KOLKATA: Godfrey Phillips Bravery, a corporate social responsibility initiative of Godfrey Phillips India, honored twelve brave people from West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka with Godfrey Phillips Zonal Bravery Awards 2011. The Awards were presented by the Special Guest, Ms. Debasree Roy, Actress & Founder, Debasree Roy Foundation, Kolkata, West Bengal.
Mr. Harmanjit Singh, General Secretary, Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards, Godfrey Phillips India, said “The Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards were instituted in 1990, to honor exceptional bravery exhibited by a common person.
Twenty years on, the movement continues to inspire people of all ages, beliefs and origins, and celebrate the spirit of bravery. To commemorate 20 years we are increasing our footprint to cover 20 states. Four states that are being added are Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.”
He added, “With our two initiatives, Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards and Amodini, we have been working to promote the values of courage and empowerment in society. We take immense pride in having honored 1,200 bravehearts and empowered 7,600 women directly.”
Special Social Bravery Award was given to Ms Rangu Souriya of West Bengal. Her NGO, Kanchanjunga Uddhar Kendra is dedicated to help women and children who have been trafficked as bonded labour. Also this Special Award was presented to Padma Srinivasan who dedicated herself to the service of neglected elderly citizens in the society.
With 10 lakhs savings, she decided to invest the money in purchase of land in Vijaynagar to build homes for elderly people. To help raise the money, she and her other retired friends decided to get together and sell pizzas. Also, this Special Award was presented to Late Shri Kanailal Datta of West Bengal for education.
The Social Bravery Award was presented to Samata, an NGO of Andhra Pradesh working for tribals and to Dr Achyuta Samanta of Odisha for his untiring efforts in education.
Smt. B. Chitamma’s of Odisha has been awarded by Amodini Award for her exemplary work towards empowerment of poor women. Her organization Samudram is responsible to look after marine fisherwomen and their families along the coast of Odisha.
Today the federation has 3,080 members and works in 21 coastal blocks in Ganjam, Puri, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Bhadrak and Balasore districts of Orissa. Its five fresh and dry fish procurement centres are run by trained fisherwomen, churning out products like fish and prawn achar (pickle), fish papad, fish balls, fish pakoda, fish cutlets, fish cakes, and fish paneer making them financially independent.
The Special Physical Bravery Award was presented to Mrs. Gita Nag of West Bengal for showcasing exemplary act of bravery by rescuing her neighbor from dacoits and Shri Vepagunta Samraj was awarded for displaying extraordinary courage.
The Physical Bravery Awards were awarded to Shri Narayan Rao and Shri Buburu Sahadeb Behera of Odisha, fisherman by profession, showcased extraordinary spirit to save two drowned Japanese. For displaying extraordinary courage, braveheart, Shri Tamil Selvan of Karnataka was also awarded with Physical Bravery Award for his contribution to the community.
The Mind of Steel Award has been awarded to Shri Amrendra Behera of Odisha. Mr. Behera being physically challenged has won 26 medals to his credit, 13 gold, 10 silver and three bronze medals. He is the No. 1 badminton player in both singles and doubles events at the national level and the reigning doubles champion for the last six years.
Godfrey Phillips India instituted the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards in 1990. These Awards bring to light the uncommon spirit of the common man, and gives recognition to extraordinary yet little known acts of physical valor, social service and humanitarian deeds.
The purpose of the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards is to instill amongst people the culture of selfless action. With its two initiatives, Godfrey Phillips Bravery Awards and Amodini, over 1,200 bravehearts have been honored and 7000 women empowered directly.
Since inception in 1990, these awards have grown to encompass 20 states – Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal, Goa, Himachal Pradesh and the recent addition of Jammu Kashmir, Jharkhand, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The five zonal awards will be followed by the national awards, which will take place in Delhi in November.
