Congratulations to our 2015 Kurt Hahn Prize Winner

Posted: 29 May 2015

From an unprecedented shortlist of nine entries, the judging panel for the Kurt Hahn Prize 2015 has unanimously selected Aakriti Suri from Vivek High School to be the recipient of the 2015 prize.

When she visited the slums near her hometown, Parwanoo (Himachal Pradesh, India) Aakriti became acutely aware of the problem of women’s sanitation and hygiene in rural pockets of India. She was shocked to discover that many women had no access to sanitary napkins. When she came across an article about a low-cost sanitary napkin making machine, she decided to use her life-savings to set up machines in her hometown. Setting up two machines, Aakriti was able to provide much-needed training and employment to eight economically disadvantaged local women. The machines provided biodegradable sanitary napkins and reduced their cost by 60%.

Aakriti also conducted several awareness campaigns in the nearby schools and slums and engaged 8 self-help groups in the marketing process. This project not only generated income for the women but also gave them dignity, respect and economic independence. The low cost of sanitary napkins helped improve women’s health and hygiene in the area. Aakriti will receive her prize at the RSIC in Singapore in October 2015.