Healthcare is broadly social and deeply personal, particularly with respect to a costly, high-mortality disease like cancer. Cancer can be emotionally and financially devastating for patients and their families, especially the poor. The problem is compounded in places like the North Eastern Region (NER) in India, a remote, “forgotten,” predominantly rural and agricultural border region where access to medical care is difficult. Even in the region’s leading state Assam, where cancer incidence is high amid a population of 35 million, the first cancer hospital was not opened until 1981. Later, a second, the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) was established in 1996, it was the initiative of a non-profit society of local citizens, funded by public philanthropy on land provided by government.

CCHRC would, however, expand into an innovative, widely admired, full-service cancer care facility after Indian surgical oncologist Dr. Ravi Kannan R. became hospital director in 2007, the first formally-trained oncologist to fill the position. It surprised many that Kannan, who previously headed the surgical oncology department in Adyar Cancer Institute, a major cancer institute in Chennai, would exchange a position in a big city for a small hospital in a remote part of the country. Kannan had a simple answer. It was where he was most needed.

Under Kannan’s leadership, CCHRC became a full-fledged comprehensive cancer hospital and research center. From a hospital with limited facilities when he came on board, it now has twenty-eight departments covering oncology, pathology, radiology, microbiology, epidemiology, tumour registry and palliative care, and other services and specializations. From a staff of only twenty-three, the hospital now employs 451 people.

Kannan saw from the beginning that it was not just a matter of having state-of-the-art cancer facilities. Patient compliance rate to treatment was at 28%. Patients came but did not continue their treatment due to such reasons as the difficulties of traveling long distances, the cost (including the loss of income of family caregivers), and resignation to the belief that the patient would never be cured. Clearly, the underlying reason was poverty. Thus, the hospital introduced such pro-poor initiatives as free treatment, food and lodging, adhoc employment for caregivers, and a homecare program. Hospital team members would travel long distances to train family members in pain management and palliative care, as well as provide free medicines. As a result, patient compliance rates rose to 70%. CCHRC now provides free or subsidized cancer care treatments to an average of 5,000 new patients annually, catering to approximately 20,000 poor patients for treatments and follow-ups. Kannan says, “No one should be denied access to treatment due to want of money.”

The hospital states its vision in these words: “We aim to become a state-of-the-art cancer center that will ensure that no individual develops a cancer that can be prevented, that no patient is denied appropriate cancer treatment for want of resources, that no patient dies in agony and indignity and that no family suffers treatment induced poverty and grief.” It is a clear, bold statement that the hospital translates into actual practice.

Kannan, now fifty-nine-years-old, has served the hospital for nearly seventeen years. He is particularly proud of the people around him who share his vision for the hospital, many of them young professionals attracted and inspired by his leadership. Self-sacrificing and quietly heroic, Kannan lives with his family in Assam and in this remote region continues to work without expectation of public recognition. Reiterating his mission, he says, “To be able to deliver inclusive health care and inclusive cancer care, you must have care available. You must have care that is equitable, accessible, and affordable.”

In electing Ravi Kannan R. to receive the 2023 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his devotion to his profession’s highest ideals of public service, his combination of skill, commitment, and compassion in pushing the boundaries of people-centered, pro-poor health care and cancer care, and for having built, without expectation of reward, a beacon of hope for millions in the Indian state of Assam, thus setting a shining example for all.

I bring greetings and warm wishes from India.

This recognition rightfully belongs to many, many people.

This belongs to the Cachar Cancer Hospital Society who dared to dream of such a facility over thirty years ago.

This belongs to all my 450 colleagues in Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre who have passionately believed in our cause and have tirelessly labored in seeing our shared dream of inclusive healthcare and cancer care become a reality for the people that we serve.

This belongs to our local communities including to our government officials and representatives who have reposed their trust in the process of creating Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in our little pocket of land in the state of Assam.

This belongs to the countless individuals and organizations across our great country of India and all across the world who have shown their steadfast commitment and support in the humble work that we do.

Most importantly, this belongs to the people we have treated, the individuals and their families, who have entrusted their lives in our hands without any reservations.

What we do in Silchar is not unique. There are several others who are engaged in similar work in healthcare and other fields who strive to improve the lot of our fellow men and women on this planet.

I believe that the Ramon Magsaysay Award recognizes all of our collaborative spirits and efforts.  I accept this Award on behalf of all of them.

As Bhupen Hazarika, an Assamese bard sang, “‘We’re in the same boat brother. If you tip one end, you gonna rock the other, it’s the same boat brother.'” All lives on this earth are so intimately linked to one another that we cannot afford to be exclusive.

An ancient Sanskrit verse goes thus: Ayam nijam paro veti ganana laghu chetasam, Udar charitanam tu vasudhaiv kutumbakam.  For the wise, the entire earth is one family.

The road to human happiness and fulfillment truly lies in holding every life on this planet sacred and worthy of our love in an all-inclusive spirit. People have given us their time, talents, and treasures not merely to help the sick regain their health but to give much-needed hope to the hopeless. Together, all of us can change the way we take care of sickness and suffering, promote universal health, and control of cancer and other diseases.

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah, Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah | Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu, Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet | Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

May everyone be happy, be free from all disease, see goodness and auspiciousness in all things, and may none be distressed. May everyone be at peace.

Let us each continue to make efforts both big and small to harness the goodness around us to better the conditions of everyone in need with faith that together, we can make a difference.

Thank you to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for this great encouragement that indeed together we can all make a difference.

Mass poverty is an intractable reality in Pakistan and much of the world. Poverty reduction programs are urgently needed and microfinance institutions are a real lifeline for the poor. Yet, though Pakistan is in a region that is a global center of the microfinance movement, about fifty million Pakistanis still live below the national poverty line. Clearly, much more work remains to be done.

One organization and its founder are breaking fresh ground in the fight against poverty. MUHAMMAD AMJAD SAQIB, sixty-four years old and highly educated, has worked as a consultant on social development for Pakistan’s government and international development organizations. In 2001, SAQIB invited a group of friends (all successful professionals and businessmen) to present to them his plan for a first-of-its-kind interest-free microfinance program, offering to design, organize, and implement it. Enthusiastic, his friends pledged their support, and funds were raised to capitalize the project. Two years later, Akhuwat was formed and its first branch opened in Lahore.

The most interesting aspect of Akhuwat is its concept and philosophy. Akhuwat (brotherhood or sisterhood) is an approach to poverty alleviation that SAQIB introduced based on the values of the Islamic tradition of Mawakhat that has for its core the Prophet Mohammed’s teaching: that if one has a loaf of bread, half of it rightly belongs to a person who has none. Related to this is the idea that charging interest (riba) on a loan is un-Islamic, hence the practice of the “benevolent loan” which, SAQIB reminds us, was already there in early human societies. “We just institutionalized it,” SAQIB says. Akhuwat uses places of worship for loan disbursements, saving on costs and instilling the sense of trust, responsibility and community that a mosque, church, or temple creates. It also promotes volunteerism among staff and clients; aims at transforming borrowers into donors; and fosters diversity and inclusion, serving all—irrespective of religion, caste, color, and gender.

All these have proved to be a winning formula. Today, Akhuwat is the largest microfinance institution in Pakistan, offering a package of loans for the poor. It has distributed 4.8 million interest-free loans amounting to the equivalent of USD900 million, helping three million families, with a remarkable 99.9% loan repayment rate.

