CNN Hero Of The Year To Speak In Bermuda
World renowned activist, winner of CNN Hero of the Year Award, and founder of Maiti Nepal, Anuradha Koirala, will be in Bermuda this week to speak about her work fighting the atrocities of human trafficking.
Ms. Koirala is instrumental in fighting to protect girls and women from crimes such a sex trafficking, domestic violence, child prostitution and child labour. Founder and director of Maiti Nepal, an NGO in Nepal, Ms. Koirala has dedicated her life to combating the sexual exploitation of women and children.
Bermudian John Singleton with Ms Koirala, in a Nepalese village:
She has rescued over 16,000 girls from sex trafficking. In the last few weeks, eleven girls were saved from traffickers and brought to safety at Maiti Nepal.
Ms Koirala has created transit homes where the women can stay until they are able to return to their families, or if not accepted by their parents they may receive services at Maiti Nepal’s Rehabilitation Centre until they are able to live independently.
Maiti Nepal also works patrolling the Indo-Nepal border with police and other law enforcement authorities, and with Nepali police at the border to Tibetan China, as well as rescuing trafficked women from the brothels in India with the help of the Indian authorities.
Respected for her innovative and powerful anti-trafficking work around the world, Ms. Koirala has received over 30 national and international awards in recognition of her courageous acts and lifetime achievement furthering the cause of children’s and women’s rights.
Some international awards have included The Peace Abbey, Courage of Conscience Award, Queen Sofia Silver Medal Award, the German UNIFEM Prize, and most recently the Manhae Peace Prize [S. Korea.] Other recipients of the Manhae award have included Nelson Mandela and his Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.
Bringing her to the island is Bermudian, John Singleton, who had the privilege of going to the remotest villages in the Himalayas on the border of Tibet with her and seeing her awareness campaigns first hand. He said, “She is an iconic figure in Asia. I wanted to bring her to the island to share with Bermuda what she is doing to combat this horrific crime.”
In partnership with the Women’s Resource Centre, the presentation will be held on Tuesday, October 29th at Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute [BUEI]. Starting at 6pm with a cocktail reception the presentation will begin at 6.30 pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased here or for more information contact John Singleton on 333-0870.
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