Message from the Chair
Dear PAWA friends and supporters.
At a time of such uncertainty, when global assumptions are being challenged in an unprecedented manner, we need, more than ever, to focus on definable goals with unequivocal benefits. The education of girls has never been more important — an equitable world order cannot be achieved without access to this fundamental human right.
PAWA kickstarts its in-person events programme this year at the Nehru Centre with a panel of three “Fabulous Foodpreneurs” — women who are doing great things in the food and drink space. Join us for an uplifting evening, details of which are given below.
As PAWA grows, the way in which we do things has shifted. To best harness the skillsets of our group of talented and hard working volunteers, we announced some organisational changes at our Annual Meeting in February. Roles have been fine-tuned and we will be bringing you updates from the heads of our committees in future newsletters.
You can support PAWA’s work in several ways — you can donate via Evershare (https://app.evershare.io/
Thank you and hope to see you soon.
Kamalakshi Mehta
Chair, PAWA Communications
PAWA Annual Meeting
The 2022 meeting was held on February 10 over Zoom, with people joining from around the world. Reports from PAWA team leaders and Trustees were followed by videos affording us a glimpse into life at projects we support— Ponheary Ly in Cambodia, Home of Peace in Malaysia, Hope for Girls in Bangladesh, and JMB Aruna Bhawan in Nepal. We also heard from a few of the project leaders on the ground.
If you missed the meeting, you can watch it on https://youtu.be/xMreychGe9A
International Women’s Day event
International Women’s Day event
23 March, 6:30pm
Come and be inspired by three amazing women — celebrity chef, TV personality and restaurant owner Judy Joo; Mowgli Street Food founder and MBE recipient Nisha Katona; and founder of vegan tea company HumaniTea Tina Chen
At The Nehru Centre, 8 South Audley Street, London W1K 1HF
The event is free but booking is required at
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/inspirational-asian-women-pawa-in-conversation-tickets-292089035167
PAWA Projects
Ponheary Ly in Cambodia has sent us reports of two girls supported by Pawa — Porng and Siden. Huge congratulations to them!
“Back in the era when PAWA was supporting us at the “original dorm” that was run by the government and from which you helped us escape some years ago, there was a student who we graduated in our last year there. Her name is Porng and she has received her Bachelor Degree in Mathematics. This month she passed the very competitive entrance exam and was accepted to teacher training college in Phnom Penh to be a high school Math Teacher. She had always dreamed of being a math teacher in her home district and after one year of Teacher College, that is exactly what she will do. Every year more than 3000 University grads apply for Teacher’s College and only 40 are chosen. We’re very proud of Porng”
Porng is number 4 of 5 children from a farming family. None of the adults in her house ever went to school and are illiterate. Of her older siblings, only one completed grade 9.Though her High School Maths teachers (all men) did their best to dissuade her, saying that “women can’t do that job”
“We’ve got one girl to watch graduating this year, named Siden. She comes from one of our most remote villages way up near the Thai border. On our pre-exams she scored a 96% on Math and 89% on Physics, which is head and shoulders above other students’ scores. We expect her to make quick work of the national exam and if she can achieve that in the current situation, she can do anything!”
Siden is from a remote village in the far north of the country and has been in PLF programs since primary school. When she completed grade 10 she was accepted at the Young Women’s Scholarship Dorm in Siem Reap for an intensive two year College Prep Program, which PAWA supports.
