Media Coverage

Opus Foundation Honors Humanitarian Endeavors in Mexico and Kenya with Awards

Nov. 7, 2005

Milwaukee, Wis. - The Opus Prize Foundation, a philanthropic organization that recognizes individuals engaged in humanitarian social entrepreneurism, presented $100,000 prizes Monday to Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos and Dr. Juliana Akinyi Otieno as part of its annual Opus Prize award ceremony.

"Our Little Brothers and Sisters"

Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos ("Our Little Brothers and Sisters"), received a $100,000 prize for the a charitable organization's efforts in serving orphaned and abandoned children in Latin America and the Caribbean. The prize was accepted in honor of its founder, Rev. William Wasson, by Rev. Phil Cleary who runs the day-to-day operations of Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos.

In 51 years, the oprganization has served more than 15,000 children. Father Wasson and his colleagues have founded orphanages in nine countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Kenyan Pediatrician

Dr. Juliana Akinyi Otieno also received a $100,000 prize for her service as a pediatrician in eastern Kenya, where two in every ten children still die before the age of five. Until recently, she was the only pediatrician serving a community of 300,000 people.

Sick children and their families walk to the hospital where Otieno works to be treated for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis and Burkitt's lymphoma, an often fatal cancer. Otieno sees up to 50 children each day. She continues seeing patients after hours, working from a clinic in her two-bedroom house. She also cares for eight children at home, including three of her own children and nieces and nephews.

About the Opus Prize

The nondenominational Opus Prize honors faith in action, singling out the good works, fidelity, and exemplary character of recipients. The 2005 Prize was awarded to Reach Education Action Programme (REAP), in Mumbai, India, which seeks to empower the underprivileged through literacy for a new world of freedom, justice, dignity and self-respect.

The Opus Prize Foundation recognizes unsung heroes of any faith tradition, anywhere in the world, solving today’s most persistent social problems by annually awarding the Opus Prize, a $1 million award and two $100,000 monetary awards. Opus Prize winners combine a driving entrepreneurial spirit with an abiding faith to give power to the disenfranchised, opportunities to the poorest, and inspire others to pursue lives of service. The Prize is awarded through partnerships with Catholic universities or colleges to maximize the scope and impact of its mission. The first Opus Prize was given in 2004. Today, 16 individuals from the United States and around the world have been recognized. The Opus Prize Foundation, established in 1994 by the founding chairman of Opus Corporation, is a private and independent foundation and does not accept unsolicited nominations. For more information, visit www.opusprize.org.

About the Prize Selection

The winners were selected by a jury appointed by Marquette University. The jurors were Chris Abele of the Argosy Foundation, R.W. Apple, Jr. of the New York Times, William Burleigh of E.W. Scripps Company, the Honorable Janine Geske of Marquette University, Erica John of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee Supporting Fund, Kerry Kennedy of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights, Sheldon Lubar of Lubar & Company, Roy Reiman of Reiman Publications, the Honorable Tommy Thompson, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary and former Governor of Wisconsin, and Rev. Robert A. Wild, S.J. of Marquette University.

Marquette's participation in administering the Opus Prize has been a catalyst to exploring issues of human dignity and human rights and the response of individuals and institutions to such issues. As part of the year-long "Human Dignity, Human Rights: A Call to Service," the university will present faculty lectures across academic disciplines, a film series, performing arts productions, and presentations by university guests on issues of human rights in the context of Marquette's Catholic, Jesuit mission.