Manila, July 29
Indian activist Sandeep Pandey, the Philippines' Supreme Court chief justice, a nun in Pakistan, a doctor from Myanmar, a Nepalese journalist and a South Korean Buddhist monk were named on Monday as the winners of this year's Ramon Magsaysay Awards, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel prize.
Sandeep Pandey of India won the award for emergent leadership for helping found Asha, a group which supports education and livelihood projects for poor children, particularly "dalits".
Supreme Court justice Hilario Davide won the prize for government service for his decisions and actions in promotion of democracy in the Philippines, the awards committee said.
Ruth Pfau, a Catholic nun, born in Germany, was given the award for public service for improving the treatment of lepers at the Marie Adelaide Leprosy Center in Pakistan and for fighting the stigma attached to the disease.
Cynthia Maung, born to an ethnic Karen family in Myanmar, was named a recipient for community leadership for founding a clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand, which treats thousands of refugees on the Myanmar-Thai border.
Bharat Koirala, founder of the Nepal Press Institute, won the award for journalism, literature and communications for developing professional journalism in his country while promoting the use of mass media for development.
Buddhist monk Sukho Choi, also known as Venerable Pomnyun Snim, won the award for peace and international understanding for his efforts to rally assistance for the afflicted people of North Korea, regardless of the political division.
The winners of the awards will each receive a medallion and a cash prize of $50,000 each in an awards ceremony at the Philippine capital in August.
The Magsaysay awards foundation was set up in May, 1957 in honor of popular Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay who died in a plane crash in March, 1957.