Sabrina Habib, co-founder of Kidogo, the largest childcare network in Kenya, winner of the International Princess of Girona Award 2023
The CEO and co-founder of Kidogo, a non-profit social enterprise that has become the largest childcare network in Kenya, Sabrina Habib, has been distinguished with the Princess of Girona International Award 2023. The winner's name was announced during the presentation ceremony in Barcelona of the winners of the Princess of Girona Awards 2023.
A jury of experts, composed of Pedro Alonso, medical epidemiologist, researcher and member of the Advisory Board of the Princess of Girona Foundation; Juan David Aristizábal, social entrepreneur and 2021 International Award winner; Héctor Gómez, engineer and 2017 Scientific Research Award winner; Anja Langenbucher, Director of the European office of the Gates Foundation; Raúl Sánchez, CEO of Leagues of Code and Giles Tremlett, historian and journalist, have decided to recognise Sabrina Habib's career for "her great initiative for affordable early childhood care in East Africa and for her commitment to working with local people and ensuring quality". They added that "the model she has developed combines investment, care and the work of mothers to generate an elegant and simple solution that is easily scalable, so it has the potential to increase its impact over time". Sabrina Habib joins the list of Princess of Girona Foundation award winners, along with social educator and founder of the Palliative Art Foundation, Sílvia Fernández Cadevall (Social Award); aeronautical engineer, CEO and founder of Open Cosmos, Rafael Jordá (Business Award); violinist María Dueñas (Arts and Literature Award) and biomedicine doctor Marc Schneeberger Pané (Scientific Research Award).
The winners of the 2023 Princess of Girona Awards met for the first time at a talent day held at CaixaForum Macaya in Barcelona. The international laureate, Sabrina Habib, joined the meeting by videoconference. The five laureates shared their concerns and challenges to improve our society in a day attended by Francisco Belil, President of the Princess of Girona Foundation, Vicente Cancio, head of the Foundation's Laureate Working Group and Pedro Alonso, President of the International Award Jury, as well as various laureates from previous years of the Foundation. Entrepreneurship, motivation, hard work, effort, unconditional dedication and personal dreams were the main themes of this first meeting, in which the award winners highlighted the common denominator of all of them: that their work goes beyond their own professional development to have a social scope, a purpose and an impact on others. The award winners also debated the great challenges facing young people and shared some recommendations to strengthen their future.
For Silvia Fernández, "Arte Paliativo was born with the aim of making medicine a more integrative one, in which the emotional, social and spiritual dimension is attended to equally, just as the physical, biological and medical dimensions are attended to, making art therapy a complement so that hospitalisations and medical admissions are more bearable and above all that they allow you to have positive experiences, to be able to leave a legacy or to be able to say goodbye to your loved ones. Our dream is the humanisation of healthcare". The jury distinguished her for her perseverance, determination, sensitivity, humility and commitment in accompanying people during illness and at the end of life. It also valued the effort made by the artist to consolidate his project and to achieve, through art, the humanisation of the healthcare environment. Rafael Jordá emphasised that "our satellites are small. They can be the size of a microwave and weigh 5 or 6 kilos. By making smaller satellites we make these infrastructures available to many more people. Increasing access to these infrastructures is essential to solve major global challenges such as climate change and energy efficiency, and this is what we are working towards".
The prize was awarded for democratising access to space for the benefit of society by making it possible to launch low orbit satellites, reducing development and manufacturing times, and at a competitive cost. The passion and enthusiasm, his leadership skills and his human qualities make him an excellent new member of the Laureate Generation. Maria Dueñas explains that one of her aims "is for music to reach young people, who are responsible for promoting it so that it continues to live on. In my case, the choice of the violin was love at first sight, as it is the instrument that best suits my personality". The reason for her award is due to her extremely high level of interpretation and performance on the violin, which gives her a great emotional connection with the audience, as well as the fact that she has received international recognition that is unheard of at her age. Her great talent, discipline and hard work make her an exceptional role model for young people.
For Marc Schneeberger Pané, the aim is "to investigate how the brain works in situations of obesity, because obesity has a big impact on our society. My father is a chef and I have always loved cooking. When I was asked to study how body weight is regulated, it was clear to me. From the synergy between my passion for food and science, I found my vocation: to study how the brain works in situations of obesity". The jury awarded him the prize for his scientific rigour and ability to establish collaborations, making him an excellent role model for other young researchers to follow. Sabrina Habib's aim is "to ensure that young children receive the care, nutrition and stimulation they need to thrive in their early years, while allowing their mothers to work with peace of mind". This year, at the different stops of the Talent Tour, the Foundation has opened the call for entries in the different categories of the 2024 Awards to coincide with the announcement of a new awardee in each city.
