2009 HONOREE

FATHER ALEX REID, C.S.s.R.
Liguori House, Dublin, Ireland

Appointed to the Redemptorist Monastery at Clonard in West Belfast in 1962
Director of the Redemptorist Ministry for Peace and Reconciliation in Ireland.

Father Reid is being honored for his life’s work in the peace process in Northern Ireland. His work was long term and behind the scenes. He brought to the Irish conflict two very important recognitions: (1) in order to have the space to initiate a peace process, you have to stop the atrocities being committed by both sides and (2) success in any peace process requires inclusion of all parties who speak for recognized constituencies. Even today, as dissidents continue outbreaks of violence, Father Reid’s philosophies are being used to promote peace. His goal was to stop the killing in Northern Ireland so peace could start, and it was his early work that persuaded the Irish Republican Army to put down their arms.

Father Reid worked to bring all parties together first by opening communication between groups of Irish Catholics, then by bringing them to the table for discussions with the government of Ireland, and finally by helping bring all parties together to work toward peace with the British government.

Father Reid recently said his philosophy in solving a conflict is, Don’t stand at a distance and shout at them, you must talk to them and engage them. You have to create space to make peace. In the wake of renewed killings, Northern Ireland’s people and its leaders are uniting against a return to the violence that plagued them for years.

Father Reid never saw people as Catholic or Protestant. He never saw the conflict in Northern Ireland as religious. Rather, he saw the problem as political and all participants as equal human beings. Father Reid sorrowed over unequal or inhumane treatment of any person and the loss of life, no matter religion or ethnicity.

"I am honored to receive this award," Father Reid said from Dublin, Ireland. "I look forward to being in Oklahoma City to accept this award and am delighted to have the opportunity to see the Memorial and Museum."

2008 HONOREE

CAROLINA FOR KIBERA AND DOM TOMAS BALDUINO
The 2008 Reflections of Hope Award honoree is Carolina for Kibera, Inc., an organization whose mission is to fight abject poverty and prevent violence through community-based development in the Kibera slum of Narobi, Kenya. An inaugural award for lifetime achievement was presented to Dom Tomás Balduíno for his work in helping the poor of Brazil.

2007 HONOREE

SEEDS OF PEACE
Founded in 1993, Seeds of Peace first brought together 46 Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian teenagers in an effort to change their perceptions of each other before fear, mistrust and prejudice blinded them from seeing the human face of their enemy. The program goes beyond international agreements and treaties. It reverses the legacy of hatred by nurturing lasting friendships that become the basis for mutual understanding and respect. By training these young leaders in conflict resolution skills, Seeds of Peace helps them become the seeds from which an enduring peace will grow.

The program has grown so that in 2007, more than 300 outstanding Egyptian, Israeli, Jordanian, Palestinian, Pakistani, Indian and American teenagers will be chosen from more than 2000 applicants to participate in the program. Thirty American delegates will participate in the summer camp as well. Since its inception, Seeds of Peace has increased its leadership network to encompass more than 3000 young people from several conflict regions around the world.

2006 HONOREE

DURGA GHIMIRE
Co-founder of Tamakoshi Service Society (TSS), a community-based organization improving the lives of marginalized people in Ramechhap, Nepal

In the midst of civil war in Nepal, where widespread intimidation, coercion and human rights abuses are prevalent, Ghimire and her husband Jagdish grew this voluntary grassroots organization to over 6,000 members in 40 villages, providing basic services in preventative and reproductive health care, sustainable agriculture, water supply and income generation through rural micro-enterprise. With no government aid, and with the help of only a few external agencies including World Neighbors, TSS is the only agency providing these essential services in the Maoist guerilla controlled areas of Ramechhap.

2005 HONOREES (Inaugural Award)

VOICE OF AFGAN WOMEN RADIO
Kabul, Afganistan's first radio station managed by women, represented by Jamila Mujahid and Najiba Maram.

Since winning the award, the women have continued their work in giving the women of Afghanistan a voice in their new democracy and are hard at work expanding their organization to include television broadcasts as well.