Waterford's Tammy Darcy, founder of The Shona Project has been named as the winner of the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian of the Year Award.
The prestigious Humanitarian of the Year Award is bestowed by the Irish Red Cross on an individual for exceptional humanitarian achievement.
Tammy, from Passage East, has dedicated her life to helping teenage girls realise their rightful place in the world through her non-profit organisation The Shona Project.
By the end of this year, The Shona Project will have worked with over 20,000 girls directly in schools all over Ireland, with over 40,000 girls attending their Shine Festival in 2020.
Now in their fourth year, the Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards honour humanitarian excellence and leadership across six categories.
The awards recognise those who have had a humanitarian impact on the lives of others through volunteering, storytelling, skill sharing or fundraising. Earlier this month, historian and advocate Catherine Corless, was awarded the Irish Red Cross Lifetime Achievement Award.
She received her award on Sunday in recognition of her investigations into the Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam, Co Galway.
At the announcement of the award winners in Dublin on Sunday, November 28, Chair of the Irish Red Cross Pat Carey said: “The Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards are the highest honour given by the Irish Red Cross, in recognition of those who are dedicated to exceptional humanitarian excellence.”
“It’s important to remember that humanitarians operate at home, in Ireland, and abroad, across diverse sectors, always working to improve the lives of those in need,” he said. “The Irish Red Cross Humanitarian Awards celebrate these people and organisations, highlighting the amazing work that they do.”
Positive difference
“Tammy Darcy has not only demonstrated extraordinary leadership through The Shona Project, but she has demonstrated a measurable and far-reaching positive difference in the lives of others,” said Carey, as she accepted her award.
“Tammy is driven by a vision to help teenage girls realise their rightful place in the world and, with this vision, she has inspired others to make this societal change a reality in schools across Ireland, in India and Africa.”
Speaking at the award announcement on Sunday, Tammy Darcy said:
“I’m so honoured to accept this award, and am in awe of the amazing work of the other finalists. This organisation was inspired by the illness of my sister Shona, and being able to share her story with almost 20,000 young women all over Ireland has been one of the greatest honours of my life. Watching the organisation go from strength to strength, and become a movement of women and girls supporting each other, and being kind to themselves shows that we all identify on some level, and that The Shona Project, is no longer just about Shona, but about all of us.”
The Shona Project also took the honours in the Innovation for Change category, recognising those who have implemented an innovative, positive solution in response to a humanitarian issue.