Its phenomenal growth has fueled Akhuwat’s social support programs in fields like education, where, in partnerships with government and others, Akhuwat has “adopted” hundreds of neglected and non-functioning public schools and established four residential colleges (one of them for women), and soon a university, for poor and deserving students.   Akhuwat runs a health services program, helping hundreds of thousands of patients; a “clothes bank” that has distributed more than three million clothes for the needy; and a program of economic, health, and psycho-social services for the discriminated khwaja sira (transgender) community. In the Covid-19 pandemic, Akhuwat responded with emergency loans and grants, food relief, and other assistance in over a hundred cities in Pakistan.

People were skeptical about the sustainability of a no-interest, no-collateral loan program (one that only asks a borrower for a USD1.26 application fee and an optional mutual support contribution of 1.0% of the loan amount). SAQIB is not worried. The Prophet’s story of the loaf of bread, the call for empathy and solidarity, has inspired him and stirred many donors to help. SAQIB has succeeded not only because of his expertise in this field but because he embraced the work of helping the poor as a call to faith. Empathy and optimism in human goodness are central to his work. He says: “Akhuwat is a philosophy. It is now a mission of millions. Until a poverty-free society has been created, we won’t let go. As long as there is an element of good and empathy in society, Akhuwat will continue.”

In electing MUHAMMAD AMJAD SAQIB to receive the 2021 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes the intelligence and compassion that enabled him to create the largest microfinance institution in Pakistan; his inspiring belief that human goodness and solidarity will find ways to eradicate poverty; and his determination to stay with a mission that has already helped millions of Pakistani families.

1963, Akhtar Hameed Khan. 1992, Sultan Shoaib Khan.  And now in 2021, I have joined my mentors and fellow countrymen in receiving Asia’s most prestigious award. I am truly humbled.

I am no more than a torchbearer of a flame ignited by them. Today, I take pride in walking along the path they have laid. There could be no greater honor. When an award is passed from teacher to student, it is no longer the recognition of an individual’s efforts but the validation of a concept and a legacy.

Awards like this have special significance. They are not what you receive for an uphill task of climbing to the pinnacle but instead, they are received for working on the ground and taking pride in the collective rise. This is an award that does not set you apart but unifies you with humankind. That for me is the epitome of Akhuwat, the brotherhood of mankind, my entire life’s work and passion.

I started my career in the civil service of Pakistan and later parted ways but in hindsight, it equipped me for the journey ahead. My work itself is neither new, nor innovative, and I learned from no other than the teacher of all Muslims, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). He (PBUH) laid the foundation for the eradication of poverty through the message of Mawakhat or solidarity, whereby one household gives part of its possessions to one that has nothing, one neighborhood takes care of the financial hardships of another, and one community accepts the responsibility to build one that has fallen.

This is a simple yet profound formula for the equitable distribution of wealth. With this comes hand in hand the concept of small loans free from interest and service charges, in the tradition of the Prophet (PBUH) and in fact all religions. The world is now beginning to realize the grave reality of rising interest rates that are bringing the world economy to its knees and sending individuals and nations into spiraling debt. Economists have long tried to resolve the issue of world poverty. But let me remind you of one such solution that was given 1400 years ago. We at Akhuwat, have only reiterated the same methodology of Mawakhat and interest and collateral-free microfinance and with it the intrinsic belief in the goodness of humankind.

I am privileged to declare that Akhuwat has received the greatest support from the people of Pakistan. Equally, the Government of Pakistan has committed to the eradication of poverty and equitable growth for all. Our beneficiaries are our supporters, our successors, and our friends. They are the most trustworthy, and dedicated individuals who despite the impediments they face, remind us to stay resilient in the face of adversity.

I would like to express my humble gratitude to Akhuwat’s Board of Directors for their unwavering support and commitment towards our collective vision of creating a poverty-free world. I thank my friends, each and every one of our donors for taking Akhuwat to a global level and helping us to establish the world’s largest interest-free microfinance program.

Skeptics always said such programs are not sustainable. Yes, these are not sustainable but by the grace of God and the spirit of sacrifice & giving, programs like Akhuwat stood where economic wisdom ends as these programs don’t believe in “my share” or “cut-throat” competition. They believe in sharing and altruism. The spirit of giving is pervasive.

I would not be standing before you if it was not for the employees and volunteers of Akhuwat working selflessly in 400 cities across Pakistan. I wish to thank all of you for your dedication, your commitment, and above all your faith when many would ridicule the concept of interest-free microfinance. You believed when others doubted. Turning a fool’s dream into a pragmatic reality. I thank the Akhuwat family which never breached our trust and made possible an unbelievable 100% rate of return that to date puzzles the economic pundits.

When you take on a family as large as Akhuwat, you cannot help but at times sacrifice the moments you could be spending with your own family. My wife, Farrukh, and my children Junaid, and Farazeen – it has been your continuous love that has given me the strength that I needed to carry forward this mission. It was your support and fortitude that have given me the inner peace to take on the turmoil outside. Thank you for sharing the weight on my shoulders by always standing by my side.

My heartfelt gratitude to the trustees of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation. It is my pledge on behalf of Pakistan, that we will continue our struggle till we reach our goal of a peaceful and poverty-free world.

To conclude, I would like to remember the man in whose honor we all are gathered here, the incomparable Ramon Magsaysay who said that a country is like a pyramid, like a tower. It is made up of millions of stones and the foundation stone of this pyramid is the common man.

Ladies and gentlemen, today, with immense appreciation I accept this Award on behalf of every foundation stone, on behalf of the common man and woman whose commitment and faith in goodness, piety, and in a prosperous future remains unshaken. I am grateful to be a part of the Magsaysay community, creating new bonds of solidarity with friends from Asia.

I believe the solution for poverty will be achieved by working in solidarity with the poor. Poverty is pain. Poverty is poison. We all remain poor until every single person in this world is poor. Let’s rise. Together, we will instill hope and become a voice for the voiceless.

For Timor Leste, centuries of colonial rule and decades of bitter civil strife have killed a third of the country’s population in its struggle to be a free and independent nation. It remains a fragile state, burdened by political dissension, violence, a weak economy, and widespread poverty.  This is a situation in which the work of civil society and ordinary citizens is urgent and invaluable.

MARIA DE LOURDES MARTINS CRUZ, widely known as MANA LOU,was born one of seven children of a well-to-do coffee planter in Liquica, Timor Leste.  Displaying an affinity for religious work as a child, she studied at a Jesuit institute in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, where she was exposed to the liberation theology of Gustavo Gutierrez and the pedagogy of Paulo Freire.  She then joined the Canossian Sisters congregation, but left before taking her final vows when she discerned that her personal vocation lay outside the convent walls.

In 1989, she founded Instituto Seculare Maun Alin Iha Kristu (ISMAIK), or Secular Institute of Brothers and Sisters in Christ, a lay institute of men and women dedicated to uplifting the poorest of the poor through projects in health care, education, farming, animal husbandry, and other self-help initiatives. MANA LOU carried out her work in the midst of Timor Leste’s tumultuous transition to independence in 2002,  when the Indonesian army occupied the country and fierce fighting broke out between pro-Indonesia and pro-independence Timorese militias.  Boldly crossing battle lines, she talked to Indonesian soldiers, warring militias, and refugees, spreading, by force of her spirit of solidarity, a gospel of love and peace.  She built a refuge in her father’s coffee estate in Dare, in the hills above Dili; in time this refuge would include a school for girls, orphanages, a home for the sick, and a place where people of opposing faiths and politics could find safety and peace.

