20 October 2014 – Maya Dhal (24) and Deepak KC (39), the two winners of the 2014 Hermann Gmeiner Award, were honoured on Friday, 17 October, by the International Senate of SOS Children’s Villages International in Innsbruck, Austria.
Each of the winners received a prize cheque for €7,500. The Hermann Gmeiner Award and its prize money were made possible through an endowment by the late Mrs Helene Weiner, specifically for the purpose of recognising the achievements of alumni of SOS Children’s Villages programmes.
From the pool of eight finalists for the 2014 award, Maya and Deepak, who grew up in SOS Children’s Village Bhubaneswar and Jorpati respectively, received thousands of votes from around the world for their remarkable achievements and service to others.
“Maya and Deepak are two people who have, despite all the difficulties, succeeded through hard work. But apart from their success they are also willing to share whatever they have with others who are less fortunate. To me that is a celebration,” said SOS Children’s Villages International President Siddhartha Kaul.
Meet the winners
In the following videos, Maya and Deepak tell about their lives growing up in SOS families and their passion for using their talents to help children and young people in their communities.
Maya Dhal
Deepak KC