The African Women Development Fund (AWDF) on Saturday climaxed its 10th anniversary celebration with Purple Ball and Women of Substance Awards honouring African women working tirelessly to make a difference in their communities. The AWDF's Women of Substance 2010 Awardees are: Abeka Perez – Young Women Campaign Against AIDS, Kenya; Felicia Darkwa, Nana Yaa Memorial Trust for Good Quality Reproductive Health, Ghana and Hadijah Kisembo – Disabled Women's Network and Resource Organisation (DWNRO), Uganda. Others are Kafui Adjamgbo-Johnson - Women in Law and Development, (WILDAF) Togo; Leymah Gbowee - Women Peace and Security Network Africa, (WIPSEN-Africa), Liberia; and Nyoka Agnes - Member of Parliament, Sudan. The rest are Professor Bene Madunagu - Girls' Power Initiative, Nigeria; Prudence Mabele - Positive Women's Network (PWN), South Africa; and Dr Rose Mensah Kutin - Abantu for Development, Ghana, was launched through the efforts of its co-founders, Joana Foster (Ghana), Dr Hilda Tadria (Uganda) and Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (Nigeria). AWDF is the first Africa-wide grant-making foundation and a decade after its launch is recognized as a leading feminist philanthropic institution on the continent. Mrs Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, AWDF Executive Director, said over the past 10 years, they have disbursed over US$15 million in grants to 800 African women's rights organizations across the African continent and through its comprehensive capacity building programme strengthened institutions and progressive movements on the continent. She said as part of the anniversary, the AWDF commissioned a multi-purpose resource centre purchased by AWDF for Women United Against AIDS in Ghana (WUAGG), Ayensu River Estate, Damfa. Mrs Adeleye-Fayemi said AWDF also organized a symposium on African women using the arts to promote social justice and premiered 'The Motherland Tour' a documentary by South African songstress Yvonne Chaka Chaka. Liberian President, Mrs Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf delivered the anniversary lectures attended by Vice President of Malawi, Mrs Joyce Banda; Mrs Funmilayo Olayinka, Deputy Governor of Ekiti State, Nigeria and Mrs Abimbola Fashola, First Lady of Lagos State, Nigeria.Source: GNA