Top 3 Finalists 2018
Sister Angela Mary
Giving hope to a community mired in drugs and violence
Sister Angela Mary has served the Brazilian community of Cidade Dutra for four decades. Her organisation Projeto Sol has played a pivotal role in transforming a community long marked by drug trafficking, gang wars and police violence.
Youth in the community attend the school daily, receiving meals, education, classes on Christian faith, painting, theatre and sports for free. Sister Angela has spent many years raising awareness on the importance of quality education, culture and athletics as deterrents to delinquency and violence among marginalised youth.
Since Projeto Sol began, 8,000 youths and 3,000 families have gone on to live fuller lives, armed with dignity and hope for a brighter tomorrow.
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Enid Hendershot
Breaking the cycle of poverty and abuse in Rishikesh, India
Enid has nurtured the impoverished children and villagers living in remote areas above Rishikesh, India, since 1994. She provides them with access to proper medical care, educational assistance and vocational training.
She founded Ramana’s Garden Children’s Home to provide shelter for orphans and free education, giving first placement to the poorest and lowest castes. Her curriculum meets government standards and includes yoga, meditation, music, dance and creative classes.
In 23 years Enid has provided educational assistance to over 5,000 children in 68 villages, medical assistance to 12,000 people and vocational training for hundreds of women. She helps them escape the cycle of poverty and empowers them to live independently.
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Dr. Ravindra Kolhe
Protecting and nurturing the marginalised tribes of Melghat, India
Dr. Ravindra Kolhe devotes every day to the remote tribal community of Bairagarh in Melghat, India, giving quality medical care and education to villagers.
He helped introduce bus services to the region and develop roads connecting 70% of the villages. He leads the community towards a self-sustainable future and defends them against corruption, exploitation, smuggling and illegal deforestation by mafias.
After 37 years of tireless work, mortality rates have been reduced from 200 to 60 per 100,000 while Melghat is the state’s only suicide-free farmer zone. Dr. Ravindra has singlehandedly saved the tribes of Bairagh from poverty, struggle and potential extinction.