For Immediate Release:	July 21, 2010
For More Information:	Zahra Aziz, Americans for UNFPA, 646-649-9110
Sponsor Organization:	Americans for UNFPA
Odunola Ojewumi, incoming junior at University of Maryland College Park, is traveling to Guatemala with Americans for UNFPA.
New York, NY- July 21, 2010 - Odunola Ojewumi, incoming junior at University of Maryland College Park, is traveling to Guatemala with Americans for UNFPA, a non-profit organization that works to raise awareness and support within the United States for the international life saving work of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). She will be sharing her experience by guest-blogging live from the field at MarieClaire.com In Guatemala, Ms. Ojewumi will meet with Dr. Marta Julia Ruiz, who was selected by an independent jury to receive one of the 2010 International Honoree Awards for the Health and Dignity of Women. Dr. Ruiz helps improve the personal, academic and economic development of indigenous Guatemalan girls. She supports unique empowerment initiatives for the Population Council that include leadership and advocacy training, alongside basic life skills to help lift these Mayan girls out of poverty. As Student Award winner, Ms. Ojewumi will witness firsthand the struggle for education for adolescent girls and the promise it holds for women and girls in Guatemala. While in the field, she will also partake in World Population Day events and visit UNFPA programs that seek an end to gender based violence in Guatemala. Ms. Ojewumi will also assist in the filming of a video, documenting UNFPA’s work and will learn about the role of media, communication and advocacy in advancing the rights of women worldwide. “Ms. Ojewumi’s winning essays offer a glimpse into the insightful, driven and dedicated young woman now charged with representing Americans for UNFPA as our 2010 Student Ambassador,” says Anika Rahman, President, Americans for UNFPA. “Her blog entries from Guatemala are sure to offer readers around the globe deep insight into the needs, success, and challenges of adolescent Mayan girls.” The Student Award is given annually to one full-time undergraduate that shows a long-term commitment to improving the health and rights of women globally and was made possible in this year due to a generous grant from the Hearst Foundation. For more information on this Award, and to read her winning essays, please visit http://www.americansforunfpa.org/studentaward.