9 Jun 2010

SHE AWARDS #1.

I'd never normally buy any of those glossy woman's magazines (at £3+ they are far too expensive and I'm not into fashion and make-up which they tend to be full of) HOWEVER I found myself making an exception with June's edition of SHE magazine. The reason? You got a free book with it which sounded like a fun, 'summer' read.
Anyway, tucked amongst such articles as 'Denim to rock your summer', '3 women and a sperm donor', 'Get beach body confident' and 'Hot new bags: Everyday arm candy you'll love' there was a feature that caught my attention - SHE Inspiring Woman Awards 2010.
"Celebrating the extraordinary achievements of ordinary woman. .......... There could only be one winner for each of the six categories" stated the blurb. Great, I had my Inspirational Women Wednesday* posts for the next few weeks.

WEEK 1 - THE HUMANITARIAN: CAMILA BATMANGHELIDJH Founder of KIDS COMPANY.

Iranian-born Camila has risked her own home three times for her charity - twice remortgaging her house to plug a funds shortage and once when she directed money to her charity instead of her monthly payments. "When it came to court the judge refused to take my flat away when he discovered what I'd done with the money" she says. But her commitment has more than paid off, as Kids Company now helps 14,000 children each year - providing a home from home for children; cooking hot meals, helping with home work, finding them doctors, enabling them to get back into education, finding specialist support and even giving them mobile phones so they can call their mentors at any time.

After training and working as a child psychotherapist for social services, Camila established Kids Company in 1996. She was frustrated by a system that wasn't working and which relied on neglectful parents - themselves the problem - to bring their children to sessions. The results are nothing short of amazing - 96% return to education or employment and this year alone 90 took up university places. "It's a privilege for me to work with these children. They are incredibly courageous, dignified and forgiving. To me life is about that moment you lie on your death bed and think was it worth it, and the answer is 'Blooming yes'" - SHE magazine.
Read more about Kids Company by clicking HERE
NEXT WEEK: The Survivor.
* Inspirational Women Wednesday is a weekly meme over at Aine's THE EVOLVING SPIRIT.

15 comments:

chitra said...

Really inspirational to read about personalities like Camila.You really find good stuff to share

Kissed by an Angel said...

That is a marvellous story!!! You find the best things to share with us!!
Glad Husband Dearest is home now!! hope he is back to normal soon!!!
xxxx

Jennifer McLean said...

Hey Tracy,
I'm thinking barring actually tranquilizing ole' hubby, you could grab a comfy chair, a strong rope, the tv remote and INSIST he rest. Hehehe. Maybe crazy glue would work better than rope.... Hmm. ;o)
Good luck!

~Jenn

KLZ said...

Wow - that is something. I can't imagine what I'm doing with my money. But then, losing my house is a really scary prospect to me. Props to her for courage.

Betty Manousos said...

Really interesting stuff! :)
How amazing being a founder of Kids Company. Camila is just great!
And thank you so much for your lovely comments on my blog.
What a nice thing to say, Tracy! I would really love to meet you some day!
Love and hugs!
B xx

Oddyoddyo13 said...

That IS a fantastic way to spend money-good for the judge for not punishing her.

Jenners said...

What a great series of posts this is going to be!!! I'm excited to read them. (Though I'm sure I'll end up feeling awful about myself.)

Kelly said...

This is certainly an inspiring story!

So glad things are getting back to normal (?) in your household. Yep... it can be a challenge making men do what they are supposed to when it comes to being a patient. Good luck!

Trac~ said...

What a great and inspiring story and I look forward to reading all the others.

Glad hubby is getting better - hopefully you can get him to calm down so he'll heal quicker.

Big hugs! :o)

TirzahLaughs said...

Ah this one was a good one. So many inspiration lists don't list anyone ordinary who does extraordinary things.

Good for Camillia.

Tirz

Heather said...

thanks for sharing this story of such an inspiring woman.

Pam said...

Men! You can't ever get them to do what is most constructive for their health. This is an inspiring story. I had to laugh at denim to rock your world.

Arti said...

I love these Inspirational Women Wednesday...so informative and inspiring..
Great to read that your husband is back home:)

Karen said...

Very inspriring story - thanks for sharing. I don't read woman's magazines too much either unless I'm in the Dr's office.... :-) Not much of a fashionista type!

purplume said...

Wow, I thought your post inspiring us to be kind was a good public service.
Now I am totally inspired. This is terrific. I'm looking forward to the next ones.