2014 Hermann Gmeiner Award Winners Announced
On June 23, SOS Children’s Villages announced the 2014 winners of our celebrated Hermann Gmeiner Award contest.
The award was established in the early 1990s to recognize individuals who were cared for in our programs as children and who have distinguished themselves through social, cultural, athletic, or career accomplishments.
Starting this year, two winners are nominated: one male candidate and one female. The two winners will each receive a cash prize of 5,000 euros, and will be invited to the SOS Children´s Villages International headquarters in Innsbruck, Austria, where they will be honoured by SOS friends and co-workers.
Last month, eight finalists were selected out of a pool of 279 exceptional nominees. After a very close contest, female nominee Maya Dhal and male nominee Deepak KC received the most votes — nearly 90,000 total — from around the world and were declared the winners of the 2014 Hermann Gmeiner Award.
The first winner, 24-year-old Maya Dha, used her own pocket money to buy books and other teaching materials for 27 children living in a slum in Bhubaneswar. Most of them had dropped out of school, but returned with her support. Maya’s greatest wish for a better world is that everyone, in their own way, contributes to a better, safer environment to live in, especially for girls.
Deepak, age 39 from Nepal, became the first wheelchair user in Nepal to obtain a degree in Architecture and Engineering. Deepak is recognized as a pioneer in the Universal Design movement, which takes into account the full range of human diversity. With thanks to his input, wheelchair accessibility in Nepal has increased. It is not only Deepak’s own ability to work hard and improve himself that people admire, but also his efforts to improve others' lives.
These two exceptional winners were congratulated in a statement by SOS Children's Villages President Siddhartha Kaul.
"Both winners have shared their passions and helped children who have been denied many of life's fortunes – a true reflection of SOS Children’s Villages’ values”. Kaul and Kutin remarked in their joint statement. Yet, the significance of the other 277 nominees is not lost either. “For the SOS Family, you are all winners, and we are proud of you and your achievements. All of you represent young men and women who are striving to achieve the best possible results in their chosen field of activity and eventually become self-supporting adults”.
From everyone at SOS Children’s Villages Canada, we congratulate the two winners and the other nominees, and commend them all for representing SOS Children’s Villages in such a positive way.