Sheela Patel Biography

Sheela Patel, head of Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI) and creator of the Society for the Promotion of Area Resource Centres (SPARC), has received the prestigious David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award for her work with urban disadvantaged communities. The award was awarded on September 21 in New York City at the Synergos University for Night event, which honors persons and/or organizations who represent the idea of working together for the common good. Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was also honored during the ceremony. Previous honorees include Jordan's Queen Rania and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's co-chairs "Bill Gates, Melinda Gates, and William Gates Sr. SPARC, founded in 1984, is one of India's major non-governmental organizations (NGOs) focused on housing and infrastructure challenges for the urban poor. The organization assists the urban poor in gaining a stronger voice in government in order to provide adequate housing, infrastructure, and other resources. SPARC collaborates with the National Slum Dwellers Federation and Mahila Milan, a women's organization focused on economic development. SPARC has been responsible for the development of houses for over 8,500 people as well as over 500,000 toilets and latrines under Ms. Patel's guidance. SPARC now runs programs in 70 locations across India. It collaborates with local grassroots groups, government agencies, and other actors to generate support for housing and microcredit programs for pavement dwellers living in shacks beside roadways, as well as support-related research and policy implementation. As a result, action and policy collaborations are redefining how society fulfills the needs of the urban poor. Ms. Patel is also the Chair of Shack/Slum Dwellers International (SDI), a transnational network of local slum dweller organizations that have formed federations of the urban poor at the municipal and national levels. Since 2008, SDI has been a member of the Cities Alliance. SDI is assisting in the globalization of disadvantaged urban communities so that effective mobilization, advocacy, and problem-solving tactics created in one area may be exported and adapted to other cities, nations, and regions. University for a Night, founded in 1997, is a one-of-a-kind yearly meeting of leaders from industry, government, civil society, and charity. It provides a chance for individuals from various locations, origins, and interests to learn from one another, share experiences and ideas, and form relationships that will help address global poverty and equality challenges.

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