Sahyog (CHEHAK TRUST) has won the Edelgive Social Innovation Honours 2010 award for the education category. This competition involved 280 organisations who applied in various categories and a three stage selection process. We had showcased our girls’ programme – including both the academic programme and the life-skills programme as an innovation which has resulted in lasting change in the educational, employment and empowerment status of young women in the communities where we work. This change is sustained and perpetually renewed by the actions of our alumni, who influence their families, their younger siblings and friends and their neighbourhood. In communities, where girls were never seen in public, now no one takes any notice of adolescent girls going to school, organising events, doing community work or going off to work to their offices. Sahyog’s greatest achievement is that the unthinkable has become the ordinary!

This award is undoubtedly a tribute to the hundreds of girls who made Sahyog what it is by taking for granted that they can make change, with much singing and dancing, but without making much of a ‘song and dance’ about it.

And it is also a fitting reward for all the hard work put in by the entire team.

Archana, who painstakingly drafted the first application, writing it with great feeling and conviction.

Bharati, who checked and rechecked the databases tirelessly to give us the valuable statistics, which made our presentation so unique and precise.

Farzana, who spoke eloquently about her experiences as a teacher and then life-skills trainer in Sahyog, during the jury presentation, in 1 ½ minute!

Teachers, Bilkis, Jabeen, Gazala, Sameena, Sweety, Lovely and Gulnaz, who sifted through years of musters, to track the alumni for the alumni function via the still alive and flourishing grapevine.

Other colleagues at Sahyog, Laxmi, Asiya, Rabiya, Mehshar, Sajida who have played as great a role in shaping the girls’ education through the health, life-skills and disability rehabilitation programmes.

There are many others to thank – not because we won the award, but because they are always there for us, award or no award.

Manisha Gupte, Anil Pilgaonkar, Aruna and Prakash Burte, Padma Deosthali and Saramma Matthew, whose goodwill, efforts and faith in Sahyog is keenly felt and deeply appreciated

Our funders, Asha for Education who have been patient and committed to Sahyog for so many years, seeing us through the many ups and downs that we have experienced in a spirit of friendship that we value very much.

The MacArthur Foundation Leadership Programme, which provided the two year fellowship that helped to build the foundation of our model of adolescent education.

The Bombay Community Public Trust and Barrington Education Initiative, which have provided resources for building a community learning centre which helped to enrich the programme at the right time.

And lots of personal friends whose good wishes have seen us through all our struggles.

We hope to utilise the opportunity provided by this award to give Sahyog a new direction and more strength, reaching out to more girls in different ways and different communities.