From this beginning, ISMAIK has expanded to more than ten such houses across the country.  Called “schools of life” and led by ISMAIK members and volunteers, these houses serve, according to need, as centers for moral and spiritual formation, skills and livelihood training, care centers for tuberculosis patients and children with disabilities, and hubs for community participation.  In partnership with an American doctor, MANA LOU also established Bairo-Ata Clinic, a large, free clinic for the poor that averages 300 patients daily and is the nation’s largest provider of tuberculosis treatment.

Typically, however, ISMAIK’s initiatives are small-scale, needs-based, person-to-person, and practical.  They put the premium on values of self-reliance, the use of locally available resources such as the promotion of herbal medicine and food gardens, mutual help in projects such like labor-pooling for house construction,  and moral and spiritual formation.  MANA LOU says, “We see that Jesus was very simple.  He was impassioned, always ready to do something, ready to act.” “Hence,” she says, “people should take control: if a road needs fixing, we fix it; if someone needs help in farm work, we help.”

Transcending the ethnic, religious, and political divisions in Timorese society, MANA LOU is animated not only by her faith, but also by her love for her people and her conviction that building independent, productive, and ethical persons is fundamental in her country, where a sense of national identity and civic consciousness are as yet undeveloped. “Ours is a new nation,” she says. “It will need people to have a heart big enough to love and bodies prepared to do hard work.”

In electing MARIA DE LOURDES MARTINS CRUZ to receive the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her pure humanitarianism in uplifting Timor Leste’s poor, her courageous pursuit of social justice and peace, and her nurturing the development of autonomous, self-reliant, caring citizens, so vital in new, post-conflict nations in the world.

Greetings of peace, solidarity and fraternity to all! My honour and gratitude to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for selecting me to receive this award. I thank you, President Abella, and your team for your support. I was full of dreams growing up in a small village, blessed by family and nature in a coffee plantation. All those dreams were destroyed by war; war kills people in ways worse than animals. I started to revolt when I became a victim. But God led me to a different path.

During my retreat, I asked Him what should I do? In the stillness of Jesus’ suffering image, I heard a voice say: Why do you search for Me in the convent? You see, I suffered a lot in a remote area with poor, disadvantaged, illiterate and suffering people. They don’t have any support. I really need your help! This is the real secret of my life’s vocation.

Returning to East Timor after my studies, I was motivated to work, physically and spiritually, to establish IS-MAIK to serve the poor, even if I began with no funds.

It is not easy to find volunteers to solve social problems in rural areas. So we established branches with like-minded groups, places to empower poor and disadvantaged people like the youth, teach them the realities of life and educate them. We started schools for life, where people learn in a practical way and live with nature; in the process, they developed beliefs that made them work together to transform society. It is like building a house carefully one brick at a time.

We listen to poor people’s voices in times of difficulty and conflict. A genuine concern for the poor and marginalized motivated members and the IS-MAIK family, in a chaotic situation, to be unafraid to take risks, organize teams to bring people to safety and peace. We worked with the police, military and militias, and the international community so that they show respect for human rights. With support from civil and military authorities, IS-MAIK cared for refugees or displaced people to feel safe and respect life. We fed them, gave medical assistance to those in need and protection to those in danger or were “suspects”. We listened to those who experienced violence, helped them settle down with prayers and reflection. This is the work IS-MAIK had done, especially before the 1999 referendum.

With Dr. Daniel Murphy, IS-MAIK established Bairo Pite clinic in September 1999. We treat people using herbal and natural medicine until help from the international community and emergency teams arrive. This was the first clinic to respond to all emergency situations after the conflict, with the dedication and hard work of Dr. Dan and his staff. IS-MAIK intends to continue the clinic’s work, help people with tuberculosis, and children and mothers who lack nutrition. This IS-MAIK offers to the nation as part of its contribution to build a caring society.

I could not have done all the work and mission without the support of all my brothers and sisters. I cannot mention everyone by name—all your names are written in my heart, and I carry you on my shoulders. Our work and mission is not yet finished; there is still plenty to do, I continue to count on you all, so please come and help! God blessed you all.

Poverty eradication. Indigenous people’s rights. Social justice. Peace building. Each of these issues involves complex aspirations, seemingly intractable conflicts, radical implications. All are interconnected, elusive, yet crucial to building a progressive, inclusive society. In the Philippines, no one private citizen has been as directly engaged in addressing all these issues as HOWARD DEE.

DEE was born to a middle-class Chinese family engaged in the lumber business. Living in Tondo, Manila, working in a lumber yard while a student, and raised in the values of frugality, hard work, and concern for the poor, DEE developed his social sympathies early. After his studies at Manila’s University of the East, he carved out a successful business career as shareholder and president of United Laboratories (Unilab), a pioneering local pharmaceuticals company. Even then, his interest in social work was evident, when in 1970 he helped establish Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP), composed of business corporations, modeled after a Venezuelan initiative in which member-companies commit to donate 2% of their profits to social development. PBSP was a response to a deep political and economic crisis that would lead to the declaration of martial law in 1972.

This historical moment marked a crisis of conscience for DEE. He withdrew from Unilab; feeling that PBSP was “too little, too late,” he decided to commit himself wholly to the cause of social development. With Jesuit priest Francisco Araneta he founded Assisi Development Foundation (ADF) in 1975, a foundation that, invoking the saint who loved the poor and lived with them, seeks to “pursue peace through development with justice.”

Peace, development, and justice are the intertwined issues driving DEE and ADF. In over four decades of work, ADF has implemented 4,123 projects that have served 10.5 million Filipinos. It incubated ASA Philippines, established in 2004, that has become one of the largest, best-performing microfinance institutions in the country.  Working with the Catholic Church, ADF initiated Hapag-Asa, an integrated nutrition program that has fed 1.8 million children. During the period 1998-2002, DEE initiated a concerted response to life-threatening emergencies in Mindanao, southern Philippines, caused by drought and famine, people displaced in the armed conflict between Muslim separatists and the government, and the deportations of Filipinos from Sabah. Mobilizing a multisectoral task force of corporate, civil society, media, and church groups, the Tabang Mindanao (“Help Mindanao”) program provided over 2,000,000 families with food relief, shelter, water systems, farm support, and health and education assistance. Subsequently, ADF took up the cause of indigenous peoples (IP) rights through legislative advocacy, scholarships, leadership training, and IP development programs, like the innovative Pamulaan Center for Indigenous People’s Education in Mindanao.

DEE does not present himself as a “leader” but a “convenor” choosing to remain mostly invisible as he resolutely assembles people, institutions, and resources in addressing a societal problem. It is in this role that his impact has been far-reaching. He is a person who thinks strategically and works quietly but effectively, one whose dedication to social service and personal integrity are unquestioned. For this reason, he has been asked by government and civic leaders to lead peace-building and reform initiatives such as the National Peace Conference (1990-92), Social Reform Council (1993-95), Peace Talks with the Communist Party (1993-94), and the Bangsamoro Basic Law Peace Council (2015). That he did not shirk the challenge of facing the most intractable issues demonstrates his deep capacity for service. That he served five Philippine administrations in four different capacities shows the deep trust he enjoys across sectoral and party lines.

If DEE sees his many engagements as part of an integral whole, the work he does is also integral to the man. Deeply spiritual, DEE explains himself thus, “Loving others is an expression of being human. We can’t be human unless we are just.”

