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APGID honours local peoples contributions to Internation Development
The All Party Group on International Development (APGID) honoured local people who have made an outstanding contribution to international development at a special awards ceremony at Stormont today (29 March).
Richard Moore, founder of Children in Crossfire, was given the Lifetime Achievement award in recognition of his tireless campaigning and work across the globe.
The panel of independent judges also paid tribute to Dr Ian Clarke, the first European ever elected to public office in Uganda. Dr Clarke left his job as a GP in Bangor in the 80's to set up a field hospital in Northern Uganda, and since then he has become one of the country's leading physicians and has founded several hospitals in Kampala and around the country. Last year, he was elected Mayor of the Makindye district in Kampala, receiving twice as many votes as his nearest contender.
Other recipients include two Belfast schools, including Holy Cross Primary School, as well as a wide range of individuals from across the community.
Speaking at the awards, Chair of the All Party Group on International Development Conall McDevitt MLA said: "These are our second international development awards, and form the major part of the All Party Groups' determination to praise and celebrate local contributions to international development.
"The APGID last year produced a strategy which was unanimously adopted by the Assembly, and we are currently lobbying the Executive to adopt the strategy so as to allow for a specific regional strategy in relation to international development in Northern Ireland.
"We hope that the Junior Ministers will give the green light for a formal scoping study to be conducted in a specific region in North Eastern Uganda, which would pave the way for the implementation of a formal strategy. As a region recently emerged from conflict, it is important that we look outwards and assume our role as global citizens, playing an important role in global issues."
Vice-chair Jim Wells MLA added: "It has been a great privilege to meet so many incredible people and hear their stories of how they have made a difference in the developing world. I have been humbled by the efforts of so many people who have made contributions, and delighted that we have been able to recognize them in this way."
List of winners
Best Schools Project - Primary
Holy Cross Girls' School
Holy Cross Girls' Primary School has been leading the way in developing a global citizenship programme, and has developed a close relationship with St Teresa's in Kisubi, Uganda. Under the leadership of the school's Parenting Officer, Catherine Dowds, pupils in Holy Cross as well as in St Teresa's have developed a strong understanding of race, ethnicity and cultural identity. The project is an excellent example of effective development education, and now in its third year, is going from strength to strength.
Best Schools Project - Post-Primary
St Mary's Christian Brothers Grammar School
St. Mary's CBGS has initiated, developed and sustained a remarkable and unique partnership for a decade involving a school in Belfast and some of the poorest communities in the slums of Lusaka and surrounding villages. The students and staff from St. Mary's engage directly with HIV/AIDS victims, street children, orphans and widows, cholera sufferers, victims of famine, prisoners and many other people who are victims of poverty, marginalisation and injustice. The project, initiated by St. Mary's (Project Zambia), has inspired communities and individuals far beyond the school gates, and has developed across the community.
Best Contribution to Education Development in Developing World
Scott Baxter
Scott Baxter visited Uganda for the first time in 1997 as a 19 year-old on his summer break from Queens University, where he watched for 2 weeks as hundreds of children came and were turned away for a mere 30 school places. This inspired him to set up "Abaana," which he founded in 1998, and which has given over 1,300 African children the chance of an education and a better life through child sponsorship and the building of primary schools in rural areas. Scott has demonstrated incredible selflessness, using his skills and talents to work towards a better future for children and communities in Uganda.
Shared Understanding Award
Franseur Makula
Fransuer Makula was a street child in the slums of Nairobi until he was adopted by local Kenyan missionaries, and is now an RE teacher in Campbell College. Franseur established and is the driving force behind "Jengana" which works with individuals, street children, rural schools and villages in West Kenya, amongst others. Franseurs ethos works both ways - it is a benefit to those carrying out the work as well as to those receiving it. Jengana offers volunteers from Northern Ireland a chance to give in terms of experience, resources, and talents to improve the lives of those less fortunate and to develop from this. He has led several volunteer groups to Kenya to help with the projects, and has made a lasting impact on so many lives, both in Northern Ireland and in Kenya.
Best Contribution to Local Economic Development
Stephen Wood
Stephen has worked in Uganda and Tanzania and been instrumental in the establishment of four partnerships which have helped support thousands of working people improve their livelihoods. He helped establish the partnership which saw Tools for Solidarity support over 50 artisan groups get tools and sewing machines to people on the margins of society. This has provided much needed employment and income generation as well as enabling local services to be provided to local people. It is also a lasting legacy that the tools that helped shape Belfast are also now being used to help shape the lives of people in rural Uganda and Tanzania. Stephen has not just seen development as a process in sending material assistance but as a chance to make positive changes within so many lives.
