Bhubaneswar: The KISS Humanitarian Award 2022 was conferred on Kenya’s First Lady Rachel Ruto at a function in Bhubaneswar on Saturday.
The award was presented to Rachel at the function in KISS campus, which was attended by Odisha Governor Prof Ganeshi Lal, in recognition of her dedication to humanitarian efforts and commitment to improving the lives of the underprivileged and underserved, particularly women, children and vulnerable communities.
In her acceptance speech, Rachel expressed her eagerness to collaborate with institutions like KISS in their shared mission to create a more compassionate and equitable world. She commended the visionary work of founder of KIIT and KISS Achyuta Samanta who has been instrumental in providing free education to over 40,000 underprivileged students.
Rachel acknowledged that the award was not just a recognition of her individual efforts but also a tribute to the spirit and resilience of Kenyan people, especially women. She pledged to continue advocating for women’s well-being, financial inclusion, access to knowledge, and livelihood initiatives through women economic empowerment programmes.
The Governor, in his address, commended the contributions of the First Lady and Samanta to betterment of humanity. Samanta, in his speech, drew parallels between Rachel’s works and the mission of KISS. He highlighted the significant impact she had made through initiatives like MaMa Doing Good, Women Economic Empowerment, and Environmental and Climate Action.
Samanta said both he and the First Lady are united in “purpose and mission” in serving the society even though they are separated by continents.
Among others, Chancellor of KISS Deemed to be University Satya S Tripathi; President of KIIT and KISS Saswati Bal; Kenya High Commission in India Willy K Bett; vice-president of KIIT and KISS Umapada Bose, secretary RN Das and other senior functionaries from both KIIT and KISS were present at the function.
The KISS Humanitarian Award, initiated in 2008, is conferred annually to recognise and felicitate individuals for their exemplary and distinguished service to humanity across the globe.