In electing HOWARD DEE to receive the 2018 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his quietly heroic half-century of service to the Filipino people, his abiding dedication to the pursuit of social justice and peace in achieving dignity and progress for the poor, and his being, by his deeds, a true servant of his faith and an exemplary citizen of his nation.

It is with a deep sense of profound gratitude, and unworthiness, that I receive this great and distinct honor, the Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2018. The accomplishments attributed to me, in truth, are not mine alone, but of many co-workers. We receive this Award on behalf of our Lord and Master for whom we work: the “Omnipotent One in Three”. He is our motivation and our inspiration, the source of our strength and the strength of our cause. All that we do is to follow His commands and do His holy will. Nothing is impossible for Him.

There are a number of people I wish to thank. First of all, my wife Betty and my family for their love, prayers and sacrifices to support and sustain my work. Then, I wish to thank the five presidents of the Philippine Republic who gave me their trust and the privilege to work for five administrations: their Excellencies, President Cory Aquino, President Fidel Ramos, President Joseph Estrada, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and President Benigno Simeon Aquino III.

There are many colleagues, associates and co-workers who gave me invaluable help in my social apostolate of 50 years. I wish to thank all of you: in public service, in the peace office, in foundation work and development agencies, local and international, for your dedication to the cause of the poor and for your work for justice, peace and development. Special thanks to our Catholic bishops, priests, religious and laity and to our Muslim brothers and indigenous peoples of the Philippines.

Some of you have written me: and I detect a general sense of discouragement and even despair during these difficult times. This is my advice: “Do not be discouraged. Do not despair. It is in the darkness that our lamps should be lit. It is in the darkness that we see the stars of heaven. The victory promised by our Blessed Mother at Fatima is near. Goodness and righteousness will triumph! Justice and peace will reign in our land.”

And finally, my heartfelt thanks to the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation for keeping alive the legacy of President Magsaysay’s greatness of spirit, so that “those who have less in life would have more in law.”

Mabuhay Ramon Magsaysay! Mabuhay Pilipinas, ang bayang magiliw! Aming ligaya na pag may mang-aapi ang mamatay ng dahil sa iyo!

Burdened by endemic poverty and a weak, corruption-ridden economy, the Philippines took a major shift in the 1990s when it pursued a policy of liberalized, export-led, globally competitive growth. A key component in this shift was the creation the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) to revive the country’s export processing zones, replacing the earlier agency which had failed dismally in boosting export-oriented investments. PEZA was placed under the leadership of a career public servant who, in over twenty-one years, has built the organization into a showcase of successful regulatory reform, a model institution of honest and committed public service, and a key contributor to the nation’s economic growth.

This public servant was LILIA B. DE LIMA. Born in Iriga City, Camarines Sur province, and raised in a family of public servants, her upbringing instilled in her the imperatives of integrity and the ideals of public service. Trained in law, she pursued a career in government, serving in various senior assignments until in 1995, she was asked to serve as PEZA’s first Director-General charged with promoting and regulating foreign investments in the country’s economic zones. Her first challenge was to regain the trust of investors grown skeptical of the country’s institutional capability and political will to spur economic growth. And her performance was ultimately to be measured by how increased investor trust would be converted into actual gainful employment for Filipinos nationwide.

Bucking tremendous pressures and threats, Director-General DE LIMA single-mindedly pursued a program of reform: she determinedly halved the bloated 1,000-person bureaucracy she had inherited from a system of political patronage; she developed PEZA’s work culture into one marked by honesty, efficiency and—quite literally—one-stop, nonstop service. Putting the right systems in place and leading by strict and consistent example, she gradually transformed a failed agency into a model of transparent, productive, and customer-friendly efficiency, one that the World Bank has cited for demonstrating “best practices” in ecozone management worldwide.

Under LILIA DE LIMA’s leadership, PEZA enabled the rise of the Philippines as one of the region’s top investment destinations. Among the radical policies that made this possible were a shift from government-financed to private sector-led ecozone development; streamlined 24/7 PEZA operations to reliably service global locators; investor-friendly regulations, purposeful interagency partnerships, and strengthened relations with local governments in the ecozones. Defying conventional wisdom, she successfully encouraged existing locators to expand operations despite the volatilities of the global economy.

During her term, PEZA’s accomplishments have been nothing short of spectacular. The number of PEZA ecozones increased by 2,000%, from the initial 16 she inherited to 343 by 2016; the number of registered enterprises rose from 331 to 3,756; investments reached PhP 3 trillion; and ecozone exports totaled US$ 629 billion. Also during DE LIMA’s tenure, PEZA remitted to the national treasury PhP 16.6 billion in corporate income taxes and dividends, and paid off the PhP 4.6 billion debt of its predecessor agency. What is most deeply gratifying to DE LIMA, who is acutely aware of the urgency of the problem of joblessness, is that PEZA has generated, in direct and indirect employment, some 6.3 million jobs for Filipinos.

In a world where there is rampant cynicism and real pain about how governments function, examples of public servants like DE LIMA and her PEZA team are especially impressive. And yet, reflecting on her career, she says: “I cannot solve the problems of the world but if in my own little area I can make a difference, then I must make that difference.” For all workers in government, it is a credo to follow.

In electing LILIA B. DE LIMA to receive the 2017 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her unstinting, sustained leadership in building a credible and efficient PEZA, proving that the honest, competent and dedicated work of public servants can, indeed, redound to real economic benefits to millions of Filipinos.

I thank the Lord for this significant milestone in my life. Thank you most sincerely, Ramon Magsaysay Awards Foundation, for recognizing my work at the Philippine Economic Zone Authority or PEZA. Truly, this is a blessing to be awarded for work I enjoyed doing. My 21 years at PEZA was a privilege as it was a commitment. It gave me the opportunity to serve my country and help generate employment for our people. Thanks to the investors, who trusted in our capability to ensure that their operations can be set up at the soonest time and at the least cost undertaken with the PEZA hallmark brand of service—“One-stop shop, non-stop shop, no red tape, and no corruption.”

It wasn’t all a walk in the park. We inherited an extremely bloated bureaucracy. Trimming the fat by 60% was a long, torturous, and emotionally-draining process. It was the most bruising experience in my public career. Everything was thrown at me, but we did not waver and we cleaned up. As we strengthened the organization, we also instituted sweeping structural and policy reforms to remain competitive and address the ever-changing investment climate. All these paid off. PEZA gradually transformed into clean and efficient organization with highly-motivated, hardworking professional individuals. And I hope, I hope, they will continue to be so.

Our mantra from day one is absolute honesty and utmost service in all our dealings with our stakeholders. I am proud to have worked with my PEZAns, and with them I shared this award. I must likewise thank the investors—many of them I see here tonight.

The question most often asked is how I survived 4 presidents of different political persuasions and management styles. My answer is simple: Do your job with integrity and professionalism, and the bottomline will show it. It’s the best credential you can have and the only endorsement you will need.

But tonight, we honor the beloved president Ramon Magsaysay, who believed that a high and unwavering sense of morality should pervade all spears of governmental activity. I am reminded of his words of wisdom that remains as relevant today. And he said, and I quote, “I believe the president should set up the example of a big heart, an honest mind, sound instincts, the virtue of healthy and patience, and an abiding love for the common man. Guns alone are not the answer. We must provide hope for young peoples, for better housing, clothing, and food. And if we do, the radicals will wither away.”

