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$1 MILLION GIFT TO WORLDFUND FOR EDUCATION IN LATIN AMERICA  

Worldfund on the Rise:  Elects New Chairman Steve Shindler,

Launches Mexican Branch and Welcomes its First $1 Million Gift.

New York City, March 16, 2009 - Worldfund, the leading U.S. nonprofit dedicated to raising education levels in Latin America, elected Steve Shindler, Executive Chairman of NII Holdings, as its new Chairman.  Headquartered in New York City, with offices in Washington DC, Mexico and Brazil, Worldfund's sole mission is to provide impoverished children in Latin America with a quality education so that they can participate in the global marketplace. 

"Like putting food on the table, education must remain an essential investment and it cannot be viewed as a discretionary expense-especially during an economic downtown.  Educating the poorest and most vulnerable children in Latin America is the mandate at Worldfund," said Steve Shindler.  Toward that end, Shindler has made a personal, multi-year pledge of US$1 million, which is the charity's first 7 figure commitment.

Coinciding with the appointment of a new Chairman, top philanthropists and entrepreneurs of Mexico celebrated the inauguration of Worldfund México in February, including board and international advisory committee members:  Claudio X. González Guajardo (Fundación Televisa), Claudio X. González Laporte (Kimberly-Clark de México), Carlos Labarthe (Compartamos), Edmundo Vallejo (GE), Luís Velasco, Dionisio Garza Medina (Alfa), Eugenio Garza (Xignux) and Carlos Bremer (Inbursa Value).    

"Worldfund has launched a branch in Mexico in order to welcome the support and guidance of Mexican business leaders and philanthropists," said Luanne D. Zurlo, Worldfund Founder and President.  "We are convening private and public sector leaders on both sides of the US-Mexican border in order to advance our mission to lift children out of poverty through a quality education."  Zurlo founded Worldfund in 2002 after a successful career as a securities analyst on Wall Street, during which she was ranked by Institutional Investor as one of the top Latin American telecommunications analysts.

About Worldfund:

Worldfund is a New York based 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation whose mission is to raise education levels in Latin America. Worldfund fulfills its mission through its investment in schools, after-school programs for gifted youth, and teacher and principal training. Today Worldfund's programs serve 32,000 children annually in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Venezuela, and we expect to reach 250,000 by 2015. Worldfund is particularly focused on targeting high potential underprivileged children, and instilling critical thinking and key skills that will enable them to study at university and pursue meaningful work. For more information about Worldfund, please visit http://www.worldfund.org/ or call (212) 228-5353.