August 30 2019, New Delhi: Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder and Executive Trustee Smile Foundation, has been conferred Bharatiya Manavata Vikas Puraskar 2019 for Smile Foundation’s committed and extensive contribution towards human welfare.
The award citation highlighted the innovative approach and extensive partnerships, with a range of stakeholders, particularly with companies and corporates, fostered by Smile Foundation to enable interventions that have benefitted 750,000 underserved children and their families.
Receiving the award, Mr Mishra, said, “If an organization created by a few ordinary people, without any experience of the social sector, could mobilize over 400 global corporate and 200,000 individuals to impact the lives of more than 1.5 million children and families in just over 15 years, it gives us hope that a positive change is happening and this may be the beginning of a new world.”
“The concept of society driven change has become more relevant today. New India is on the rise. The thought process of the millennials is different – they are aware of the social disparities around them, more sensitized towards their individual social responsibility. Increasingly, it is getting important to give access to the lesser privileged, to voice their concerns and issues, and bring a sense of empathy to the privileged.”
Former President Pranab Mukherjee who gave away the awards broke into a passionate extempore speech. He said, “I am delighted to handover the awards to such wonderful people. It’s being humane that’s most important thing in the world. Till the time we can’t become humane, we can’t become humans.
Mr. Mishra was one of the ten awardees who were honoured on August 30, 2019 in the national capital by former President Shri Pranab Mukherjee. The list of awardees also included: Padma Shri awardee Arunachalam Muruganantham; Padma Shri awardee Anu Aga; Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Sandeep Pandey; Animal Rights Activist Menaka Gandhi; Rani Laskhmibai Stree Shakti Puraskar awardee Mansi Pradhan; Actress and social activist Nafisa Ali; International Women Empowerment Award winner Lakshmi Agarwal; Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Prakash Baba Amte; Conservationist and recipient of Officer of the Order of the British Empire Belinda Wright.
The awardees were selected by an eminent twenty-four-member jury.
Website – www.smilefoundationindia.org