Global Gala Humanitarian Awardees Announced

Last year during our Gala 2021 we featured a song by Holly Near. The words are apropos for announcing the recipients of our 2022 Charter for Compassion Humanitarian Awards:

I am open and I am willing.

For to be hopeless would seem so strange.

It dishonors those who go before us.

So, lift me up to the light of change.

There is a hurting in my family

And there is sorrow in my town

There is a panic all across the nation

And there is wailing the whole world round.

Give me a mighty oak to hold my confusion

And give me a desert to hold my fears

Give me a sunset to hold my wonder

And give me an ocean to hold my tears.

The 2022 Humanitarian Award recipients have all risen "to the light of change." They have seen suffering, injustice and despair and made it their mantra to bring about change with a sense of honor and hope. Their vision has been and continues to be turning compassion into action.

Mary Robinson, our first awardee's motto is "Everyone Matters." As a distinguished constitutional lawyer and a renowned activist for Human Rights, Mary was the first female president of Ireland, served as U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights, and was president of Trinity College. She is a champion of climate justice, and today she is chair of The Elders.

Riane Eisler, our second awardee, is best known for her monumental book, The Chalice and the Blade. Highly regarded as a social systems scientist, futurist, cultural historian, and trained as an attorney, Riane is all about transforming organizations, policies and practices from a dominating structure to one of shared partnership.

Tracey Kidder wrote about our next awardee, Deogratias "Deo" Niyizonkiza in Strength in What Remains. Kidder claims that Deo's story opened his eyes to the different experiences that strangers carry with them. "Ever since I met Deo, I've had to look at a lot of people differently...." A refugee from the genocide in Burundi, Deo left his homeland with little more than the clothes on his back. Homeless, living in Central Park, Niyizonkiza was fortunate to receive the care of good Samaritans who gave him a home and an education. Deo left the U.S. as a medical doctor, and returned to Burundi to open a public health clinic that serves tens of thousands of people each year.

The last recipient of our Humanitarian Award recognizes a global movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. For sixty years, the United World Colleges (UWC) have been inspiring young people to put their talents and energy into creating social change, no matter which future path they choose. Today, UWC is made up of 18 schools and colleges on four continents. The majority of them focus on the 16-19 age group. UWC seeks compassionate, idealistic students who are driven to make the world better. They believe that money should not be a barrier to a good education. More than 80% of students selected by the UWC national committees receive full or partial financial assistance.

Over the next four weeks we will devote our newsletters to learning more about our recipients.

The Gala preparation is officially in full swing. Please visit our Gala pages often, but don't delay purchasing your tickets to avail yourself of our early bird price. Click here.

With warm regards,

Marilyn 

This message from Marilyn Turkovich, Executive Director of the Charter for Compassion, appears in our 10/1/2022 weekly newsletter. To sign up for our newsletter, scroll all the way down to the end of this page to get to the bottom menu; in the newsletter section, enter your email address and click on subscribe.