Awards ceremony and concert recognize human rights leaders and provide a ‘voice’ for equality and dignity
Human rights touch every part of life, embracing humanity’s similarities and revealing differences that make communities unique -- regardless of race, class, gender, religion, sexuality, ability, and background. On Nov. 16, North Texans can support and share in the fight for rights by attending the Triumph of the Spirit Awards at Kessler Theater. Tickets, starting at $50, are available for purchase now at www.prekindle.com/triumph. Monies raised will help make these voices, championed by The Embrey Human Rights Program (EHRP) at Southern Methodist University, heard the world over.
This inspiring music and art-filled concert and awards ceremony will honor one global and one local humanitarian. Themed “VOICES,” the event will feature:
music by former Sudanese child soldier/current hip-hop peace activist, Emmanuel Jal;
smart, gritty country-folk music of Austin-based BettySoo;
compelling spoken-word and live-action performances by Journeyman Ink; and
a VOICES-inspired mixed-media artwork gallery created by SMU students and local professionals.
The bi-annual awards ceremony will honor the accomplishment, commitment, and innovation of one international and one local humanitarian: African physician Georges Bwelle, who goes the distance to offer free healthcare for his country’s impoverished, and Carol Brady Houston, a compassionate Plano-based supporter of special-needs children and their families. The prize total of $30,000, along with the production of the event, was graciously funded by an anonymous donor who passively serves as a role model in making the world a better place.
“Dr. Bwelle and Ms. Houston are the perfect examples of people who refuse to believe that one person is able to make a difference,” said Rick Halperin, director of the EHRP. “They epitomize the reason why we celebrate our human ability to make positive change.”
Bwelle and Houston were among 55 candidates nominated by people from around the world for the Triumph of the Spirit Awards. Each was selected as a winner by a group of respected academics, peace advocates and others for best exemplifying the tenets of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the EHRP credo, “There is no such thing as a lesser person.”
The uplifting celebration commemorates the 10th anniversary of the Embrey Human Rights Program at SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences – only the seventh university in the nation to offer an undergraduate degree in human rights.
Global Winner: Georges Bwelle
$25,000 recipient
Physician Georges Bwelle has spent a decade overcoming physical, financial and political obstacles to provide free medical care and health education to people in need in his native West African country of Cameroon and beyond.
Bwelle, a general surgeon and gastroenterologist for the Central Hospital of Yaoundé in Cameroon’s capitol city, is founder of ASCOVIME (Association Des Compétences Pour Une Vie Meilleure), a non-profit that relies on donations and volunteers to fight diseases and illiteracy in rural Africa, where healthcare and education are often inaccessible, insufficient and expensive.
Since 2008, Bwelle and his team have spent most weekends in remote villages, where they provide a field clinic, operating room, pharmacy and other services for up to 500 patients – some of whom walk nearly 40 miles for treatment.
Bwelle’s work is vital to the nearly 24 million people of Cameroon, where only one doctor is available for every 5,000 people. Additionally, only 6 percent of the nation’s budget goes to fight endemic diseases ranging from malaria to meningitis in hospitals that are overcrowded, unsanitary and lack doctors, who earn very little pay.
As CNN reported when honoring him as one of its 10 “Heroes” of 2013, Bwelle was inspired to become a doctor after watching his father die from complications of poor health care in 2002. One of the last things his father said was, “Son, you see how difficult it is to see a doctor. When you become one, please help the poor.”
Now, Bwelle says, “I am so happy when I am doing this work. I hope [my father] sees what I am doing.”
Dallas-Area Winner: Carol Brady Houston
$5,000 recipient
Each Friday without fail, for the past 20 years, Carol Brady Houston and a group of trained nurses and volunteers ensure that medically and physically challenged children experience a fun evening out so their parents can enjoy some much-needed time for themselves.
As director of the Plano-Based nonprofit group Friday Nite Friends, Houston helps children with special needs engage in arts and crafts projects plus physically and mentally challenging activities. On occasion, she also brings in special entertainment ranging from musical performances to visits by pet therapy dogs.
Friday Nite Friends (FNF) was founded in 1992 by Lynda Guerrero, the mother of a child who required constant nursing care. The nation’s second respite program was started as an outreach project for Custer Road United Methodist Church, where it is still based.
FNF now serves more than 60 families from all socio-economic backgrounds. So far, an estimated 250 families have benefitted from its services, which have provided training to more than 500 nursing students and enlisted about 3,000 volunteers, half of them youth.
During her 24-year career as a special education teacher, and after two decades of working with FNF, Houston says her best training has been as the mother of a son born with Spina bifida. “I’m no stranger to the stresses of long hospital stays and too many doctors appointments,” she says. “I can relate to families’ needs and challenges.”
Southern Methodist University(SMU) is a nationally ranked private university in Dallas founded 100 years ago. Today, SMU enrolls nearly 11,000 students who benefit from the academic opportunities and international reach of seven degree-granting schools.
SMU’s Embrey Human Rights Programin Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences is dedicated to providing opportunities for promoting, defending and extending human rights. SMU is one of only seven U.S. institutions to offer a bachelor’s degree in human rights, and through its interdisciplinary program annually facilitates hundreds of learning events and immersive trips, as well as community outreach and social action campaigns.
Triumph of the Spirit Awards, presented by the Embrey Human Rights Program at SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, is Nov. 16beginning at 6 p.m. at Kessler Theater located at 1230 West Davis Street, Dallas, TX 75208. Tickets start at $50 and include hors d’oeuvres, valet, and cash bar. Tickets are available to purchase at www.prekindle.com/triumph. Student discount rates are available by contacting Sherry Aikmanat saikman@smu.edu or 214-768-8347. For more details about the Triumph of the Spirit Awards, visit smu.edu/triumph.
