Nadia's Initiative Receives McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award from Refugees International

On May 25, 2021, Nadia’s Initiative was awarded the McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award from Refugees International during their Annual Advocacy Awards. The award was presented by UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie and recognizes Nadia’s Initiative’s work promoting the rights of displaced women and girls.

Nadia’s Initiative president Nadia Murad accepted the award on the Initiative’s behalf. Read her full remarks below:

Thank you to Angelina for the kind introduction and your dedication to improving the lives of women, children, and displaced people. Your work is an inspiration.

It is a great honor to accept this award on behalf of Nadia’s Initiative. We are humbled to stand among so many esteemed recipients and to be recognized by an organization that has defined the standard of humanitarian excellence for over 40 years. The seminal work of Refugees International in raising awareness of the realities of displacement and its disproportionate effects on women and girls is critical. 

It is a privilege to share the virtual stage tonight with Dr. Amani Ballour. I want to express my utmost respect for her bravery, initiative, and tireless work that provided so many with lifesaving care. In a pandemic year that has devastated the rights of women and girls, it is all the more meaningful that Refugees International has chosen to recognize work by women for the wellbeing and empowerment of women.

I founded Nadia’s Initiative because I witnessed firsthand the dire need for sustainable solutions to displacement. Refugee camps are intended to serve only immediate needs, and opportunities for resettlement are rapidly shrinking as nations close their borders. It is clear that a sustainable approach is needed to address the long-term consequences of conflict, sexual violence, and marginalization. 

For my community, the Yazidi people of Iraq, this means facilitating a safe return home from displacement camps by rebuilding our homeland in Sinjar. I won’t pretend that this is the easiest path, but the right one never is. Still, challenges must not discourage us from addressing the root causes of displacement.

At Nadia’s Initiative we have been able to overcome barriers to sustainable development by centering the communities we serve – their needs, their hopes, and their participation – at every step of the process. Whenever I am discouraged, I only have to look to the resilience of my community and my fellow survivors to know that we can build a better world if we pair their strength and innovation with tangible support. This award is for them.

Thank you.