10 OCT 2010

Goldman Sachs and Fortune Honor Two Global Women Leaders

The third annual Goldman Sachs-Fortune Global Women Leaders Award was presented by Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit on October 4th in Washington DC.

The award, a partnership between the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program and Fortune’s Most Powerful Women franchise, is given each year to outstanding women from around the world who are working to empower others in their communities and countries. This year, the award was given to Andeisha Farid of Afghanistan, a graduate of the 10,000 Women program who founded and operates a network of orphanages, and Susan Rammekwa, a past participant in the Fortune/US State Department Mentoring Partnership program who established an organization to work with AIDS orphans in her native South Africa. Each of these women will receive a $25,000 grant to build their organizations and share the benefits of their experiences with others in their countries.

“Through their extraordinary efforts, Andeisha Farid and Susan Rammekwa represent the legacy of positive impact 10,000 Women and the Fortune Mentoring program have built over the past few years,” Lloyd Blankfein said in an introduction of the women.

10,000 Women provided me with the business and management skills that gave me the confidence to expand my programs and build my network,” Andeisha said. “With this award, I'm now working to pay that forward to the next generation of girls in Afghanistan. I believe education and economic empowerment are the solution to solve the miseries in Afghanistan.”

Andeisha is the founder and executive director of the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO), which provides education and care for Afghan children. She first established a safe house for street and orphan children as a college student in Islamabad, Pakistan, where she had grown up in a refugee camp. Andeisha founded AFCECO at the age of 24 and now manages 12 orphanages in Afghanistan and Pakistan, serving over 600 children, and employing some 200 people – most of whom are widows and university students. She enrolled in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women program in 2008 to learn financial management and leadership skills. She plans to use the award funds to provide additional training, resources and mentoring opportunities, as well as to establish a new resource center at her organization's main location in Kabul, with new computers, meeting space and a resource library.

Susan is the founder and director of Tshepang Program for Orphaned and Vulnerable Children, which helps more than 260 children a week and employs 25 people. She plans to use the award funds to expand the services she is able to offer to the broader community, including a new Health Information Center to raise awareness and reduce the incidence of HIV.

The awards were presented at the opening dinner of the 12th annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, held in Washington, D.C. from October 4 through 6, 2010.