Vechulou Kanuo from Nagaland, the Executive Director of the Chakhesang Women Welfare Society (CWWS) has been awarded the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) Woman Exemplar Award 2018 by the Vice President of the India, M Venkaiah Naidu.
The award ceremony, held on April 8, felicitated grass-root women leaders in the fields of health, education and micro Enterprise. She is the first from Nagaland and Northeast to receive this award. The award aims to encourage women who have broken barriers to achieve personal and professional success.
Vechulou took over as the Secretary of CWWS in 2000, when it was a bankrupt organization and led it to success that has transformed the lives of innumerable rural women and communities in the Phek District.
The award recognizes her unique contribution as a woman to alleviate the lives of women particularly in all sections of society, empowering them economically and socially. The CWWS is an NGO under the Chakhesang Baptist Church Council (CBCC).
For nearly two decades, Vechulou’s work has ushered in modern agriculture and animal husbandry to 10,586 women, farmers and youth, seeding thousands of small entrepreneurs in the deep rural interiors of Nagaland.
The award is part of the CII Foundation Woman Exemplar Program (WEP) which focuses on promoting women’s empowerment at the community level by discovering and recognizing those who chose to look beyond their limitations and contributed significantly to positively impact the community.