Agents of change

Formerly known as the bastion of tradition and a place where the mist of time remained unmoving, Asia is now in the midst of great change, its many diverse territories in the grip of powerful forces, though not always for the good. In a world of unchecked population growth and a rapidly shrinking environment, Asia has seen its multitudes gone unfed, had entire nations robbed of their voices, and witnessed its poor grown even more impoverished.

Fortunately, not all the forces at work in Asia are forces of turmoil. At work there too are the agents of change for the better. The Ramon Magsaysay Awards, given last Aug. 31, recognizes these men and women of great purpose, and identifies the areas where they have done their best work. This year’s batch reflects the changing face of Asia as well, with two Indians, two Indonesians, a Cambodian and a Philippine-based non-government organization getting the awards for all the good they have done in the region.

Harish Hande dared to meld cutting-edge technology with India’s poor. No matter how difficult it seemed, Hande found ways to connect rural and urban India and, in the process, put together a company in Bangalore that produced solar lighting, water heating and cooking systems for the poor. Not only did those prove that the poor could flourish using the best technology, but that they too could help each other.

For Hasanain Juaini of Indonesia, education is the most potent force of all. That’s why he founded a boarding school for girls in Lombok, a beacon of hope in a country known to be greatly patriarchal. After taking up law, Juaini established the Nurul Haramain Islamic Boarding School for Girls and bravely overcame any obstacle to achieve his goal, working with the community to change prevailing attitudes about women and Islam.

A vision of poor people taking the initiative and doing what it takes to improve their situation is what propelled Nileema Mishra’s mission. Having devoted her life full-time to this end, Mishra began helping the poor early in her native India and would go on to establish the Bhagini Nivedita Gramin Vigyan Niketan, a center that empowers villagers from rural India to form cooperatives exporting food products and quilts, as well as providing microfinance. It is Mishra’s hope that the villagers become self-sufficient.

Even being kidnapped by bandits did not stop Indonesia’s Tri Mumpuni from working for change. She and her husband founded Ibeka, an institute that seeks to develop technology and provide hydropower to rural communities. The threat of violence along with red tape and the sheer enormity of the challenge ensured that Mumpuni’s journey would not be easy. Yet Ibeka has established 60 micro-hydropower stations which power the homes of half a million rural Indonesians. Mumpuni says there remains much to be done, and it starts with the people.

Coming from the still young democracy of Cambodia, Koul Panha understands the value of the vote more than the usual person. The country had seen massive murder by the Khmer Rouge – that bloodshed swallowed Panha’s father in 1976. When Cambodia reached out for democracy, Panha joined the organization that would become the Committee for Free and Fair Elections, where, as executive director, he oversaw the tasking of thousands of volunteers to ensure that the 2008 national elections would be Cambodia’s first without violence and fraud.

But perhaps the most symbolic achievement is that of the Alternative Indigenous Development Foundation Inc. (AIDFI), an NGO that championed a new design for the ram pump that would bring precious water to the hinterlands of Negros, triggering all sorts of change among the inhabitants and upland farmers. AIDFI’s Auke Idzenga exemplifies this new world. A Dutch marine engineer married to a Filipina and fluent in Ilonggo, Idzenga, together with the dedicated Filipino members of AIDFI, now works to spread the ram pump technology to even more far-flung villages, changing more lives in the process.

In their individual and group achievements, the Ramon Magsaysay laureates have all indelibly altered the lives of needy Asians through determination to succeed and the knowledge to gather others, shattering the darkness of ignorance and the density of fear. They are agents of the new Asia where, because of the tireless work of these proud few, the future shines brightly for countless others.