Twelve exceptional people get Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award'10

KK Modi, President - Godfrey Phillips India, said "At Godfrey Phillips India, we believe that bravery is a virtue that must be applauded and appreciated. Our winners are an inspiration for all of us and they motivate us to incorporate courage in our lives. As part of this concept, the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards were instituted in 1990 to recognize and honour the brave acts performed by ordinary people under challenging circumstances."

"Over the years Godfrey Phillips Bravery has metamorphosed into a movement. The Bravery Movement's objective remains to unify people from various strata and inspire every individual to create a better society," he added.

This year, at the Godfrey Phillips National Bravery Awards, Dr. Jaya Arunachalam, President, Working Women's Forum India of Tamil Nadu, was honoured with Social Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her services to support and empower poor women by instilling entrepreneurial skills among them.

The Women's India Trust of Maharastra received the Amodini Award for its charitable work in helping the less fortunate women to secure a better future. The Trust is dedicated to the original aim of its founder, Kamila Tyabji - to help empower women.

Master Achint Babber, from Delhi, is a special child who has severe learning disabilities. He has not let this be a hindrance to achieve his dreams and he won the Gold Medal at Special Olympics Bharat National Games in 2005. Similarly, a girl with steely ambitions is Sarita Dwivedi of UP. Despite losing her limbs (both hands and legs), she is determined to make her mark in the world. An exceptionally gifted painter she has participated and won many competitions and awards. For their resolute determination to overcome mental and physical challenges, and emerging victorious, Achint Babber and Sarita Dwivedi were awarded the Mind of Steel Award.

The Physical Bravery were awarded posthumously to - Late Mahesh Chand Sanghi from Rajasthan, Late Tanmay Mathur of UP, Late Tanmay Nag of West Bengal and Late Fr Thomas Fernandes of Goa, for their exemplary courage and supreme sacrifice of their life to protect others.

Nityendra Manav of Rajasthan, a crusader against corruption and injustice in society, Dr. NVS Kiran Kumar of AP and Gomantak Lokseva Trust's Mahilashram were awarded with the Social Bravery Award for their dedicated work towards alleviating social issues.

The Special Social Achievement Award was given to Dr. Vikram Akula, Founder and Chairman, SKS Microfinance. Sh. Akula successfully spearheaded a movement to provide poor people access to financial services, such as credit and insurance.

Amodini is the new category introduced last year to recognize exemplary work towards women's empowerment.

The awards have been instituted to encourage the culture of selfless action and empower the less fortunate. The Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards have recognized over 1200 persons across the country belonging to different social strata till now for their contributions to make a better society. The Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards are held for the states of Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.