2022 Ramon Magsaysay Award recipients

September 5, 2022

Ramon Magsaysay Awards were announced recently. This year the award will go to Sothiara Chim, Psychiatrist (Cambodia), Tadashi Hattori, Ophthalmologist (Japan), Bernadette Madrid, Pediatrician (Philippines) and Gary Bencheghib, activist and filmmaker (Indonesia).

Sothiara Chhim, Psychiatrist (Cambodia)

Sothiara Chhim, a 54-year-old Cambodian, was rewarded for dedicating her life to helping those suffering under the Khmer Rouge regime. Sothiara Chhim himself was also a survivor of the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge regime, which in the 1970s killed nearly a quarter of Cambodia’s population through starvation, overwork and mass executions.

Tadashi Hattori, Ophthalmologist (Japan)

Tadashi Hatori, a 58-year-old Japanese ophthalmologist, was honored for providing free eye surgery in Vietnam, where such specialists and facilities are limited.

Bernadette Madrid, Pediatrician (Philippines)

Bernadette Madrid, 64, has received an award for helping domestic abuse victims and setting up a child protection center in the Philippines. Since 1997, he has headed the country’s first child protection center at the Philippine General Hospital in Manila. It has served more than 27,000 children over the last year.

Gary Bencheghib, activist and film producer (Indonesia)

27-year-old French environmental activist and filmmaker Gary Bencheghib has been given the award for his efforts to clean up Indonesia’s polluted waterways. Bencheghib and his brother have built a kayak made of plastic bottles and bamboo to pick up garbage in the Citarum River, one of the world’s most polluted rivers.

About the Award

The award is considered as the Nobel Prize of Asia. It was established in 1957. The Award recognizes and honours individuals that have achieved distinction in their field and help others generously.

The Award has been given in five categories namely journalism, government service, public service, literature and creative communication

How are the Ramon Magsaysay Award recipients chosen?

Since 2009, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation selects awardees for the Emergent Leadership Sector on an annual basis. The awardees receive a certificate, a medallion with an embossed portrait of Ramon Magsaysay and a monetary prize.

Ramon Magsaysay

Magsaysay became the president of Philippines in 1953. The administration years of Magsaysay are cited as Golden Years of Philippines. He was well known for his generosity and agrarian reforms.

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