Gift Presented to CARE at Annual Conference
WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 5, 2009) - In keeping with its profound commitment to improving the lives of children, particularly girls in deprived areas of the world, The Trehan Foundation has donated $2.5 million to CARE. Entrepreneur Ravir Trehan presented the gift at a ceremony today during CARE's annual conference and celebration , marking the humanitarian agency's founding 63 years ago.
"CARE believes it can achieve its core mission of ending poverty by empowering women and girls. The Trehan Foundation's trust in CARE and its generous gift will help us get closer to that goal. We are eager to work with the foundation and the Trehan family over the next few years, and through this gift, to make a difference in lives of thousands of adolescent girls in India and Africa," said Dr. Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE.
The Foundation's gift will fund two specific projects: Power Within in India and Supporting Adolescent Girls Empowerment (SAGE) in Tanzania. Power Within will expand the reach of CARE's existing girls' education programs in India, allowing outreach to marginalized children, particularly girls, in the poorest regions of Bihar, Orissa and Uttar Pradesh.
The SAGE Project is designed to promote the rights of women and girls in Tanzania. The investment will be focused in the Kahama District, located in the northern Shinyanga region, where CARE has been implementing a successful program known as Women and Girls' Empowerment (WAGE) since 2006. SAGE will complement and build on the success of WAGE. Both projects will address key drivers of poverty among marginalized adolescent girls in Tanzania, including heavy workloads, early marriage, child labor, early pregnancy and inadequate legal protection.
"Our foundation does more than write a check. We like to get out in the field and actively involve ourselves in the design and monitoring of projects we support. We have been impressed with the work of CARE, and we feel confident that this new partnership will bring the kind of lasting change we seek to facilitate through all of our grants," said Ravir Trehan.
The projects will begin this summer with an estimated completion date of June 30, 2014.
:
Washington, D.C.: Nolu Crockett-Ntonga, CARE,
nntonga@care.org, +1.202.595.2806, +1.202.219.1969
