Thanks to our supporters, we have accomplished many of our goals since the idea was conceived in 2005. Awareness of our achievements has reached the international community.
In the fall of 2008, founder Yared Fubusa was elected by the Ashoka Foundation as a leading international social entrepreneur. Ashoka Fellowships are very rare and are only awarded to individuals who are judged to have exceptional creativity, problem solving abilities, leadership skills, trustworthiness in the community, and commitment to real social change. The nomination, interview and selection process is long and arduous. Yared's election as an Ashoka Fellow is a great honor not only to him, but also to everyone who has and continues to support the vision.
There are direct, globally significant impacts that result from Yared's receipt of the Ashoka Fellowship. The fellowship leverages previous successes and elevates the GOSESO vision both locally and internationally, thus helping us see this project through to completion. This fellowship is helping to dramatically increase the capacity of GOSESO to address the needs of the Tanzanian people and wildlife, especially in Western Tanzania. The Ashoka Fellowship has also put GOSESO on the global social entrepreneurship map, making the project more visible to other individuals and organizations interested in grassroots social change. GOSESO continues to generate excitment from the international community, who are interested in this new model of conservation and poverty mitigation.