Ramon Magsaysay has given us that heartbeat for humanity. What we have all been awarded for is in rhythm with the pulse that gleans towards what is right, what is just, what is good, and what is free to make ours a better world. This singular award, its salience and substance, and the precious memory it stands for, I shall forever treasure.

Zakat (“charity”) is a cornerstone of the Islamic faith. It is the obligatory tax on an adult Muslim’s wealth, that is dedicated every year to helping the poor and needy. In Indonesia, with the largest Muslim population in the world, the potential of zakat for wealth distribution and social amelioration is huge. In 2015, the potential zakat collection was estimated at around three percent of Indonesia’s gross national product, or a total of at least USD28 billion. Yet, what was actually collected was only ten percent of this amount. The collection, management, and use of zakat have long been stymied by inefficiencies, corruption, and abuse. The government has worked to regulate zakat management but anxieties remain on questions of transparency, accountability, and effectiveness in serving the poor.

In 1993, Parni Hadi, editor-in-chief of the Indonesian newspaper Republika, started a modest zakat collection drive among the newspaper’s employees, that later expanded to include the paper’s readers and the general public. The results were so encouraging that Hadi and his colleagues formed DOMPET DHUAFA REPUBLIKA (DDR), or “Wallet of the Poor,” which was officially registered as a charity organization and zakat collector. With a strong sense of purpose, DDR sought to transform traditional zakat philanthropy for the poor from simple “charity” to “empowerment”—so that the poor could move from being dependent “recipients” of alms towards becoming wealth creators, and eventually “contributors” of alms themselves. So DDR moved zakat funds from customary practices of charitable giving to social development projects aimed at building self-reliant communities and capacitating the poor—Muslims and non-Muslims—through programs of economic assistance, health services, education and training, and diverse other activities.

Now independent of Republika and known simply as DD (short for “DOMPET DHUAFA”) the organization’s economic projects have included building public facilities, support for small and medium enterprises, farm production and marketing assistance, a bank providing preferential loans to the poor, and a training-and-support program that has upgraded the capacities of hundreds of microfinance groups in Indonesia. In the health sector, DD has established free clinics and a free, well-staffed, and well-equipped hospital for the poor that is the first of its kind in the country. In education, DD annually supports 400 poor university scholars; runs a free boarding high school for poor but deserving students; and operates a teacher training school, as well as a vocational and entrepreneurship center that trains a thousand people per year.

From the start, DD’s leaders have addressed the ills besetting the credibility and impact of the country’s zakat institutions: they scrupulously practice transparency and full accountability in their financial and governance systems, set and maintain professional standards in their zakat collection, and carefully target those in greatest need, and adopt marketing strategies that encourage and facilitate giving from Muslims within the country and elsewhere in the world. As a separate initiative DD has generously shared its expertise, training other zakat collection organizations to modernize their operations and professionalize the work of their zakat managers.

DOMPET DHUAFA has grown phenomenally to become the largest philanthropic organization in Indonesia today, in terms of donations received. In 2015, DD collected total donations equivalent to USD 20.2 million With offices in twelve Indonesian provinces and five foreign countries, DD’s 200 employees, and 10,000 volunteers have reached thirteen million beneficiaries as of 2015, of whom at least twenty percent have moved out of poverty. With the public trust it enjoys and its work in supporting other zakat organizations, DD continues to raise the level of zakat donations in Indonesia. But just as important, it has widened the space and opportunity for Indonesians, through zakat, to become “good Muslims.” It has created as well an inspiring model, for other nations and religions, of disciplined, sustainable faith-based development.

In electing DOMPET DHUAFA to receive the 2016 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes the organization and its leaders for redefining the landscape of zakat-based philanthropy in Indonesia, unleashing the potential of the Islamic faith to uplift, irrespective of their creed, the lives of millions.

We would like to convey our gratitude for the trust that Ramon Magsaysay Foundation has given to Dompet Dhuafa Republika in receiving this noble award, the Ramond Magsaysay Award 2016. I’m standing here today as the representative of Mr. Parni Hadi, our founder and chairman, who regrettably is unable to be present here this evening with us because he needs to have medical check-up as suggested by doctor.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have just obtained the information that Dompet Dhuafa Republika is chosen to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award last July. The news definitely overjoyed us and added to our bliss, since per July 2016 Dompet Dhuafa Republika has reached its 23 years of age working for the people of Indonesia and the World. On 2nd of July 1993, inspired by the struggle carried out by the Corps Dakwah Pedesaan who continuously made an effort to resolve social issues in the poor area of Gunung Kidul, the founder of Dompet Dhuafa, Mr Parni Hadi, who also publisher and editor in chief of Republika Daily Newspaper decided to establish a caring program for the poor. The program that materialized as a rubric in the Republika Daily Newspaper was named Dompet Dhuafa. It was in 1994 where DD was established as a foundation and officially named Dompet Dhuafa Republika, abbreviated as DDR or just DD. It is an independent foundation, separated from the Republika management and any other political organization. To all journalists in the Republika Daily Newspaper, the responsibility to take part in social mission was a form of implementation of the prophetic mission. This is called Prophetic Journalism.

Dompet Dhuafa in Indonesian literally means Wallet/Purse for the Poor. It also stands for Donation for Destitutes (Dhuafa). DD means Dignity and Devotion. We are trying to uplift the dignity of the Poor as an action of Devotion to Allah, God, the Almighty.
We present this award to DD- Destitutes and Donors as our thanks of honor. DD is a manifestation of Prophetic Journalism (Journalism of Love). DD is an organization of LOVE for all human beings and all creatures.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Dompet Dhuafa Republika has a strong ideal to encourage Zakat, Infaq, Shodaqoh and Waqf as one of solutions to resolve poverty problems and other social issues in Indonesia as a country with the largest Moslem population in the world. Dompet Dhuafa Republika attempts to develop a more professional zakat management so it can give more significant effect to the welfare of the people.

Since the starting of our endeavors in 1993, until today there are 128,000 donors that support Dompet Dhuafa’s activities. Their supports have given benefits to almost 13,000,000 poor people through 522 services, empowerment and advocacy programs in the field of economy, education, health and social. Yayasan Dompet Dhuafa has also been supported by dedications and sincerities of 10,000 volunteers. Dompet Dhuafa has opened branches and representative offices in 17 provinces in Indonesia and also in 5 countries. With no State territorial boundaries, Dompet Dhuafa Republika has also deployed a range of programs in 31 countries including taking part in helping the disasters victims in Illigan and Tacloban Philippine. With remarkable collaboration from various parties, it is worthy to be conveyed that the achievements accomplished by Dompet Dhuafa Republika are the results of hard-work, caring-work and the work of a lot of people since this organization was found.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we dedicate this award to all the poor people who have the passions and work-ethos to rise despite the limitations. We also would like to present this award to donors both individuals and institutional who have earnestly lend a hand and move together to lift up the dignity of the poor. We also wish to dedicate this award to all actuators of zakat institutions and social organizations to continue strengthening their devotions in creating a better society.

Over half a century of war and authoritarian rule has ravaged Laos, resulting in large-scale destruction, loss of lives, and a country that remains one of the world’s poorest. Yet it is a testament to the Laotian people that despite all this, here greatness of the human spirit has not been extinguished.