Best Voluntary Contribution to International Development
Andrew Jordan
Since 1989 Andrew Jordan has been a volunteer community fundraiser with Tearfund. Over his 20+ years as a volunteer he organised and coordinated an annual sponsored walk and has raised over £250,000 for international development. He has spent years speaking up for those in the developing world to raise awareness and understanding in his local community through numerous presentations to churches and schools. His activities have inspired and mobilised local people to raise sponsorship and provide much needed vital resources to support a range of sustainable development programmes throughout the world.
Florence Blair & Gertrude Reid
Florence Blair and Gertie Reid have been volunteers and fundraisers for War on Want NI for more than 25 years. They have been entertaining audiences of all ages throughout Northern Ireland with the War on Want NI Period Fashion shows, raising much needed funds to support poverty eradication work. Their tireless effort and dedication has made 'Glimpse into the Past' and 'The Flapper Show' iconic shows and have raised awareness of international development issues, the work of War on Want NI and close to £100,000 in support of their work.
Best Contribution to Healthcare Services in the Developing World
Stephen Muldoon
After working as a nurse throughout Asia and Bangladesh, Stephen has been instrumental in the formation and on-going development of the Asian Spinal Cord Network - a network of 74 organisations throughout 18 countries in Asia that have come together to share and learn from each other in all aspects of spinal cord injury management. This project aims to address the challenges around the world to ensure adequate care for people sustaining and living with spinal injury, and has changed the lives of thousands of people living with SCI through providing rehabilitation and allowing them to return to active roles within their communities. Stephen has worked to address this problem at many levels, harnessing support from international agencies, experts working in the field and from the local community in Northern Ireland.
Outstanding Vocational Commitment to International Development
Dominic McSorley
Dominic McSorley, Operations Director for Concern Worldwide, has worked in the field of international development for 30 years. Since his initial assignment as a Refugee Programme Operations Manager on the Thai-Cambodian border in 1982, Dominic has played an central role in managing Concern Worldwide overseas operations in many of the 28 counties where it works, such as; Uganda, Haiti, Bangladesh and Pakistan. Dominic was integral in developing Concern's 'Rapid Deployment Unit', a team of highly experienced staff available on 24 hours' notice to respond to emergency situations, either through the result of conflict or natural disaster. Even now Dominic remains a key player in this vital team, often leading his colleagues through the most distressing circumstances and chaotic environments.
Special Award
Dr Ian Clarke
Dr Ian Clarke is a naturalized Ugandan who first came to Uganda as a medical Missionary after graduating from Queens University Belfast and has been resident there for the past twenty three years.
Dr Ian Clarke is the founder and Chairman of International Medical Group (IMG), a Private healthcare organisation in Uganda, which includes a hospital, a HMO, a Health Science University, a non-profit foundation and a network of primary care clinics. The emphasis of IMG has been to build capacity among Ugandans, and International Health Science University is a manifestation of this vision. Currently, there are six hundred students being trained in the fields of Nursing, Health Management and Public Health, and this is set to grow within the next two years. In 2010, Dr Clarke ran for the post of Mayor of Makindye Division Urban Council (one of the five Divisions in Kampala, with approximately 500,000 residents). He was elected by a landslide in March 2011, and took up office in May 2011 as the first white politician in Uganda.
Lifetime Achievement Award
Richard Moore
Blinded by a rubber bullet at the age of 10, making his way home from Primary School and caught in crossfire, Richard Moore might well have been expected to grow up to be an embittered and disillusioned young man. Driven by an ever growing desire to convey his lack of resentment towards the soldier that shot him, he eventually tracked him down and met with him. They are, today, firm friends, and Charles and Richard now collaborate on many projects. In 1996 Richard gave up a successful business career to found Children in Crossfire and dedicate himself to improving the lives of the many children in the world suffering privations, chief among these being poverty, lack of healthcare and lack of education. With a current staff of 16 people employed locally and an annual income of £1.7m, Children in Crossfire has become a highly respected international development organisation working in partnership with local organisations, specifically in Tanzania, Ethiopia and The Gambia to deliver programmes which protect and promote the rights of young children, through the provision of healthcare, education services and advocacy initiatives. His indomitable spirit inspires his staff to go "the extra mile" to ensure projects are meticulously planned and executed.