Bangladesh’s Faizah wins Changemaker Award

Fairooz Faizah Beether, the co-founder of Moner School, has won the 2021 Goalkeepers Global Goals Changemaker Award, announced the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday.

The award celebrates an individual who has inspired change using personal experience or from a position of leadership.

Faizah was chosen for the award for her work promoting good health and well-being, the Foundation said a media release.

Beether has co-founded Moner School, an online platform that aims to raise awareness around mental health and ensure equal access to mental healthcare across the country.

The foundation also announced Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, former United Nations Under-Secretary-General as one of the three winners of the 2021 Global Goalkeeper Award.

Besides, this year’s two additional Goalkeepers awards were given to Jenifer Colpas of Colombia, and Satta Sheriff of Liberia. 

Colpas is the co-founder and executive director of Tierra Grata, a social enterprise that develops low-cost, easy-to-install solutions providing access to clean energy, safe water, and sanitation services to rural communities in Colombia.

Sheriff is the founder and executive director of Action for Justice and Human Rights (AJHR), a youth-led NGO founded to advocate and ensure access to justice and respect for human rights in Liberia.

Each awardee was recognised for their work supporting the Global Goals in their local communities.

“Disparities everywhere continue to worsen due to the impacts of Covid-19,” said Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

“This year, we are especially honoured to recognise four leaders whose work demonstrates that progress is possible, even in the most difficult of times.”

“These award winners show how women are leading the way in coming up with the innovative solutions needed to rebuild our communities and nations,” said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. 

“This year’s winners continue to inspire us as they work tirelessly to create a more equal, resilient, and compassionate world,” he added.

The announcement of the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards winners follows last week’s release of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s fifth annual Goalkeepers Report. 

This year’s report shows that disparities caused by Covid-19 remain stark, and those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic will be the slowest to recover.