent Journalist, Mala Ramadorai, musician and teacher, Roopa Kudva, Executive Director CRISIL, Shoba Narayan, Writer and Journalist, Varun Sahni, Director Impact Investment Partners, Venkat Ramaswamy, Executive Director and Co-Founder, Edelweiss Capital Limited, Zia Mody, leading corporate lawyer and Founding Partner of AZB Partners.

The other winning NGOs of ESIH 2011 are Jan Chetna Manch (Health and Well-Being), Jharkhand, for the outstanding work done to empower and improve the lives of the weakest and poorest in the villages of Bokaro district, with a particular aim of improving the overall health and well being of poor rural women, Foundation to Educate Girls Globally (Education), Rajasthan, an organization that has significantly improved girls’ enrolment, retention, and academic performance in Government schools, by leveraging existing community and Government resources in the state , The Hunger Project (Governance), New Delhi, an organization committed towards gender equality and women’s empowerment through political participation and STEPS Women Development Organisation (Socio-Cultural Rights) Pudukottai, Tamil Nadu, a women’s organization that works on issues to do with violence and women’s rights, with a sharpened and special focus on the rights of Muslim Women.

According to Ms. Vidya Shah, Executive Director and Head, EdelGive Foundation, “In India, a high number of women and girls remain marginalized and disempowered. Through the ESIH awards, EdelGive Foundation over the last three years has raised the awareness of issues surrounding women and the girl child and has supported organizations with path-breaking approaches to tackle these challenges. Going forward, EdelGive is committed to supporting the distinctive work of these NGOs through both funding and capacity building support.”

Prajwala aims to prevent the second generation prostitution through education. The philosophy of Prajwala has evolved based on the need of women and children who are victims of trafficking. Prajwala has emerged as an anti-trafficking organization, which believes in preventing women and children from entering prostitution, which is the worst form of sexual slavery. The channel to reintegration cannot be explored until the victim regains her belief in self and her capacities to live in a normal society. It is in this context that economic empowerment becomes a toll for both psychological recovery and social reintegration.

Prajwala started a collective enterprise cum training center, consisting of a printing press and furniture unit, which is run by a group of 90 survivors. Arrangements for employment in government and non-government sector are also made in terms of the growing needs. Going beyond philanthropy and corporate social responsibility, this innovation looks at corporate and other stakeholders, including the survivor, as an equal beneficiary from a purely business and economic sense. It is a win-win situation as the employer gets a committed and trained employee and the survivor gets a chance to reintegrate with society with dignity.

ESIH 2011 aims to identify and reward organisations that are innovating to empower women in India. The objective is to showcase and support organizations with unique approaches to tackle challenges that women face in our country.