Founder of JAAGO Foundation wins Magsaysay Award

Korvi Rakshand, the founder and CEO of JAAGO Foundation, has received this year's Ramon Magsaysay Award, known as "Asia's Nobel Prize."

The foundation said in a statement that this year’s awardees "share the same unwavering courage and compassion for the common man that we have been pushing for since then." The award was first given in 1958 to laureates who "demonstrated the same greatness of spirit that then president Ramon Magsaysay has embodied throughout his life." It is considered Asia’s premier prize and highest honour.

Korvi Rakshand fosters youth empowerment by providing free education to underprivileged children through traditional and online schools.

There are three other recipients of the award this year.

Indian surgical oncologist Ravi Kannan is the director of Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in the state of Assam. He provides free treatment, food and accommodations, as well as a home-care program for people in need.

Eugenio Lemos is an environmental activist and singer-songwriter in Timor-Leste, formerly East Timor. He promotes permaculture – sustainable agriculture that emphasizes responsible relations between nature and people.

Filipino peace builder Miriam Coronel-Ferrer was recognized for her role as the Philippine government's chief negotiator in reaching a peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014. She has also supported mediation efforts in countries such as Afghanistan and Myanmar.

/KN/