Timor-Leste: Women’s Empowerment Organisation Recognised

PRESS RELEASE

Timor-Leste: Women’s Empowerment Organisation Recognised For International Award


14.14.14: The STARS Foundation has selected Timor-Leste organisation, Fundasaun Alola as this year’s recipient of the 2012 Asia-Pacific STARS Impact Awards, in the category of Health. The organisation was selected from hundreds of applicants for its community-based approach to significantly reduce maternal and infant mortality rates across the country. Fundasaun Alola, the second organisation from Timor-Leste to receive an award from the STARS Foundation, will receive the respected accolade at a ceremony in Kensington Palace, London on 15 December 2012, as well US$100,000 of unrestricted funding and tailored consultancy support.

Originally founded in 2001, by the then First Lady of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, Kirsty Sword Gusmão, to raise awareness of the widespread sexual violence against women and girls, during the militia attacks of September 1999, Fundasaun Alola’s focus now also includes empowering women to make positive health choices for themselves and their children.

Through its community-based approach to implementing Maternal and Child Health Programmes, the organisation works to contribute to the realisation of United Nations Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 (reduction in child mortality) and 5 (improve maternal health), through the establishment of Mother Support Groups operating in nine districts. The groups are comprised of 200 women volunteers who actively promote exclusive breastfeeding, colostrum and complementary feeding for children over six months of age within their communities.

Alola’s nation-wide breastfeeding awareness raising campaigns have played a major role in addressing some of the key factors underpinning Timor-Leste’s high under-five mortality rate. Today, approximately 52 per cent of mothers feed their babies only breast-milk for the first six months of life, compared to only 30 per cent in 2005. In addition, the number of institutional births has increased from 10 per cent to 22 per cent, and the number of mothers and babies dying in childbirth has been reduced to zero in some of the villages.

“Timor-Leste is today on track to achieve the MDG goal to reduce under-five mortality by two-thirds by 2015 mainly due to the efforts of Alola’s community-based maternal and child health teams, who collaborate closely with the country’s Ministry of Health to ensure a wider and more sustainable impact. The organisation’s community-based approach to establishing women’s groups across Timor-Leste, as peer to peer advocates of breastfeeding and safe motherhood is playing a major role in nurturing the country’s reconstruction,” said STARS Foundation Chief Executive, Muna Wehbe.

“Our vision is for the women and children of Timor-Leste to enjoy equal status in all aspects of life, including through health. With the unrestricted funding supplied by the STARS Foundation, we will provide staff training opportunities and investment in future income generation” said Teresa Verdial, Fundasaun Alola CEO.

About the STARS Foundation Impact Awards

The STARS Foundation improves the lives of disadvantaged children and their communities globally and believes that local organisations are best placed to respond to the needs of their communities and the children in their care. Through the Impact Awards, STARS helps already effective organisations become even stronger by enhancing their capacity to deliver vital services on the ground. It does this by offering recipients a unique package of unrestricted funding and tailored consultancy support. This year, the Ashmore Foundation is sponsoring the Asia-Pacific Impact Award winners.

To celebrate its 10-year anniversary this year, STARS has committed to affecting the lives of 20 million people across 100 countries by 2020, by focusing on two key programmes:

1. Expanding the STARS Impact Awards (building on its success of 40 Awards, 1.5million people reached) to strengthen more outstanding NGOs working with disadvantaged children and communities in the categories of Health, Education, Protection and WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) in the countries ranked highest for under-five mortality rates by UNICEF.
2. Launching a new operational unit called STARS Game Changing Initiatives, which will incubate and develop new solutions, in the form of innovative products and ideas, to pressing development needs in collaboration with companies, high performing local NGOs and the communities they serve.

Notes:
For further information or interview requests, please contact Mona Samari, email: mona@communicationsinc.co.uk, telephone: +44 (0) 7515 828 939 (case studies, a film and photography are available).
• The STARS Foundation was founded by Amr A. Al-Dabbagh and Al Dabbagh Group and is governed by an international board of trustees chaired by His Excellency Amr A. Al Dabbagh
• The STARS Impact Awards approach is underpinned by a rigorous selection process, which has been developed with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Awards recipients are selected using eight criteria that reflect the hallmarks of effective practice and all applicants receive feedback on their application. In addition to six main Awards, smaller awards are made at the discretion of the STARS Board of Trustees.
• The STARS Foundation added WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) as a new category earlier this year, due to the impact that improvements in this area can have on child survival and wellbeing and will expand its Impact Awards programme into Latin America, Caribbean and Central Eastern Europe in 2014.
• For more information visit www.starsfoundation.org.uk
• The Ashmore Foundation aims to make a positive and sustainable difference in the communities in which Ashmore Group plc, a leading Emerging Markets Investment Manager, operates and invests. For more information visit http://www.ashmoregroup.com/corporate-investor-relations/the-ashmore-foundation/

ENDS

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