Maya Ajmera Sustainability Awards

Global Fund for Children strives to create lasting change for children and youth worldwide. The annual Maya Ajmera Sustainability Award – named in honor of our founder – is a testament to this goal, recognizing our partners’ accomplishments while providing an investment in their long-term stability.

About Maya Ajmera

Maya Ajmera founded Global Fund for Children in 1993, when she was just 25 years old, after experiencing a “moment of obligation” on a train platform in India. Under Maya’s 17 years of leadership (1993-2011), GFC grew from a seedling vision into one of the largest networks of community-based organizations working on behalf of children and youth worldwide. Maya’s radical vision to support small, local organizations with flexible funds – thereby improving the lives of children and youth in marginalized communities around the world – continues to drive GFC’s work today.

About the awards

Under Maya’s leadership, GFC first pioneered the Sustainability Awards in 2005, providing a special infusion of funds to outstanding partners at a critical stage of their development. This award was renamed the Maya Ajmera Sustainability Award in 2011, honoring Maya’s years of service to GFC.

Since its establishment in 2005, 170 organizations have received the award. Our programs team determines a pool of nominees each year; winners are then chosen by alumni winners and members of GFC’s Youth Leadership Council through a participatory selection process . Some Sustainability Award winners have achieved exceptional success in organizational development; many have attained regional and national influence and recognition in the field of children’s rights; others have demonstrated a deep commitment to learning and leadership throughout their GFC partnership.

With support from GFC, each winner determines how to apply the award funds toward its sustainability – whether that means establishing a reserve fund, investing in human resources, or implementing creative revenue generation activities.

In a 2018 impact assessment of the award, which surveyed alumni winners, 98% of respondents found the award very or extremely helpful to their development.

About the 2024 winners

Global Fund for Children is thrilled to announce the 2024 winners of the Maya Ajmera Sustainability Award: Read to Learn Foundation and One Sky Foundation.

Read to Learn Foundation | Uganda

Read to Learn Foundation is an early literacy development organization that is focused on the establishment of innovative child-friendly learning spaces in underserved communities. The organization hosts community book clinics where children learn to read with the assistance of young people, who in turn benefit from personal and leadership development. Read to Learn has also established the Book Drive store, a comprehensive literacy initiative that focuses on the publication of relatable children’s storybooks, the production of educational toys, and the integration of an AI-powered multilingual app as a sustainability model for its operations.

Read to Learn Foundation will use the award funds to strengthen its structures to ensure sustainability, investing in both the Book Drive store, to guarantee that it is running effectively and profitably, and the foundation, so it is better equipped to serve more communities with impactful programming. The funds will be focused on staff capacity building, a robust monitoring and evaluation system, and office space.

One Sky Foundation | Thailand

Operating along the Thailand-Myanmar border, One Sky Foundation works with migrant and Indigenous children who are at risk of abuse and exploitation due to their socioeconomic and legal status. The organization supports access to education and healthcare by providing opportunities for families to earn a reliable income and offering programs designed specifically for girls and women. One Sky also works to pass legislation to reduce the number of children placed in unregulated children’s homes and continues to grow its family-strengthening activities and foster care placements for the most disadvantaged and at-risk children.

The organization plans to use the award to strengthen its support staff and build an up-to-date website that reflects the scale and impact of its current work and attracts more financial support. It will also invest in using digital media to raise awareness of the United Nations Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children and to steer the Thai public and government toward reforms.

Learn more

• Meet the 2023 winner: CASE SALONE
• Meet the 2022 winners: Achievers Ghana and Organization for Youth Empowerment
• Meet the 2021 winners: Asociación Comunitaria Hilarte and Association Jeunesse Espoir
• Meet the 2020 winners: Ashanti Perú and Institute for Rural Initiatives
• Meet the 2019 winners: Hand in Hand in Kyrgyzstan, Malaika  in Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Viva a Vida in Brazil
• Read more about the award’s impact
• Learn about the selection process