I am delighted to announce that Odette Kayirere, Coordinator of the Eastern Region branch of AVEGA Agahozo, has won the 2010 International Development Achievement Award, which is run by the Guardian in association with Marie Stopes International (MSI) and sponsored by MSI and the UK Department for International Development (DfID).

In a special supplement of the Guardian Newspaper today, Odette commented on the Award that: “It is a deserved award for everyone. I am very excited and very proud of my work, my partners, my colleagues and beneficiaries. We work together.”

At the ceremony on Thursday night, Odette spoke movingly about the challenges of her work, in a speech which you can read here.

Odette speaks further about her work in a new short film by Andrew Sutton, which is now available on the Survivors Fund youtube channel:

Thank you to everyone that voted for Odette and made possible the Award! We look forward to reporting further on the progress of Odette and AVEGA over the coming months.