Skoll Scholar 2009/10
Grace is the Founder and CEO of Books for Hope (www.booksforhopeworld.org), a non-profit organisation which seeks to open the minds of rural children through literacy, information technology and world education. Based in Jakarta, Books for Hope has helped 10 villages in Java, Bali and Sumatera within a year, impacting more than 5,000 children and their communities. Grace partners the private and third sectors to scale up her work. For example, Books for Hope has recently launched a pilot project with Microsoft and Acer to educate rural teachers on the use of technology to deliver better quality teaching.
Grace is also a consultant and writer for financial institutions, foundations, charities, councils and social enterprises in areas of corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship. She also has managerial experience in the telecommunications sector. A Malaysian, who studied in Singapore and worked in Jakarta, Grace’s rich experiences from a young age made her decide to move into the social sector after just turning 24. She does not believe that giving back to society should start only after retirement: “Solving world problems requires creativity, drive, a lot of passion and a level of idealism. Often, those qualities come with the young at heart”. She sees social entrepreneurship as the logical solution to create a sustainable economy, and she is determined to bring this model into Southeast Asia. “Where I come from, charities are still largely dependent on grants and donations. Their missions die alongside economic crises or donor fatigue. I don’t think that makes sense”, she says.
She has attended several global social conferences including the 47th United Nations Graduate Study Program in Geneva in 2009. Her decision to come to Said was not a difficult one. “The Skoll Centre was the major pull for me to come to Oxford, apart from Oxford having produced leaders for 900 years and a reputation of being one of the world’s most amazing universities to be a part of”. Grace holds a Bachelor in Business from the Nanyang Business School in Singapore and was an ASEAN Scholar. She also speaks 6 languages.
Grace’s vision for the future is for every organisation in the world to be a social enterprise, in big or small ways - until every child goes to school, every vulnerable person no longer vulnerable, every part of nature renewed and no one dies of preventable diseases.