Today is International Women’s Day – a day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world and we join in this celebration as we pursue PAWA’s goals for the education of teenage girls in Asia. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our project partners and PAWA volunteers who serve on the PAWA Projects Committee. We rely on your support to make a difference for PAWA girls.
On the 4th of March we held the PAWA Annual Meeting at WTW’s offices in central London, a wonderful opportunity to showcase our projects and celebrate our joint efforts. Reports from PAWA Trustees and team leaders were followed by an update on our projects this year as outlined in the list below. As always, we were able to hear in more depth from several projects. Both JMB, our partner in Nepal, and One Sky in Thailand prepared videos for the meeting and though very different projects, we gained a fascinating glimpse into the lives of some of our PAWA girls and their aspirations and achievements. JMB’s video included messages from two of our SJMF scholars in Nepal, who are making the most of their University education and already thinking about giving back.
We were delighted that Lori Carlson, President and co-founder of the Ponheary Ly Foundation in Cambodia, was able to attend the meeting in person and give a presentation on the changing direction of their secondary education programmes. This has led to a change in our support and we are excited we can continue our partnership with the Foundation.
This spring we will be accepting applications for 2025, the start of a new two-year funding cycle. We are always interested in new projects which meet our charitable objectives, so if you know of a remarkable project in Asia that is supporting the education of teenage girls, please do get in touch.
Thank you for your continued support of PAWA.
Sheila Clarke, Chair of PAWA Projects Committee
GLIMPSES FROM THE ANNUAL MEETING
PAWA FUNDED PROJECTS 2024
Last year we supported 11 projects in 7 countries and in 2024 we are continuing to work with our partners as we encourage educational opportunities for over 2,200 teenage girls in Asia. Our projects are:
Gulshan Park High School in Lahore, supported through Care Pakistan, with 1061 teenage girls on the register.
Home of Peace residential centre in Kuala Lumpur where we fund Bahasa Malaysia lessons for ten girls, in addition to exam fees with support from Euroclear.
JMB Educational Fund in Nepal where we support 11 girls at the Aruna Bhawan Social Services Centre.
Our partner in India, Karuna Trust, now supports two projects with PAWA funds. Local partner Nishtha in West Bengal helps 800 girls while a secondary project with local partner Nirman works with 124 teenage girls from Nomadic and Denotified Tribes in Pune, Maharashtra.
Learning for Life in Bangladesh supports vocational programmes for 60 girls on two boats working with local partner POPI.
We support two strands of work with Meider Jonno Asha – “Hope for Girls” in Dhaka — the original schools programme and a secondary project to encourage more girls to go onto college, which altogether supports 18 girls in Bangladesh.
One Sky Foundation in Thailand will be working with 125 girls and their families to ensure they stay in education as long as possible.
One of our longest standing partners, Ponheary Ly Foundation is operating the last year of the Siem Reap Dormitory and while supporting the last four dormitory girls we will also be starting a new secondary school scholarship programme for 25 girls in rural areas to live at home whilst maintaining their aspirations for further and higher education.
Final intake at Ponheary Ly Foundation dormitory, Cambodia
PAWA CHAMPIONS
Nanda Khiara is an artist, writer, speaker and storyteller, whose work has been shown at prestigious events such as the Florence Biennale and the London Art Biennale. She is deeply committed to philanthropy, particularly in the areas of children’s welfare and gender equality. She has collaborated with various organisations and NGOs worldwide, including serving as a trustee for Kids Company and as a VP for Charity at AWC Mumbai Chapter.
Nanda will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the sale of paintings from her upcoming solo show at the Nehru Centre, and we are honoured that she has chosen PAWA as her charity of choice.
Please do go to the show and support our PAWA Champion!
Opening night – 18th of March
Reception 6pm-8pm
OPENING NIGHT LINK TO RSVP
Wednesday coffee morning with refreshments 11am-1pm
Thursday high tea with refreshments 3pm-5pm
PANEL TALK LINK “ARTIST’S JOURNEY THROUGH MINDFULNESS“
Exhibition runs daily
19th-22nd March from 10am-6pm
Ati Kisjanto, a former member of the PAWA Management Committee and a long-standing PAWA supporter, is showing her work at a group photo exhibition called “Immortalised” at Putney Library, which runs until the 29th of March. We are thrilled that she is planning to donate part of the proceeds from the sale of framed photos and greeting cards to PAWA!
Below is a selection of her work and details on the exhibition.
We would also like to remind you that you can raise funds for PAWA when you shop online.
To register, just click on the following link:
https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/support-a-good-cause/step-1/?char=114920
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Pan Asian Women’s Association
620A Kings Road
London, England SW6 2DU
United Kingdom
Charity no. 1148405
