One of the most inspiring speakers was Stephanie Woollard.
Seven Women Founder & CEO
Stephanie Woollard is a Melbourne-born social entrepreneur, Rotary Foundation Peace Scholar and Rotarian who has created the international aid organisation Seven Women,
tour-company Hands On Development and the International Training and Hospitality initiative.Stephanie started her Seven Women project when she was only 22 years old, after visiting Nepal and meeting seven disabled womenmaking soaps and candles in a small tin shed.
In Nepal, disabilities carry a strong social stigma, believed to bring bad fortune. The
women were consequently able to sell only a fraction of what they produced at market and
lived in dire poverty.Disturbed by the injustice and isolation these women were facing, she spent her last $200 oftravel money to pay two trainers to help up-skillthe women and sell their products abroad.
Since then Steph has devoted the past decade to changing the lives of disabled and
marginalised women in Nepal. The organisation has trained and employed over
1000 disadvantaged women and has helped more than 5,000 women in remote villages in Nepal offering shelter, medical assistance and education.
The multipurpose International Training and Hospitality initiative provides cooking classes for tourists, funding disadvantaged women to learn culinary and hospitality skills, creating diversified opportunities for employment. At the Seven Women headquarters, women
manufacture fair trade products that are sold both locally and to an international market.These enterprises fund literacy, skills and
income generation programs for thousands of women in Nepal. Education programs hosted by Seven Women include practical production skills such as sewing and growing vegetables,literacy classes and money management.
In 2016, Stephanie was recognised on the global stage with a prestigious Rotary Responsible Business Award, one of only six honorees worldwide. The award presentation took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with Rotary International President
John Germ, more than 1500 Rotary members, UN officials and NGO leaders present. Other accolades received include, Moral
FairGround’s, National Most Ethical Enterprise Award in 2014, the Nepali Association of Victoria’s award for “Commendable service to
the Nepalese Community, “ and the distinguished La Trobe Young Achiever Alumni of the Year Award in 2016. She has this year
also been nominated as Australian of the Year. Stephanie is a deeply inspiring young woman dedicated to education and empowerment of the world’s most marginalised. Her journey demonstrates how through persistence andunrelenting commitment one person can truly
make a difference.
Stephanie holds an Undergraduate degree in International Development from La Trobe University in Melbourne, Australia and a Masters degree in Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution from Uppsala University, Sweden.
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‘Veni was a 60-year-old man with a very large extended family. He had worked as a security guard at the Lagoon Lodge in Nuku’alofa, capital of Tonga, providing for his large family. One of his daughters also worked at the same facility as a house maid.
Peter Lendfers, an Orthotist at the Ballarat Health Services, was keen to help and a collaborative Social Outreach effort between St John of God Hospital Ballarat and Ballarat Health Services saw ‘Veni visit Ballarat to have a prosthesis fitted.
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