[ News and Events ]
17 September 07
SURF AID WINS HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Surf Aid International has won the 2007 Humanitarian Award from the World Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (WANGO)
General
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The prestigious WANGO awards recognize non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from throughout the world that demonstrate exceptional effort, service, innovation, and excellence. These awards are presented to both large, well-known NGOs, as well as to smaller NGOs in less developed regions, whose valuable work may have slipped wider visibility.
Among past recipients of WANGO awards are Rotary International, Ashoka, Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, Inuit Circumpolar Conference, Free the Children, Bahrain Women’s Society, Bharatiya Jain Sanghatana, Buccoo Reef Trust, Altai Foundation, and Roots of Peace. In 2003, WANGO recognized the Green Belt Movement of Dr Wangari Maathai, the year before she received the Nobel Peace Prize. Previous recipients of the Peace & Security Award include the Ladies Charitable Society (received by Shima Mofid, the daughter of the founder,) and Small Kindness (received by founder Yusuf Islam, “Cat Stevens”).
Recipients of WANGO’s Universal Peace Award, WANGO’s highest award to individuals, include Dr. Federicio Mayor, former Secretary General of UNESCO, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, and former Zambia President Kenneth Kaunda.
In taking the decision to present the SurfAid International with its 2007 Humanitarian Award, the Awards Committee and Dr. Noel Brown particularly were impressed with the compassion of SurfAid and their remarkable and successful effort to address the dire health situation of the Mentawai people, with their high childhood mortality, the ravages of malaria, poor education, and poverty. SurfAid’s unique cutting edge solutions to alleviate the human suffering in the Mentawai Islands, and now Nias Island, promoting community-based solutions and tapping into the inherent values in the surfing community—individualism, courage, dynamism, and adaptability—is an example of humanitarian service that deserves widespread recognition. We are delighted to recognize such efforts and bring greater worldwide awareness of the extraordinary accomplishments of SurfAid International.
WANGO is the world’s largest, general purpose, international association for non-governmental organizations. With members in over 140 countries, and close to 70,000 members and subscribers, the Association encompasses the vast spectrum of the NGO world, ranging from small nonprofits focused on their local communities to major, international organizations with global agendas. Formed by NGOs for NGOs, the Association was established to assist NGOs in accomplishing their vital tasks and provide the infrastructure for NGOs to better connect, partner, and multiply their contributions to solve humanity’s basic problems.