Caribbean urged to vote for Renwick Rose

Caribbean people are being asked to support Renwick Rose who has been nominated for the Guardian International Development Achievement award.{{more}}

The Guardian International Development Achievement award is designed to recognise some of the unsung heroes of international development. These are people who have made a profound contribution to the alleviation of poverty, working above and beyond the call of duty to make a difference to the lives of some of the world’s poorest people.

Renwick Rose has made a significant contribution to the development of peoples of the Caribbean, especially the Windward Islands.

Despite his 40 years of work in civil society development and trade justice, Renwick Rose is not a globally recognised name.

In the 1990s, Rose spotted the value and necessity of organisation and cooperation at a time when the banana trade was entering a downwards spiral. He earned the trust of small-scale farmers who were struggling to make it onto the supermarket shelves and guided them through the process of Fair Trade Certification. The establishment of the Windward Island National Farmers’ Network Association (WINFA) has generated security and progress which radiates out into the wider community. Through their partnership with Fair Trade, the WINFA farmers earn a premium of a dollar for each box of bananas, which is invested democratically back into the community. In this way, the social, educational and trade infrastructure of the islands has begun to bloom.

Rose’s attempt at retirement in 2010 was thwarted by the devastating impact of the hurricane that destroyed farms across St Lucia and St Vincent. He returned immediately to lead the farming community on the uphill slope towards recovery, and, with his support, Windward Island bananas were back on the supermarket shelves within eight months.

Nominees for the Award will be evaluated based on the following criteria: The extent to which their activities and achievements have had a demonstrable and positive impact on poverty alleviation – either directly or indirectly; the sustainability of their achievements in terms of longevity, legacy and impact; the extent to which the nominee’s activities and achievements have changed social situations, public attitudes, structures or policies that may be behind the poverty, exclusion or disempowerment of the people affected; the ways in which the nominee has demonstrated inspirational leadership.

Now in its third year, the Guardian International Development Achievement award is run in association with Marie Stopes International and in partnership with Barclays and GSK.

Persons can vote for Renwick by going to

http://internationalachievementsaward.guardianprofessional.co.uk

The other nominees for the award are Mechai Viravaidya of Thailand; Sameena Nazir of Pakistan; Kelvin Mwikya of Kenya and Molly Melching of Senegal.

The closing date for voting is October 2, 2011 and the awards ceremony will take place on November 17, 2011.