A Letter from the President
I just read the book Factfulness by Hans Rosling. At a time when headlines can paint a dim view of the state of the world, Factfulness is optimistic, arguing that advances in democracy, health and education, women’s rights and other metrics across the world are both positive and irrefutable.
I can’t help but see the work of Winrock in these advances. Winrock has made significant contributions over the course of our history to the improved social and environmental conditions on display around the world. We have helped spread agricultural success. We have brought energy to the places in the world where it’s needed most. We are helping eliminate trafficking in places where it was thought to be intractable. These are all part of the global trend toward a healthier, more democratic, more capable world.
You’ll read here about some of our recent projects: building lasting relationships between farmers and rice mills in Nepal; connecting the dots between illegal logging and climate change in the Tropics; providing livelihoods and support to survivors of human trafficking in several regions of Bangladesh, and identifying local leaders in the Cox’s Bazar region of Bangladesh. You’ll read about a solar minigrid project that has brought electricity to Gbamu Gbamu, Nigeria, empowering small business owners. And you’ll learn about our nonprofit enterprise the American Carbon Registry (ACR). Through ACR we have reached the milestone of issuing more than 100 million tonnes of carbon offset credits — the equivalent of taking over 21 million cars off the road for a year.
I spend a lot of time thinking about how to best ensure that Winrock is in a position to continue and expand its important work long into the future. We recently completed a strategic review to identify ways to augment the impact of existing projects and identify long-term initiatives that will make Winrock an even more powerful force for good.
The thing that I appreciate so much about Winrock is the depth of commitment and the passion of the people involved. Winrock is an inspiration, and I derive a lot of energy from that. I see so many people who are deeply committed to solving problems around the world. And that is anywhere from the Innovation Hub in North Little Rock to entrepreneurial programs in Southeast Asia. It’s gratifying, and it helps give me the energy to keep pushing forward to do what we need to do as an organization to put ourselves in the best position to succeed.
The United States is a country full of wonderful and generous people, and by doing great work we show the rest of the world that there are many faces to this country. I want Winrock to demonstrate to everyone that the best that our country has to offer is engaged in trying to help the world. The people we work with globally feel the same way about building better futures for themselves and their families. It’s a very exciting and dynamic thing to see the best of our
country working with the best people in Mozambique or the Philippines or any other place we serve. These are people who want to improve their lives and improve their position and improve the lives of their children. This is what drives me. Winrock is needed now more than ever.
Sincerely,
Rodney Ferguson
President & Chief Executive Officer