Rebeca Gyumi wins UNICEF Social Change Award

On 20 September 2016, Rebeca Gyumi, a Tanzanian lawyer, activist, founder and Executive Director of the Msichana Initiative, receives The Social Change Award at the Global Awards Dinner, held in New York City, USA.

Global Goals Awards honour champions for women’s and girls’ rights

Inaugural awards ceremony organized by Project Everyone, UNICEF and Unilever

New York, 20 September, 2016 – Tanzanian Rebeca Gyumi, executive director of the Msichana Initiative in Tanzania, was honoured at the first annual Global Goals Awards in New York for her efforts to end child marriage in Tanzania.

“I would like to dedicate this award to all Tanzanian girls and every girl around the world who escaped child marriage in search of freedom. You are my true motivation,” she said.

Ms Gyumi, along with the Msichana Initiative, won a landmark court case in July that ended legal provisions permitting child marriage in the country. “Changing the law is one step towards ending child marriage. But it is just the beginning of a wider campaign to change these inhuman acts,” said Gyumi. “For child marriage to end, we need to work together.”

Ms Gyumi was honoured during a ceremony in New York along with a Syrian teen and Olympic swimmer who saved fellow refugees from drowning and an organization that brings health care to vulnerable girls and women in Pakistan.

The three honourees were recognized for their significant contributions to advancing the rights of girls and women. Leaders from business, government, and entertainment attended the ceremony. Also present were Chief International Correspondent for CNN Christiane Amanpour, entrepreneur Chris Anderson and Grammy Award winner and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Angélique Kidjo.

The Global Goal Awards are part of ongoing efforts to rally support for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), a set of goals unanimously adopted by every country in the world to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity for all by 2030.

The awards were curated by UNICEF with the 17 SDG Advocates forming the official judging panel.

Winners of the Global Goals Awards:

• The Girl Award 

(to a girl or young woman for laudable work in creating progress for girls)

• Winner: Yusra Mardini, Syria

Now in Germany, 18-year-old Yusra Mardini and her sister fled conflict in Syria in 2015. While traveling across the Aegean Sea their raft broke down and the sisters jumped into the water and helped guide the boat to safety, saving about 20 people on board. At the Rio Olympics Yusra was part of Refugee Olympic Team and used the opportunity to tell her story and raise awareness about the plight of refugees and migrants around the world. Yusra also won her heat in the butterfly.

• The Social Change Award 

(to an individual who achieved significant social change for girls)

Winner: Rebeca Gyumi, Tanzania
Rebeca Gyumi is a lawyer, activist and the founder and executive director of the Msichana Initiative, a Tanzanian non-profit that advocates for girls rights and access to education. Rebeca and the Msichana Initiative won a landmark court case in July that ended legal provisions permitting child marriage in the country.

• The Campaigner Award

(to an individual or organization improving the lives of girls and women)

Winner: DoctHERS, represented by Dr.Sara Saeed Khurram, Pakistan
The social enterprise DoctHERS matches trained junior female doctors in Pakistan with rural women and girls via telemedicine. DoctHERS reaches vulnerable girls and women with essential health care in Pakistan. The organization also provides employment opportunities for qualified female health professionals.

Download professional quality phtos of winners receiving the awards here http://uni.cf/2ckXrms

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For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Usia Ledama, Communication Specialist, UNICEF Tanzania, Mobile: 255 682 911 534 / 0762 871830 ,Direct: 255 22 2196627 ; Email: [email protected]