The non-profit group Educate Girls has won the Ramon Magsaysay Award. This award is very important and is sometimes called Asia’s Nobel Prize. The group received this honor for its success in helping millions of out-of-school girls go back to school. It is the first non-profit from India to get this award, which recognizes its work in changing education in villages.

Working on an Important Problem
Safeena Husain started Educate Girls in 2007. The group was founded on the idea that every girl should be able to go to school. The group works in parts of India where it is hardest for girls to get an education. In these areas, many girls do not go to school because of poverty, family duties, or because families think it is more important to educate boys.

Educate Girls works to solve this problem with a special model. The model uses computer data and work within the community. The group uses technology to find villages where the most girls are not in school. After finding a village, a group of local volunteers called Team Balika begins to work.

How They Help Girls
The community volunteers are the main reason for the group’s success. These local people go to every house in the village. They talk to parents and community leaders about why it is important for girls to get an education. They build trust and help change old ideas that stop girls from going to school. Through their work, they have helped enroll over 2.1 million girls in school.

The group also works to improve the quality of learning in schools. It has a learning program called “Pragati.” This program uses special learning kits with activities to help girls improve their basic reading and math skills. This has led to big improvements in learning. Girls in this program learn 25-30% more in one year than other students. This work makes sure that girls not only go to school but also learn well while they are there.

The Ramon Magsaysay Award shows that this way of working is successful. By giving the award to Educate Girls, the foundation is recognizing a method that works and can be used in other places. This award is a win for the group and for the millions of girls who now have a better future because of education. It shows that when a community works together, real change can happen.