The $1 million award for the first Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity will fund projects in Rwanda, Ethiopia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Brazil. The proceeds will support initiatives that are combatting child poverty and advancing aid and rehabilitation for child refugees and orphans, the website of the Aurora Prize said.
As Aurora Prize Laureate, Marguerite Barankitse – founder of Maison Shalom and the REMA Hospital in Burundi – received a $100,000 grant, and was offered the chance at even greater impact by being asked to nominate humanitarian organizations which would receive the Prize’s $1 million award. Barankitse chose her longtime partners: Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse; Fondation Jean-François Peterbroeck; and Fondation Bridderlech Deelen. These three organizations announced the projects they have chosen as recipients of the funds.
“The beauty of the Aurora Prize is the unique ability to share this wonderful gift with causes so close to my heart,” said Aurora Prize Laureate Marguerite Barankitse. “Through the Aurora Prize we can show children around the world the power of love and kindness over hate and violence.”
The Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse will use the award to support their project providing for 200 Eritrean refugees arriving in Ethiopia from Egypt. The project protects young people from trafficking and incarceration, provides vocational training and is building a training center that can accommodate at least 200 refugees per year.