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 2025 winners

Global Fund for Children is pleased to introduce the 2025 winners of the Maya Ajmera Sustainability Award: Colectivo Vida Digna and Martynka.

Colectivo Vida Digna | Guatemala

Colectivo Vida Digna (Vida Digna) is a Mayan organization, with deep roots in the Mayan heritage and culture. The organization supports young people who have sought to migrate from Guatemala but have been detained and forced to return home, helping them reintegrate into society through education and training, and navigate emotional, logistical, and financial challenges. Vida Digna also works with Indigenous Mayan communities, especially those facing systemic discrimination, equipping them with entrepreneurial and life skills while helping preserve their culture and identity.

Vida Digna intends to use the funds from the Sustainability Award in four ways: to increase support for vulnerable youth from rural communities, to provide commercial assistance to Indigenous mid-wives selling local products, to aid two families with a weaving business promote their Mayan textiles and engage young people in sustainable work, and to improve the organization’s own facilities and cover fixed costs such as rent given the financial pressure imposed by the funding cuts from the US government.

Martynka | Poland

Martynka positions itself as a “friend to every refugee”. Since it was founded in 2022 in response to Russia’s war on Ukraine, Martynka has established itself as a source of safety and care to girls and women displaced by the war, those experiencing sexual exploitation and gender-based violence, transgender people, and more. A youth-led organization, Martynka offers help through a simple yet effective model – a free helpline hosted on Telegram (a free messaging app). The Martynka team reply directly to girls and women reaching out for help on the app. They support them by finding urgent medical, psychological, and legal care, and accompany them if they need to visit the police to report the abuse they have experienced. Martynka has already helped around 300 women and girls who are survivors of violence.

The youth-led organization plans to use the award from GFC to support three key initiatives: an annual team retreat, the printing and distribution of the Rape Survivor Guide, and the creation of the Uncomfortable Dictionary. The retreat fosters team cohesion and wellbeing for members displaced by war and working remotely across four countries. The Rape Survivor Guide is a 40+ page resource offering comprehensive information on shelters, legal aid, and medical support in Poland for survivors of sexual violence, while the Uncomfortable Dictionary is a language tool empowering refugees to talk about vital topics like consent, period care, and sexual health.

Learn more

• Meet the 2024 winners: Read to Learn Foundation and One Sky Foundation.
• 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