Seattle University announced today that a woman from Burundi, Africa will receive a $1 million humanitarian award from the Opus Prize Foundation.
Marguerite Barankitse heads an organization that cares for and houses orphans in Burundi. Many of the children are orphans of ethnic genocide, and Barankitse's program is being used as a model in other areas of Africa.
Barankitse was visibly elated today at a press conference announcing the award. She clapped her hands, laughed and hugged SU President Stephen Sundborg.
Speaking careful English, she told those assembled that people sometimes ask her if she is foolish to do the often dangerous work that she has done for 15 years.
"Be foolish like me," she said. "Don't be afraid to be foolish."
The Opus award is one of the largest faith-based humanitarian awards in the world. The foundation works with a university to administer the prize every year.
Students from SU traveled around the world to meet with finalists.
Barankitse told SU's student newspaper that she'll use the prize to build a hospital for orphaned children.
Source: Seattlepi.com
Read more about other nominees Here
4 comments:
She deserves this award;doesn't she?
She makes us proud. More importantly the prize encourages her to go on tirelessly. It is challenge for many burundians who think that only money comes from corruption...Money can come from doing good...the youth should in a special way be touched by her life story...At least we have ONE good news from the country of Mwezi Gisabo!
True she deserve some honorific considerations , she is a real practitioner of humanitarian assistance , however i felt bad once i read one of her forged and wrong testimony whereby she tried to betray her own ethny just to get more support and higher consideration ,it is very sad , to hear from her pretending ignoring the genocide pertetrated against her own ethny in her own province and village , thousand of children women and men innocent , but massacreted as animals because borned TUTSI , and she is the eye witness but she rarely mention that ignoble war crime perpetrated by Hutu in Burundi.
Sir or Madam, with the previous post, you, like another human being are entitled to your own opinion and we respect that, but it is sad that all you see is negativity. I am not her lawyer, in fact I know nothing as far as law is concerned, but I thought you would use your time appreciating what she is doing, millions appreciate what she is doing...You can go ahead and tell the world what you believe but it will never help all those orphans she is taking care...
Jealousy seems like a Burundian virtue and that's what you resonate in your post...why didn't you mention a genocide committed against Hutus for example?...I don't think we have time to go there...All we have time for is the assemble all the pieces of Burundi that remain to build a generation based on true Burundian ideals...Your generation is retiring...we are a generation that inspires and learns from the past, not use the past to propagate hate!
Thanks,
Kibinakanwa!
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