# First Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity awarded

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/09/28/first-aurora-prize-awakening-humanity-awarded/
- Published: 2016-09-28T10:30:35+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**The [Aurora Humanitarian Initiative](https://auroraprize.com/en/Prize) has announced
that 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 working to alleviate child poverty
and providing aid and rehabilitation for child refugees and orphans.

## Advertisement

 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

 

This year’s Aurora Prize Laureate, Marguerite Barankitse, founder of [Maison Shalom](http://www.maisonshalom.org/en)
and the REMA Hospital in Burundi, nominated [Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse](http://Fondation du Grand-Duc et de la Grande-Duchesse);
Fondation Jean-François Peterbroeck; and Fondation Bridderlech Deelen to share the
$1m award. In addition to their own projects, all three support Maison Shalom, which
provides social and economic assistance to Burundian refugees in Rwanda.

 

> Humanitarian Marguerite Barankitsie explains how she distributed her $1M Aurora
> Prize. [#2030Now](https://twitter.com/hashtag/2030Now?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> [#SGS](https://twitter.com/hashtag/SGS?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw) [#DoingGood](https://twitter.com/hashtag/DoingGood?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)
> [pic.twitter.com/woMI7yWpOe](https://t.co/woMI7yWpOe)
> — Lance Ulanoff (@LanceUlanoff) [September 19, 2016](https://twitter.com/LanceUlanoff/status/777949673814450177?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

 

 

Ruben Vardanyan, co-founder of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, said:

 

> “As part of the Aurora Initiative, the Aurora Prize is meant to reach across the
> globe to back exceptional efforts such as Marguerite Barankitse’s. Marguerite 
> and the organisations she has selected will use the Prize to continue the cycle
> of giving and thus ignite positive change for generations to come.”

 

The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative was inspired by the Armenian Genocide, and works
with projects addressing humanitarian issues. The Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity
recognises organisations for the impact they have had on preserving human life and
advancing humanitarian causes, and will be awarded annually on 24th April in Yerevan,
Armenia. Each year, an Aurora Prize Laureate will receive a US$100,000 grant as 
well as the opportunity to continue the cycle of giving by nominating organisations
that inspired their work for a US$1,000,000 award.

 

The Aurora Prize Selection Committee includes Nobel Laureates Oscar Arias, Shirin
Ebadi and Leymah Gbowee; former President of Ireland Mary Robinson; human rights
activist Hina Jilani; former Australian Foreign Minister and President Emeritus 
of the International Crisis Group Gareth Evans; President of the Carnegie Corporation
of New York Vartan Gregorian; and Academy Award-winning actor and humanitarian George
Clooney.

 

Picture: Maison Shalom students

![Loading](https://fundraising.co.uk/wp-content/plugins/page-views-count/ajax-loader-
2x.gif)