Ashoka: Innovators for the Public

I have recently been introduced to a non-profit organization called Ashoka.  They are an amazing group  that sponsors social entrepreneurs; a title for, to put it in simple terms, people who are changing the world a little bit at a time.  I'm not sure where I first heard about them, but over the past few months their name has been reaching my ears.

Ashoka awards fellowships to people that have been impacting their world during the course of the entire life.  One of those people is Hasina Kharbhih. "A successful entrepreneur is married to a vision and cannot rest until it has transformed all of society," says Hasina.  She works in Northern India on issues like child trafficking, HIV/AIDS intervention, and sustainable livelihood.  She first received recognition as a teenager  when she was chosen as a Commonwealth Youth Ambassador for Positive Living.  Ashoka chose her because they want to help her in her efforts to spread the Meghalaya Model, an amazing holistic strategy to deal with child trafficking.

Ashoka aims to approach social change in a holistic way for all their projects.  They involve the government, non-profits, businesses, and citizens.  This is an organization that is really getting things done.  For more information, take a look at www.ashoka.org.