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Iyyappan dedicated his life to protecting and caring for abandoned children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

TRIVENI ACHARYA 2022 SALLY MANCHESTER RICCHIUTI PROTECTION AWARD 2015 HERO AWARD 2013 HUMANITARIAN AWARD President, The Rescue Foundation India and Bangladesh Triveni Acharya’s work as a journalist led her to a brothel in India where she met a 10-year-old girl who had been imprisoned, sexually assaulted and stripped of her rights. This experience drove Acharya…

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

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…

DR. SHARAD KUMAR DICKSHEET 2001 HUMANITARIAN AWARD The India Project India The life of Dr. Sharad Kumar Dicksheet, was frought with many difficulties: a partially paralyzing car accident that left him in a wheelchair, terminal cancer in the larynx, and two severe heart attacks leaving him with only 17 percent residual heart capacity. Despite the…

Andal Damodaran is one of India’s greatest advocates of children’s rights, particularly in her actions to fight against child labor and female infanticide.

MAHENDRA MEHTA 2003 HEALTH AWARD Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust India As a child, Mahendra Mehta’s mother encouraged him to give his first earnings to the less fortunate. Throughout his lifetime, he continued to follow his mother’s wise words. Over two decades ago, Mahendra began the Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust with capital from his own family…

JETSUN PEMA 2003 HUMANITARIAN AWARD Tibetan Children’s Village Tibet Following the occupation of Tibet in 1959, a large number of Tibetan children were orphaned or separated from their families while fleeing their homeland. In 1960, a nursery was developed for 51 of the ill and malnourished child refugees in India. Today, after 43 years of…

GOPA KOTHARI 2004 HEALTH AWARD Child Eye Care Charitable Trust Mumbai, India As a pediatrician practicing in Mumbai, India, Gopa Kothari became aware of the devastating effects malnutrition and the lack of education were having on children living in urban slums. Kothari realized unless there was significant improvement in the health and living conditions in…

Sunitha is an Indian social activist whose organization rescues, rehabilitates and reintegrates sex-trafficked victims into society.

Harnessing the power of youth around the world

Dr. Chaudhuri developed a breakthrough healthcare system to help India’s poorest, marginalized children.

Ms. Khurana believes if children can’t come to school, then the school must come to the children.

Neha Gupta empowers disadvantaged and orphaned children with basic literacy and technology skills to prepare them for the future.