Born into a farming family, KOMMALY CHANTHAVONG lived through all her country’s tragedies. Losing her father in the Indochina War, she was a refugee at age thirteen, walking barefoot over six hundred kilometers from her village in eastern Laos to Vientiane to escape the bombings during the Vietnam War. Through sheer perseverance, she pursued her studies in Vientiane and in 1966 earned a nursing diploma; in 1972 she married and raised a family. After the communist takeover of Vientiane, life was extremely difficult and she had to walk long distances from village to village buying and selling goods between Laos and Thailand.Through these turbulent changes, one thing remained constant for KOMMALY—her love for silk weaving, which she learned from her mother when she was only five years old; in fact, fleeing her village in 1961 all she took with her were heirloom pieces of woven silk handed down from her grandmothers. In Vientiane, seeing war-displaced, rural women in desperate need of work, she used her meager savings to buy looms, and in 1976 started in her home a weaving group of ten women, whom she called the “Phontong Weavers.”

Thus began KOMMALY’s valiant efforts to help women earn a living and revive Lao silk weaving, a deeply esteemed tradition rapidly disappearing because of the convulsions of war. Her original group grew to become Phontong Handicraft Cooperative—a network of Lao artisans now spanning thirty-five villages and connecting over 450 artisans. Impressed by her success, the Lao government leased to KOMMALY in the early 1980’s forty-two hectares of land in northeast Laos for use as a silk farm. It was barren, heavily bombed-out land, littered with unexploded landmines that KOMMALY and her group had to personally dig out before they could start planting trees. This has since become Mulberries Organic Silk Farm, dedicated to the revival of Lao silk production, with hectares planted to mulberry trees, specially-built temperature-controlled buildings to house all stages of silk production, a large garden providing raw materials for natural dyeing, and a cattle-raising area producing manure as organic fertilizers. Since its establishment, the farm has trained over a thousand farmers and weavers and has created over three thousand jobs.

But KOMMALY’s initiatives went even further. In 1990 she started Camacrafts, a non-profit project that markets traditional Lao and Hmong handicrafts, working with hundreds of women in twenty villages. Three years later, she created Mulberries, a social enterprise that initiates income-generating projects around traditional arts and crafts, including the production of mulberry tea, wine, and soap. More than two thousand villagers in five provinces have benefitted from this. In 1993, the Lao Sericulture Company was launched to oversee and manage KOMMALY’s many initiatives. Her amazing work has covered the whole cycle of silk production, from growing mulberry trees, raising silkworms, creating natural dyes, to training, research, provision of tools, and local and international marketing of highly-prized handmade silk items. Despite numerous adversities, she has traversed villages to personally teach and encourage weaving, and to patiently set up silk houses where young women and men can weave world-class products. The soft-spoken KOMMALY says of her decades-long work, “Our goal is to strengthen the position of women by giving them a dependable income and thus improve the chances of their children.” Clearly, she has done this—and much more.

In electing KOMMALY CHANTHAVONG to receive the 2015 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes her fearless, indomitable spirit to revive and develop the ancient Laotian art of silk weaving, creating livelihoods for thousands of poor, war-displaced Laotians, and thus preserving the dignity of women and her nation’s priceless silken cultural treasure.

I am very happy on this occasion to accept the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award. It is a great honor for myself and all my co-workers in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). This distinguished award will light the way into the future of our work, and will give energy and strength to the small community of silk producers that I lead.

In the past women in remote rural villages, in mountainous regions like the place where I was born, did not have the same rights as men because women were only given the responsibility of raising children and doing household work. In those days women had limited opportunities for education, and were, therefore, unable to contribute to the family by earning money the way men did. But producing silk and weaving were ways with which women could make money to assist in caring for their families. This gave them a voice with which to speak to men regarding their families and communities; slowly this livelihood raised the status of women in our society.

Silk production and weaving are the proud ancient knowledge of Lao women, and many rural women passed on this knowledge from mother to daughter for many generations. Lao women have a responsibility to guard and develop this wonderful cultural heritage.

Silk production and weaving have created livelihoods for young women in their rural villages, thus reducing the need to flee to large towns and cities in search of work. In these places, many of them are at risk in so many ways.

The things you are hearing from my heart about the rights of women, the effort to preserve the proud heritage of silk handicrafts, and the flight of women to the cities to find work—these are all things that have motivated me to pour all my abilities—body and soul—into establishing this small concern that I have led since 1976.

It is my observation that the handicraft production that my co-workers and I are supporting has reduced the destruction of our forests caused by slash-and-burn upland rice farming. This is also protecting our water resources for developing agricultural production, in accordance with the policy of the Lao PDR government, which has called on all sectors to implement with urgency.

My co-workers, the villagers, and I are working with energetic enthusiasm to build an auspicious stairway on which we hope our future efforts will ascend until we achieve the lofty goals we have set for ourselves. It is the responsibility of our young people—especially our young Lao women—to take up the role of continuing this enterprise.

The strength and generous hearts of hardworking young women in this effort may encounter difficulty, so the cooperative assistance of the Lao Party and government, private citizens, international organizations, NGOs and other organizations will be needed. These young women will need our financial investment, our collective wisdom, and our technical expertise to help them continue our courageous endeavor.

We confidently believe that a good quality of life—and lasting security for individuals, families and communities—will require the support of the people from within Laos and all those with hearts to help, who will together build a new and bright generation that understands their responsibility for the future of their community.

Finally, I want to again express my deep gratitude to the president of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation and the foundation’s trustees for choosing to honor me with this distinguished award. Thank you!

It is a truism that it takes a village to raise a child. But it seems equally true that it takes just one person to launch this collective process of education. In the Philippines, where a public school system has been in place for over a century, many communities remain either unserved or underserved. Where physical access is difficult and dangerous, government’s presence weak and facilities are meager, and people are too poor to even claim an education, the work of public school teachers is nothing less than heroic, and yet largely goes unheralded.

This is the story of thirty-one-year-old RANDY HALASAN, a teacher in Pegalongan Elementary School, serving the indigenous Matigsalug tribe living in one of the remotest villages in the mountainous hinterland of Davao City. To reach Pegalongan from his family’s home in the city takes HALASAN seven hours of travel—two hours by bus, an hour over extremely rough roads by habal-habal motorcycle, four hours of walking, and crossing the waters of two treacherous rivers. When HALASAN first arrived in Pegalongan in 2007, he was one of only two teachers in a two-room schoolhouse, teaching multi-grade classes between Grades 1 and 6. There was no electricity, amenities were primitive, and the place was virtually cut off from communication with the outside world. The young novice teacher’s first thought was that he would seek a reassignment out of the place the first chance he could get.

But today, seven years later, he is still in Pegalongan. Moved by compassion for the children who have to walk miles and cross rivers just to get to school, and who often fall asleep in class from hunger and fatigue, and driven by a sense of duty to help the impoverished and defenseless forest tribals against the encroachments of powerful outsiders, HALASAN has embraced the Matigsalug community as his own. He has turned down offers for reassignment, and his family often does not see him for many weeks on end.

Assuming as head teacher in 2010, HALASAN proactively lobbied with higher authorities to expand the Pegalongan school. What was once a two-room, two-teacher schoolhouse is now a permanent school with nine rooms, eight teachers, and 210 students. Through his representation, a cultural-minority high school has been established, with HALASAN as teacher-in-charge. Convinced that education is key to the Matigsalug’s survival in a changing world, he has convinced parents to keep their children in school; discouraged the customary practices of early and arranged marriages; and promoted values of self-help and egalitarianism in the community.

