Rwandan scoops Africa leadership prize

The founder of the Rwandan ‘Peace Baskets’, Janet Nkubana, has been named a co-laureate for the 2008 Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger. The Africa Prize honors a distinguished African woman or man who has exhibited exceptional leadership in bringing about the sustainable end of hunger at the national, regional or continental level. The Africa Prize focuses on individuals working in areas such as public policy, science, agriculture, education and health whose leadership and policies reflect courage, initiative, and creativity and, in some cases, personal sacrifice. Nkubana was named alongside the Grassroots Mobilizer and Somali Champion for Women’s Rights, Faiza Jama Mohamed, last weekend at a celebratory gala in New York City.Nkubana’s prize is worth US$100,000 (Approx. Frw 54.5million). The Africa Prize for Leadership for the Sustainable End of Hunger seeks to generate heightened awareness within the world community of the many African leaders who are making the difficult decisions and taking the necessary actions to resolve the pressing agricultural, economic, political and social issues facing the continent. Part of its purpose is to engender a greater appreciation for and support of the effective and dynamic leadership associated with the end of hunger in Africa on a sustainable basis. Janet Nkubana is the founder and president of Gahaya Links, a Rwandan handicrafts organization that empowers local rural women to achieve economic stability. The organization has about 4000 women comprising of victims of genocide, widows, women with HIV, and women with husbands in prison charged with crimes related to the 1994 Tutsi Genocide. Gahaya Links’ objective is to create reconciliation among women as they work together, hence the name peace baskets. Gahaya Links has rigorous training programs where women learn weaving techniques and receive information about Family Planning, HIV/AIDS, financial management and nutrition. The women find a new sense of self-determination because they are able to earn their own income, take control of their own futures and play a leadership role in improving their communities. Gahaya Links connects 40 local cooperatives and associations all over Rwanda. Nkubana joins the ranks of previous African Prize Laureates; Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (Liberia), Nelson Mandela (South Africa), Wangari Maathai (Kenya), Graça Machel (Mozambique) and Joachim Chissano (Mozambique). Ends

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Rwandan scoops Africa leadership prize