The world's biggest humanitarian prize has been awarded to BRAC, the largest non-profit organization in the developing world. The 2008 Hilton Humanitarian Prize of $1.5 million honors BRAC, a Bangladeshi-based NGO, for its achievements in helping to eradicate poverty in nine Asian and African countries.
世界最大的人道主义奖颁给了孟加拉农村发展委员会(BRAC)这个发展中国家最大的非营利组织。2008年希尔顿人道主义奖的150万美元奖金颁给了孟加拉农村发展委员会这个总部设在孟加拉的非政府组织，因为孟加拉农村发展委员会在协助亚洲和非洲9个国家消除贫穷方面取得成就。
Founder of BRAC, Fazle Hasan Abed, said he is particularly honored to receive the Hilton Humanitarian Prize on the International Day to Eradicate Poverty, a day to remember the billions of people living in extreme poverty. He said he and his organization have worked for 36 years for the alleviation of poverty.
孟加拉农村发展委员会的创建人阿贝德表示，他觉得特别荣幸能在国际消除贫困日这一天获得希尔顿人道主义奖。国际消除贫困日是要提醒我们记得几十亿生活在极度贫困中的人。他说，他和他的组织已经努力工作了36年来缓解贫穷。
He said BRAC, which was launched in Bangladesh in 1972, now reaches more than 110 million people in nine Asian and African countries with its holistic approach toward development.
他说，孟加拉农村发展委员会1972年在孟加拉成立，现在以全面性发展计划向亚洲和非洲9个国家里1亿1千万人民伸出援手。
He said BRAC will use the $1.5 million prize money to help poor people in southern Sudan.
他说，孟加拉农村发展委员会将把这150万美元的奖金用来协助苏丹南部的穷人。
"After 20 years of conflict in southern Sudan, the Sudanese peace, fragile peace is still holding and people have come back to their villages," he said. "We are now trying to organize them in providing them health care and education and micro-finance, particularly poor people having no access to education or health care. We are trying to provide that."
他说：“苏丹南部经历了20年的冲突，苏丹的和平是很脆弱的，而且仍然没有落实，苏丹人民已经返回他们自己的村落。我们现在将他们组织起来，尤其是对那些没有能力获得教育和医疗照顾的穷人，试图向他们提供医疗照顾、教育和小额信贷。我们正在试图提供这些服务。”
BRAC won out over more than 225 nominees. A member of the prominent panel of international jurors, Princess Salimah Aga Khan, said it was a challenge to select an organization that has accomplished something unique in the humanitarian field.
孟加拉农村发展委员会从225个被提名的组织中胜出。国际评审小组的著名成员--萨丽麦公主表示，选出一个在人道主义领域完成独特成就的组织是很具有挑战性的。
"BRAC filled so many areas of excellence. It would be hard to find another organization that has accomplished so much, in so many areas," she said. "Literally millions, 110 million people have been helped out of poverty. I, and the other jurors, were especially moved by the organization's emphasis on women. BRAC sees women as change agents, not for their families, but for their communities as a whole."
她说：“孟加拉农村发展委员会在这么多领域取得了杰出的成就。要找到另外一个在同样多领域拥有同样多成就的组织是很困难的。1亿1千万人接受帮助脱离了贫穷。我和其他评审人员对这个组织把重点放在妇身上尤其觉得感动。孟加拉农村发展委员会将妇女视为改变的动力，这不是指她们改变家庭，而是指她们改变了整个社区面貌。”
Today, BRAC's programs reach three quarters of Bangladesh's population of 153 million people through the efforts of more than 110,000 micro-finance officers, teachers, health staff and enterprise managers.
今天，在超过11万名的小额信贷职员、教师、医疗团队和企业经营者的努力下，孟加拉农村发展委员会的计划向孟加拉1亿5千3百万人口的四分之三伸出援手。
In recent years, BRAC has expanded its programs globally and now has operations in Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Tanzania, Uganda, southern Sudan, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
在最近几年中，孟加拉农村发展委员会已将计划向全球扩展，现在还在阿富汗、斯里兰卡、巴基斯坦、坦桑尼亚、乌干达、南部苏丹、利比里亚、塞拉利昂等国家运作。 |