The KISS Humanitarian Award-2015 was presented to former President of Peru Dr Alejandro Toledo at the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) here on Thursday. KIIT and KISS President Saswati Bal and Founder Dr Achyuta Samanta presented the award to DR Toledo in the presence of Eliane Karp-Toledo, Ambassador of Peru to India JJ Guillermo Betancourt Rivera, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Peru in India Carlos Jimenez Gil-Fortoul and KISS Secretary RN Dash.
The award recognized him as an ‘icon of hope and aspirations of millions of poverty stricken and indigenous aborigine people around the world’. In his address, Dr Toledo, who was the first South American President of indigenous descent to be democratically elected when he became President of Peru in 2001, said education is the most effective weapon to slay poverty and inequality.
“I invite you to dream in order to be successful, but dream with your eyes open. Don’t get truncated by the impossibility of your dreams. We have a lot of things in common”, he exhorted the students.
Notably, the award is given every year to honour individuals with exceptionally high contributions to the society in various fields relating to social issues.