Surya Nepal awards social entrepreneurs

The Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award has been awarded today evening to five social entrepreneurs for the first time.
Surya Nepal has recognised the contribution of the ordinary people that have made changes in the society.
Ram Sapkota of Mountain Delights Treks and Expedition and Tukee Nepal, Jyamrung — for the impact that has been made in Jyamrung, Dhading with projects range from eco toilets, micro hydro electricity, and health to education; Sabita Maharjan of Kirtipur Hosiery for her contribution in cooperative that she started along with Kirtipur Hosiery that has generated employment making women financially independent; Shyam Badan Yadav of Kalash Milk Industry, Dhorey Village, Parsa for providing income generating sources through milk collection centre he has established and by distributing free livestock — some 39 to start with and increasing to 100 in 1.5 months — to poor people in the village of Dhorey and neighbouring villages; Vijaya Develoment Resource Centre of Nawalparasi for its contribution in mainstreaming different dimensions of development under one umbrella encompassing education, media, microfinance and various other thematic areas following its vision of an equitable, affluent and self reliant society; Chhahari Services of Kathmandu that caters to women with no skills to generate income by empowering them through capacity building and income generating trainings were honoured with the awards.
"There are many ordinary people doing extraordinary work to create social, environmental and economic value," the organiser said, adding that the five winners have been recognised for their achievements and should encourage others to follow these examples of individuals creating value for the people, planet and profit.
The vision of the award is not only to celebrate the hidden heroes for their great initiatives but also to showcase their ventures and the impact they have made.
"After an intense process of short listing amongst 66 applicants, to narrow it down to the winners, ventures were physically visited to verify all relevant information and documents," the organisers added.
The winners will each get a package which includes a cash prize of Rs 1000,00 from Surya Nepal along with the opportunity of networking through ChangeFusion Nepal.
Each of the winners will have to disclose how the funds will be used and the money will be handed over by ChangeFusion Nepal. Updates on each of the winning ventures will be regularly posted on the ChangeFusion Nepal Social Media sites as well as the website. Surya Nepal Asha Social Entrepreneurship Award 2011 is sponsored by Surya Nepal, organised by ChangeFusion Nepal and supported by NBI.