“Gold Star” Kharbhih Hopes to Shine Globally

India's Hasina Kharbhih hopes to take her social enterprise company global, thanks to the additional skills she is gaining from the State Department's "Gold Star" program for international visitors.

When Hasina Kharbhih of India first came to the United States in 2002 as part of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), she learned organizational skills that helped her make her company, Impulse Social Enterprises, more effective. Now, 11 years later, she is ready to take her company global with what she learns from her second IVLP “Gold Star” program in the United States.

The IVLP, run by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, each year brings some 5,000 potential or established leaders to the United States from around the world for professional development opportunities. A very select few — the “Gold Stars” — are asked to return to their original American host communities to share what they’ve learned and to build and solidify partnerships.

Kharbhih pioneered “the Meghalaya Model,” which is now globally recognized as a highly effective comprehensive strategy for marshaling resources to fight child trafficking. Impulse Social Enterprises strives to develop means of livelihood for rural residents and is set to replicate similar operations in Bangladesh, Nepal and Burma.

“I hope this visit of mine this time will actually allow people to be connected to us and to work together on international collaboration and cooperation,” Kharbhih said upon arriving in Washington. “We really want to look at new ways and strategies and would love to share what we have been successful with; and maybe that success can reach out to other institutions worldwide.”

Kharbhih’s program, which will take her to four states, will last through March 2, and her last day for this visit in the United States will be March 16.