The HUMANITARIAN OF THE YEAR competition is about finding people who are compassionate, humane, unselfish, altruistic, generous, kind, sympathetic, charitable, philanthropic, public-spirited, socially concerned and concerned with or seeking to promote human welfare.
For us it has always been important that finalists are presentable, well-spoken, take care of themselves, hard-working and reflect the spirit of Ubuntu- people who believe in giving back and who want to change the world one person at a time. We believe in bringing about change, one person at a time. If you wait until you can do everything for everybody instead of doing something for somebody, you’ll end up doing nothing for nobody.
Humanitarianism is probably the most important “ism” in the world today. Words such as “charity” and “philanthropy” describe a voluntary act, a matter of kindness rather than duty. For us humanitarianism is more a duty we are obligated to do while we’re renting our space on earth. Or maybe it is a combination of kindness and duty- a gift we HAVE to give.
We believe in getting your hands dirty, to go out and make a significant contribution to the world we live in. At the end of the day, a humanitarian does not look for glory or praise. His or her main goal is to make a difference in the world they live in, to make someone’s life a little bit better. For us being a Humanitarian means to have human values and an understanding of all human situations that we share, regardless of race,ethnicity, religion and social status. It’s working towards common human goals and ensuring we support people with respect and dignity. It requires being responsible, conscious of the circumstances of other people’s lives, and helping them on the basis of need, without discrimination.
In 2018 the biggest change to the competition will be that EVERYONE aged 20 and up will be eligible for entry. It will be open for anyone who wants to do their bit for charity, regardless of marital status, gender, race or sexual orientation. All ages 20 and up will be able to compete for the HUMANITARIAN of the Year title. Together we can bring about change.
We want our Humanitarian work to cause a ripple effect that impacts the lives of many families and vulnerable populations, starting with one person at a time.