Recognizing that poverty is the community’s fundamental problem, HALASAN has taken his advocacy beyond the classroom. He says, “If I only focus on education, nothing will happen; the children will continue to go hungry.” Envisioning a food-sufficient community, he inspired his fellow-teachers to donate seeds and encouraged the villagers to plant fruit trees and vegetables. Working with the Pegalongan Farmers Association, he accessed assistance from private organizations and government agencies. Prodded and encouraged by his leadership, Pegalongan farmers now have a collectively-owned rice-and-corn mill, a seed bank, a cattle dispersal project, and horses for transporting their farm products. The village is also now participating in a government forest rehabilitation program which by 2014 will have a hundred forested hectares, with the Matigsalug of Pegalongan as stewards and beneficiaries. And HALASAN’s youthful graduates are helping their elders protect their future and the legal rights to their ancestral domain.

According to oral tradition, the word Pegalongan means ‘the place from which the light shines.’ Because of one highly motivated civil servant, the village has become truly what its name suggests. Explaining his motivation, HALASAN says quite simply; “No one got rich out of teaching; it’s your legacy that matters.”

In electing RANDY HALASAN to receive the 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership, the board of trustees recognizes his purposeful dedication in nurturing his Matigsalug students and their community to transform their lives through quality education and sustainable livelihoods, doing so in ways that respect their uniqueness and preserve their integrity as indigenous peoples in a modernizing Philippines.

Almost all of us experience a lot of struggles in life. Even my college life was an uphill battle. When my father died, I had to pursue my education by working part time. My dream was to become a lawyer or a doctor but due to limited financial resources, I therefore studied teaching. Now, looking back on my life, there must have been a reason for this career choice—I was meant to be with the Matigsalog tribe of Pegalongan in Davao City. On January 8, 2007, as a newly appointed public school teacher, I was sent to Pegalongan Elementary School, the farthest school in all of Davao City—inaccessible, poor, and isolated from any communication. At that time, we were only two teachers handling all the grade levels.

I told myself I had to transfer immediately; I knew I would not be happy there. But as the days passed—when I saw the poverty in the community, when I saw in the people’s eyes and gestures that they needed me—I began to love who they are and their simple lives. When we held the school’s first-ever graduation ceremonies, it was so memorable because I saw the happiness in the eyes of both the students and their parents. The Matigsalog elders openly cried when they witnessed the program: they never imagined their children could finish elementary education, given Pegalongan’s remoteness and isolation.

Since then, we have been able to increase the number of teachers and school facilities, among other improvements. We opened a secondary school that benefits not only the Matigsalog of Davao City but also those from Bukidnon, a neighboring province. Still, I was not happy, seeing my hungry students and their impoverished families. Even though I was already school-in-charge by 2010, I realized that I could not concentrate only on formal education. I decided to extend my work to the community so they could learn to make their ancestral land productive. I learned to work with the people of Pegalongan to plant crops like cacao, rubber, coffee and fruit trees. The tribe is now practicing multi-cropping to become food sufficient. Hundreds of malibago plants were planted along the river to protect us from soil erosion and flood.

My vision for the Matigsalog in Pegalongan is to uplift their lives from poverty. This was also the vision of the late President Magsaysay who showed his passion and commitment to serve everyone equally, and to ensure justice to all Filipinos.

I never expected to receive a prestigious award such as the Ramon Magsaysay Award. This is an extraordinary award, and it makes me feel very happy and fulfilled. For me, being a Magsaysay awardee is not about becoming popular; rather, it is a strong call to have greater passion, to serve our fellow Filipinos, and to become a true role model and inspiration for others. Rich or poor, I believe there are no limitations in helping our fellowmen, especially the poor. Nobody got rich from the teaching profession, but a teacher like me gets rich from sharing knowledge, values, and positive attitudes to the community.

I would like to recognize those who have given their effort and support to my vision for Sitio Pegalongan: my co-teachers, the Davao City government, field officers in the education, agriculture and environment agencies, other generous partners in our development efforts. My deep gratitude also goes to the people of Pegalongan—sitio officials, tribal elders, our students and their families—they believed in our vision of an educated and food-sufficient community. Special thanks to my former District Supervisor Ms. Ava Marie Santiago, to Bato Balani Foundation and to the media who put public attention to our work. Also, it is impossible for me to fully express my gratitude to my family, whose unconditional love and acceptance has encouraged me through all the frustrations and dangers. Above all, to our almighty God, whose guiding hand has always given me the strength to go on.

I truly believe that we can build a strong Philippines. If we open our hearts to serve the people without expecting any personal returns, whatever challenges and obstacles we experience, we can overcome all of these if we are determined, patient, and hardworking.

Mabuhay po ang mga Pilipino! Mabuhay po ang mga gurong Pilipino!

Pakistan, says the UNESCO, has the world’s second highest number of children who are out of school—around five and a half million, some 66 percent of them girls. It can also be a dangerous place for education, being one of those countries seriously challenged by religious extremism. The shooting of Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai in 2012 and the abduction of 276 schoolgirls in Nigeria just this year has appalled the world. But shocking as these events are, the problem is even broader than the cases may suggest, since the denial of education is caused as well by widespread poverty and the stark deficit in government spending on education.

In 1995, a group of six Pakistani business leaders and executives decided they could not just sit back and watch the country’s educational system deteriorate and thus leave the country’s poor trapped in the vicious cycle of poverty. They needed to mobilize investments in education, and deciding at the outset that they could not ask for private sector support unless they put in their own money first, they built five schools contributing their own personal funds. They launched THE CITIZENS FOUNDATION (TCF) as a nonprofit organization, declaring as its mission “to remove barriers of class and privilege” through affordable, quality education and “to make the citizens of Pakistan agents of positive change.”

From the outset, TCF had a clear vision of the schools it would build: well-designed and fully-equipped buildings with a capacity for 180 students at the elementary level and 360 at the secondary level; located in poor districts, whether urban or rural; open to all, but maintaining a 50/50 balance of boys and girls; professionally managed by well-trained teachers.

To assure quality, TCF has adopted an improved version of the government-mandated curriculum; develops its own books and instructional materials; and runs intensive pre-service and in-service programs for its teachers in its two teacher training centers. To assure access by the poor, tuition fees are low and costs are heavily subsidized, with 100 percent of TCF students covered by full or partial scholarships. Books and uniforms for the children are provided free.

TCF’s success has been spectacular. From its initial five schools and eight hundred students in 1996, the TCF network has now grown to one thousand schools, spread over a hundred towns and cities, with over 145,000 students in attendance, and guided by 7,700 teachers and principals. Consistent with TCF’s expressed desire to open up employment opportunities for women, all the teachers in their schools are women. Academically, TCF students have a 92 percent passing rate, higher than the national average of 56 percent, in the Matric Test required to earn their Secondary School Certificates.

All this has become possible through a well-conceived portfolio of donor packages that taps corporate sponsors, and tens of thousands of individual donors— particularly among the Pakistani diaspora—through TCF chapters in seven countries outside Pakistan. This fund mobilization has been greatly aided by TCF’s corporate-style management system, an impressive track record in the academic results of TCF students, and by its reputation for transparency, accountability, and efficiency. TCF has successfully tapped a vital wellspring of civic responsiveness among Pakistanis, and hopes that its example will be followed by other groups. As one of its founders says, “This project belongs to the people of Pakistan. It’s for them to sustain. We have to learn to stand up and solve our problems.”

