By Mohini Giri
It was a very humbling experience to stand at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters and receive the lifetime achievement award on the occasion of 10th Anniversary of the UN Second World Assembly on Aging.
It was much more humbling to be felicitated for one’s work along with dignitaries like Mr. Nelson Mandela (Former President of South Africa and human rights activist), Mr. Kofi Annan (Secretary General during the UN Second World Assembly on Aging), Sir Elie Wiesel (Nobel Laureate), Ms. Julia Alvarez (former Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to the UN), Baroness Sally Greengross (Co-Chair of the Alliance for Health and the Future and Executive Chair of International Longevity Centre-UK), Dr. Alexandre Kalache (Advisor to the Brazilian Government), Dr. Maria Isabel Rodriguez (First Female Minister of Health in El Salvador),and Dr. Alexandre Sidorenko (Former Head of the UN Programme on Ageing).
I was touched when introduced by Mr. Clarence Pearson (Member of the Executive Committee of the UN NGO Committee on Aging) as “a woman for all seasons and an accomplished professional, human right advocate par excellence.”
I was delighted that my friends Ranjit and Rati and the whole of The Hunger Project family were there with me to share my happiness.
During my speech, I emphasized that there was only one ingredient required to help the elderly and that was to give them respect and dignity. I summed up my speech with the importance of love, something in which I have always believed in.
Congratulations to Dr. Giri from all of us in The Hunger Project family!
Learn More
- UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner efforts to protect the rights of older persons
- The NGO Committee on Ageing
October 13, 2011