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Phyllis Keino 2018 HUMANITARIAN AWARD Founder, Lewa Children’s Home Eldoret, Kenya A nurse. A teacher. A community leader. A businesswoman. A role model. A dreamer. But most importantly, Phyllis Keino is a mother. The number of orphaned children in Kenya has always been high, with families at the mercy of economic hardships and diseases, like…

JACKIE BRANFIELD 2017 PROTECTION AWARD Founder, Operation Bobbi Bear Amanzimtoti, South Africa Jackie Branfield has long advocated for the rights of children who have been abused in South Africa, where HIV infection rates are one of the highest in the world, and where one third of children and young people have experienced some form of…

Breaking the cycle of poverty through a community-based approach to the care, education, and empowerment of Kenya’s children.

Winnifred empowers young people from deprived communities in Ghana to have access to education.

Miriam provides holistic education to the underprivileged and war-affected children of Sierra Leone.

Mary Grace sells hair accessories to pay for girls’ education in Africa.

Mead’s program provides prosthetic limbs and treatment for children with missing or deformed arms and legs.

Michaela “Chaeli” Mycroft is the co-founder of The Chaeli Campaign, supporting the mobility and educational needs of disabled children in South Africa to make a significant and lasting difference in a disabled child’s life

BERTHA HOLT 2000 HUMANITARIAN AWARD Holt International Children’s Services Bulgaria, Kenya, Haiti and Uganda Mother of 14 children, eight of whom were adopted from Korea, Bertha Holt dedicated her time, effort and life to helping orphaned children around the world. Holt was a pioneer of inter-country adoption and an advocate for improved child welfare standards around…

Abubacar Sultan began his work for children’s rights at just 24 years old in Mozambique, starting with the Children & War project.

SHARON KIRKPATRICK 2002 HEALTH AWARD Traditional Birth Attendant Program Africa, Caribbean, India and Nepal Sharon Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., R.N., vice president for institutional advancement at Graceland University, has spent more than 25 years helping children in need by establishing mother-child healthcare programs in third world countries. She has helped children in need living in Africa, India,…

RYAN HRELJAC 2016 HERO AWARD 2003 YOUTH AWARD Founder, Ryan’s Well Foundation Northern Uganda At the age of 6, Ryan Hreljac was inspired to raise money for digging wells and providing clean water in developing countries. His first-grade teacher presented a list of needed supplies in Africa, encouraging Hreljac to earn the money by performing…

RONA MARTIN 2004 HEALTH AWARD Grief Work Groups Zimbabwe Rona Martin has dedicated her life to serving children in Africa who are grieving the loss of a relative and those who themselves are terminally ill. For the past 22 years, Martin has played a major role in developing and running programs for dying and bereaved…

MARIE DE LA SOUDIERE 2004 HUMANITARIAN AWARD UNICEF Global For 24 years, Marie de la Soudiere has played a leading role in the development and implementation of programs to protect and promote the recovery and psycho-social reintegration of children affected by armed conflict, children separated from their families, and former child soldiers. Throughout her work,…

DR. PHILISTA ONYANGO 2004 HUMANITARIAN AWARD ANPPCAN Kenya In the face of heavy adversity, Philista Onyango, Ph.D., has made a tremendous impact on the safety and welfare of children in her home country of Kenya, and on Africa and the world. In 1981, while teaching at the University of Nairobi, she became aware that many…

DR. CHAKUNJA SIBALE 2005 HEALTH AWARD Malawi Children’s Village Malawi After surviving a tragic airplane accident, Dr. Chakunja Sibale decided to dedicate his life to the orphaned children of Malawi, where the AIDS virus caused great devastation. There are nearly 1 million orphaned children in the country of Malawi alone. In 1996, Sibale founded the Malawi…

DR. IRVING WILLIAMS 2005 HEALTH AWARD AHEAD Inc. Africa Irving C. Williams, M.D. MPH, has been working on behalf of children for more than 40 years. Williams started his career at Milwaukee Children’s Hospital and then worked in the inner city of Boston as a pediatrician to lower income families. In 1974, Williams, a board…

LUCY YINDA 2005 HUMANITARIAN AWARD Wema Centre Mombasa, Kenya Thirteen years ago, Lucy Yinda committed her life to the children living in the slums of Mombasa, Kenya. These children suffer from abuse, hunger, malnutrition, and diseases like HIV/AIDS. Moved by their love and innocence, she created the Wema Centre, providing a home and family, medical…

Dr. Jane Aronson is the founder and CEO of Worldwide Orphans, which provides education, medical care, and psychosocial support in local communities so that they can become confident, competent, thriving adults who will change the world around them.

Dr. Manary co-developed a nutrient-dense peanut butter paste that helps malnourished children in Africa to survive and recover.

Carol saves children from the perils of sexual slavery and provides shelter, food, clothing, medical care and education.

Tibebe has devoted most of her life to helping orphans and the poorest and most vulnerable citizens in Ethiopia.

An escaped soldier in the Lord’s Resistance Army, Ricky has dedicated his life to helping other former LRA children.

Sam established a school in Uganda to ensure that deaf children have the full role in society they deserve.