In electing THE CITIZENS FOUNDATION to receive the 2014 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes the social vision and high-level professionalism of its founders and those who run its schools, in successfully pursuing their conviction that, with sustained civic responsiveness, quality education made available to all— irrespective of religion, gender, or economic status—is the key to Pakistan’s brighter future.

It is immensely humbling and an absolute honor to stand here before you and accept the Ramon Magsaysay Award on behalf of my organisation, The Citizens Foundation (TCF). Thank you. We are humbled to be included amongst reputed personalities and be the first organization in Pakistan to receive this award.

In Pakistan, dinner table conversations in which one bemoans the current state of the country and its future prospects are all too common. People’s concerns are, at least, partly valid; Pakistan has a politically volatile landscape, and paltry public expenditure, amongst other challenges. But truth be told, we see that there is much more good than bad in this world. In the face of our country’s problems, there are innumerable people and NGOs working towards a better Pakistan. Nineteen years ago, our journey, too, started with a similar conversation. Inspired by a belief that the root cause of Pakistan’s problems stem from the lack of education, we resolved to establish quality schools in lesser privileged parts of the country. What started off as a vision to build a thousand schools, over the past nineteen years, garnered a kind of support that we had never imagined; we are constantly humbled by the scores of people, both at home and abroad, supporting our dream.

As the largest private provider of education in Pakistan, we feel a certain sense of pride at how far we’ve come—how far our students, staff, teachers, supporters, and donors, have brought TCF. Today, thousands of children are off the streets and in TCF’s primary and secondary schools. But despite recently reaching our milestone of one thousand schools, the journey ahead remains long—while some of our students have been admitted into Pakistan’s best higher education business and management institutes, many more children, in lesser privileged parts of the country, remain to be educated. We dream to see a day where no child, in Pakistan or elsewhere, should be deprived of a quality education, where regardless of their socio-economic backgrounds; children everywhere have equal opportunities to develop, academically and otherwise. We owe all our success so far to God, who blessed us with a wonderful family of supporters who keep our organisation running, and our amazing students who prove to be a daily motivation for this work.

It is a great honor for us to join the list of illustrious, inspiring, and untiring individuals and organisations that have been conferred the Ramon Magsaysay Award, and we are excited for the host of opportunities that this award will bring with it.

India is a veritable laboratory of social experiments in poverty alleviation and people empowerment. There are spectacular successes as well as uncounted failures. In what succeeds can often be found the story of one person’s self-sacrificing, innovative, and driven by an extraordinary passion to lift people from poverty and suffering.

One such person is KULANDAI FRANCIS. Born to a poor family in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu, he was the only one of his siblings to go to university. FRANCIS carried with him two indelible memories of his early years: his parents sacrificing their only piece of land so he could attend university, and his mother being cheated by moneylenders out of what little she had. Resolved to live a life of service, he joined the Fathers of the Holy Cross in 1970 and, during his novitiate, found some fulfillment in doing volunteer work among people struck by famine or displaced by war. When he went to live in Natrampalayam, a remote and impoverished part of Krishnagiri district, he had the life-changing experience of sharing in both the people’s miseries and their dreams. He decided to give up being a priest to devote himself wholly to social work.

In 1979, he began the Integrated Village Development Project (IVDP) in Krishnagiri, starting out with small projects: conducting a night school in the light of gas lamps, setting up a first-aid center. Then, with the help of development organizations, he undertook a micro-watershed program that, over twenty-two years, built 331 mostly small check dams benefitting cultivators and their families in sixty villages. And still, FRANCIS was not content. He knew he needed to do something that could be sustained for the long term, even without external assistance.

The breakthrough came with the women’s self-help groups (SHGs) that IVDP began organizing in 1989. These savings-and-credit groups have grown into an all-women movement of 8,231 SHGs with 153,990 members, with total savings of equivalent to US$40 million, a cumulative loan portfolio of equivalent to US$435 million, and a reserve fund of US$8.9 million. What impresses is not just IVDP’s scale. The program has become a financially disciplined, self-reliant, member-owned, and member-managed organization; the group’s solidarity and access to credit have fueled successful village programs in health and sanitation, housing, livelihood, and children’s education, including scholarships, performance-based incentives for students and schools, a primary school for tribal children, and a computer training academy that has, to date, trained some 5,000 children.

FRANCIS has accomplished this using an approach that has broken through the financial limits of traditional microfinance approaches. Organized into clusters and federations, SHGs are directly linked to banks through group accounts, bulk deposits, and loans that have given the SHGs the power to leverage preferential bank treatment. At the same time, the women have won respect by demonstrating that the poor can manage their finances effectively and reliably.

In large part, all this has come to pass because, as FRANCIS believes, “when people want to do something, they can.” Despite his organization’s spectacular growth, FRANCIS continues to inspire by example, living a simple life with the people he is serving. A missionary in the truest sense, he muses, “Real happiness comes when I see people developing, children are improving, and suffering is removed.”

In electing KULANDAI FRANCIS to receive the 2012 Ramon Magsaysay Award, the board of trustees recognizes his visionary zeal, his profound faith in community energies, and his sustained programs in pursuing the holistic economic empowerment of thousands of women and their families in rural India.

The response from my heart is thanks for the recognition of IVDP through this award to me. When the award was announced I was unaffected. But a few hours later, a flurry of calls came in from all quarters, lavishing appreciation following media reports of the award. This was followed by interviews with the press and TV channels. Congratulations poured into my e-mail box. People queued up in my office to felicitate me.

I began to understand the meaning of this award to the society around me. Then I slowly woke up to the multitude of appreciation that brought to light the significance of work done in one corner of Tamil Nadu. Thanks to the foundation’s trustees for their gigantic task in scanning across India and locating IVDP’s work for recognition.

The road which I passed through was not one of roses; it was instead full of thorns. It was not easy for me to realize my objective. This honor acknowledges IVDP’s poverty alleviation programs and the sustainable solutions it found to the problems of people who faced drought that forced them to migrate in search of livelihood.

The uniqueness of IVDP is that it is for the people, by the people and of the people, where the lives of SHG members are secured, savings are safe, and loans are available at affordable cost. It is member-focused, member-owned, autonomous and with a built-in system that ensures higher percentage of repayment. Success goes to our women members who proved that the community can be transformed by them through savings and livelihood creation, through mutual cooperation and understanding.

I’m happy to place on record the fact that IVDP had changed the outlook of banks towards women in the villages. Inaccessible credit became accessible to the so-called “ineligible” poor women. Creditworthiness in turn groomed them as reliable clients. Now they are regarded as first-rate clients by the banks. Thus, our model is sustained by our women in the process of IVDP’s ongoing activities.

At this juncture, I wish to express my thanks to many-my special thanks-to my parents, the Fathers of the Holy Cross, my life partner and the IVDP team for their constant support and encouragement in sustaining my motivation in my work.

I would like to sum up my IVDP experience by asserting a fact of life, that is “to give toiling people an appropriate opportunity and they will multiply the outputs in several folds.” The requirement at present is not praying lips, but a bona fide helping hands.

I would like to accept this award and the honor and credit that goes with it on behalf of IVDP’s 150,000 women members who are the real pillars behind the organization’s landmark achievements.

My final word of response to this award is….Nandri (thank you) for the recognition to IVDP’s women!