Empowering Voices: Baptist World Alliance Honors Champions with 2024 Human Rights Award and Special Citation | MorungExpress
Baptist World Alliance Recognizes Leaders in Women’s Advocacy and Peacemaking
Lagos, July 17 (MExN): At the closing General Council session of the 2024 Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Annual Gathering in Lagos, Nigeria, Julie Mariama Sesay received the prestigious 2024 Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award. The award, established in 2006, honors remarkable efforts to secure, protect, and preserve human rights.
Sesay, a survivor of female genital mutilation, has spent over three decades championing women’s and girls’ rights in Sierra Leone and across Africa. As program manager for the Baptist Women’s Union of Sierra Leone, she launched initiatives such as “Breaking the Silence on Domestic Violence,” impacting six chiefdoms in northern Sierra Leone. Her activism has influenced policing, community bylaws, and national legislation. Sesay also led the Baptist Women’s Union of West Africa, focusing on gender-based violence across 11 countries.
Recognized for her efforts in economic stability, public health, and legal access, Sesay established training centers and educational programs to empower women and girls. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she was honored as a “COVID-19 Heroine” for her work in securing the release of detained women. "I started working on human rights at a tender age," said Sesay, emphasizing her continuous commitment to women’s liberation and empowerment.
Simultaneously, BWA awarded a special citation to Ernest Adu-Gyamfi for his peacemaking efforts in Ghana. As the Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), Adu-Gyamfi developed the Presidential Candidate’s Peace Pact in 2020, committing candidates to peaceful election outcomes. He has been instrumental in resolving interethnic conflicts and chieftaincy disputes, while also training various community leaders in peace advocacy and counterterrorism.
The awards were managed by BWA Awards Committee members, including Chair Thomas Klammt, Vice-Chair Fernando Brandão, and others, with BWA President Tomás Mackey and General Secretary Elijah Brown present. The next BWA gathering will feature the Congress Quinquennial Human Rights Award and the BWA–Kowloon International Baptist Church Evangelism Award.
Original Story https://www.morungexpress.com/baptist-world-alliance-presents-2024-human-rights-award-and-special-citation
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