Social entrepreneurs around the world
There are many examples of social entrepreneurs who contribute to a better world for children.
In the Dunga village near Lake Victoria in Kenya, a boy named Ferdinan died of AIDS when he was still a child. But his idea, that mothers should unite to take care of children orphaned because of aids, still lives on. For more than ten years, a group of women who call themselves Dunga mothers have joined forces to fight for the rights of orphans. Although they themselves live in poverty, they have given 70 orphaned children a new home, food, water, schooling, care and love. The mothers support their cause through selling their own locally produced foods.
In Zimbabwe Betty Makoni saves girls from child labor, forced marriages, trafficking and sexual abuse. She has helped and inspired thousands of girls who have grown into independent young women, with different professions, some of them holding leading positions around the world. They in turn inspire the next generation of girls to demand their rights, have a say and succeed against all odds.
Mary Gordon is an internationally recognized educator, author and parenting expert from Canada who have created programs based on the power of empathy. The programs are used in schools and have been shown to reduce aggression and enhance empathy and social skills among students. The method is based on adults supporting students in their efforts to distance themselves from cruelty and injustice.
Another example of social entrepreneurship is Mohammed Bah Abba of Nigeria who has found ways to extend the shelf life of foods. His Pot-in-pot is a cooling device based on a simple physical principle, a smaller pot is placed in a larger pot, and the space in-between is filled with wet sand. The device cools as the water evaporates. When people can save food it reduces hunger and more children have the opportunity to go to school, because they don’t have to spend all their time finding food.
Perhaps the most famous example of social entrepreneurship is Professor Muhammad Yunus who founded Grameen Bank in Bangladesh. By giving poor people, mainly women, micro credits, millions of people gained new opportunities to support themselves. Yunus has also run other projects where commercial practices have been used to achieve social goals. For example, he has, in cooperation with Danone (http://www.danone.se/hallbar-utveckling/danone-i-varlden/) produced a low-cost, nutritious yogurt for malnourished children. Together with the organization Grameen bank Muhammad Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
