Vice President Raquel Peña was present for the presenting of the 8th BHD Women Who Change the World Award to Altagracia Filpo on 8 November 2023. The first prize comes with a RD$1 million cash award.
Filpo is a promoter of community organizations that work for advances in farming, environment and social conservation in Azua province. She is behind the Provincial Federation of Azuano Producers and Small Farmers.
BHD Financial Group president Luis Molina Achécar; Steven Puig, president of Banco BHD; and Josefina Navarro, senior vice president for Corporate Communication and Responsibility Social, spoke at the event.
Molina Achécar spoke of how the contest recognizes ten women every year for their contributions to true social transformation.
The event was attended by participants from the global summit of the Financial Alliance for Women, an international event hosted by BHD. Bank president, Puig highlighted how this 2023 present for the award were the members of the Financial Alliance for Women, an organization dedicated to the financial inclusion of women in 135 countries.
There were also cash awards of RD$500,000 each for the two runner-ups and RD$100,000 for the seven other women on the awards shortlist. The second places went to Milka Santana and Angy Carolina Estévez.
Santana is a graduate in mathematics and finance who created Perfecto Labs, a school in the Yamasá community, Monte Plata, which provides training to boys and girls in robotics, artificial intelligence, English and programming. Through this innovation laboratory, students learn how to use technology to resolve conflicts while developing skills in STEM areas.
Angy Estevez is a clinical psychologist who founded and directs the Center for Attention to Pregnant Women (CAME). This non-profit organization provides psychological, medical, spiritual and academic support to women who have critical pregnancies and who do not have the skills or resources to deal with unexpected pregnancy situations. She also created the only perinatal mourning room in the country at the Los Mina Maternity Hospital and provides free training to resident doctors and interns on how to approach and communicate the news of their baby’s death to pregnant women.
During the ceremony, Sister María del Pilar was recognized for promoting education and development spaces. The educator encourages the inclusion of girls at social risk in the La Merced Foundation, an organization aimed at eliminating child labor among boys, girls and adolescents in the community of Las Caobas and Batey de Bienvenido, in Santo Domingo Oeste. The program offers vocational technical education.
Read more in Spanish:
El Dia
Mujeres que Cambian el Mundo
9 November 2023