Preda – Ireland an approved charity saving healing abused children
in partnership with
Peoples Recovery Empowerment Development Assistance(p.r.e.d.a)Foundation Inc.
Since 1974 Charity number: CHY 16815
A SOCIAL AND HUMAN DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION PROTECTING CHILDREN
PRESS RELEASE 17th NOVEMBER 2017
Irish missionary Fr. Shay Cullen to receive Prestigious Martin Buber Plaque Award
On 17th November 2017 in Kerkrade, the Netherlands Irish Columban missionary, Fr. Shay Cullen will be the recipient of the 2017 Martin Buber Plaque Award in recognition of his internationally acclaimed work on human rights undertaken through the PREDA Foundation which he established in the Philippines in 1974. He will be presented with the award during the annual International Festival of Dialogue – EURIADE. Mr. Francis Bermido jr.the executive Director of the Preda Foundation will be present during the awarding.
Fr.Shay Can be reached on Irish number +353 851456695
Professor Martin Buber was a Jewish philosopher who advocated peace dialogue, mutual recognition of human rights and dignity, and worked for a united Jewish and Arab Palestine. He became well known internationally for his “dialogical principle” – a way of thinking that implies that ONE human being – “I” – really perceives and accepts the OTHER as “YOU”.
Buber died in 1965, and the prestigious award in his memory was initiated in 2002 with German Foreign Minister, Hans-Dietrich Genscher as the inaugural recipient. Since then, recipients have included Queen Silvia of Sweden, President Klaus Johannis of Romania, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Prince Irene of the Netherlands, and Karl-heinz Böhm, founder of the Austrian Menschen für Menschen Foundation for Ethiopia.
Being chosen for this internationally focused award indicates the reputation and acclaim that Fr. Shay Cullen’s human rights work is attracting internationally. PREDA is active in the rescue and caring of abused children from jails, abusers and brothels and giving victims of abuse a safe home with protection, education, values formation, affirmation, empowerment and healing therapy and restoring their self-esteem. It is engaged in defending human rights and promoting justice for the marginalised, as well as running a Fair Trade project that is helping hundreds of small farmers get top process for their fruit which is processed by Preda Foundation and exported to EU countries , Japan, Korea. and New Zealand. The proceeds of the sale of PREDA dried mango go to eliminate exploitation and help support the families of the small scale mango-growing farmers.
He is a well known international speaker,huaman rights advocate focusing on the abused and exploited women and children.
He is a media commentator, and writer. In 2006, he published a book – Passion and Power – with an introduction by Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, and an endorsement by the Hollywood actor and human rights supporter, Martin Sheen.
Numerous newspaper articles and television documentaries have reported the success of his work protecting children and campaigning for human rights. He was an invited delegate to the conference drafting the Convention on the Rights of the Child in Helsinki, and has addressed the US House of Representatives Committee on International Relations on the issue of street children. In 2015, he addressed MPs in the Bundestag about the need for advocacy and support for people whose human rights are being violated in the Philippines where a lucrative sex industry operates.
Fr. Shay has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize by MPs in Germany and in Canada, and has received numerous recognition awards in several countries. These include the Human Rights of the City of Weimar Award in Germany in 2000, the Human Rights Award of the City of Ferrara in Italy in 2001, the Prix Caritas in Switzerland in 2003, and the International Solidarity Prize by Matres Mundi in Spain in 2008. This year he received the A.K. Shalom Award from the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany.
At home in Ireland, Fr Shay received the Hugh O’Flaherty International Humanitarian Award in 2016, an International Person of the Year Award in 2008, and the Irish Music Awards’ Humanitarian Award in 2009. Last June Fr Shay a Dun Laoghaire native, was accorded a civic reception by Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Co Council in recognition of his international work.
Now 74 Fr. Shay remains a humble man deeply dedicated to his missionary work. Humbled by his many recognition awards, he says: “I accept awards not for myself but on behalf of all those who are working and risking their lives to defend the rights and dignity of oppressed people and to win freedom for those who are victims of human rights violations”.
Matt Moran, author of recent book – The Legacy of Irish Missionaries Lives On – says: “Fr. Shay represents the very best in the life-changing work of our missionaries throughout the world. Preventing the abuse of women and children at the hands of human traffickers and their own governments is his life’s work. His mission for justice and peace is ecumenical in reach. It is based on taking a stand for human rights and protecting the dignity of every person, in particular exploited women, children and youth. It is wonderful to see his efforts being recognised internationally”.
During a short holiday in Ireland this year, he addressed TDs and Senators in Leinster House about human trafficking and the increasing human rights violations in the Philippines where over 8,000 people have been killed by police and agents of the state in a campaign against illegal drugs.
Further information about the inspiring work of PREDA can be found at www.preda.org. Donations are always welcome to support its many projects to support marginalised children and women. Fr.Shay’s Irish number +353 851456695 available this week.
ENDS
Postal Address: Upper Kalaklan, Olongapo City, Subic Bay,Philippines.
+63 47 223 9629, +63 47 222 4994, ph/fax+63 47 222 5573
Mobile; +639228768621
shaycullen@gmail.com, shaycullen@preda.org,
www.preda.org, www.predafairtrade.net
Bank account TSB 990604 # 87930352
BIC code/ Swift code for PTSB – IPBSIE2D
IBAN -IE25IPBS99060487930352
BIC code/ Swift code for PTSB – IPBSIE2D
Nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize,International Human Rights Awards
***
THE MARTIN BUBER PLAQUE AWARD
Press release 17th November 2017
Response of Shay Cullen to the news that the Plaque is awarded to him.
The Awarding of the Martin Buber Plaque to recognize the work of bringing peace and reconciliation to the abused, exploited, abandoned, and jailed children of the world is most welcome and appropriate and greatly appreciated by me and the Staff of the Preda Foundation who make the work possible. This is a great and welcome news.
The award of the plaque to this work is in the true spirit of Martin Buber’s writings and his stand on making peace in the individual by direct contact with people by addressing human rights issues. Martin Buber’s advocacy of peacemaking is based on compassionate listening, understanding the person, affirming each other, and engaging in dialogue directly with people who have or are suffering abuse and human rights violations.
It is a philosophy to create the possibility and the chance of peace and reconciliation through full personal relationship between individuals and in society. It is a process of human interaction that brings healing and recovery, individually and in community.
The work of freeing children from abusers, illegal imprisonment and abusive situations and bring them healing from trauma and bring them to a peaceful existence with society is what I have been doing for the past 43 years in the Philippines through the Preda Foundation with the help of dedicated co-workers.
I am deeply honored and happy to learn that the awarding of the Martin Buber Plaque recognizes and honors the victims of abuse and rights violations. It is the resilient and courageous children who are survivors and victors who will be the true recipients of this award.
I will receive it gratefully in November 2017 on their behalf and I congratulate the awarding committee in their wise and timely decision in choosing the resilient recovering children as the recipients of this award in my person.
I speak for them, the many who struggle to overcome adversity and remain without a voice and a representative. The Martin Buber Plaque award is a forum for them to be heard. They are here center stage. The occasion will highlight the suffering and the struggle of the abused children and youth to overcome abuse and live again.
Without intervention to be heard, listened to and engaged in personal dialogue in the spirit of Martin Buber many child survivors bury the pain and grow up to survive without inner peace and a happy childhood.
Some will be deeply affected all their lives, some will turn to vent their anger and pain on society through violence but they who receive the support and that care through personal relationship in the community will recover and become strong and resilient members of society.The announcement of the award to all the children and me we help is a wonderful gift and an opportunity to give them voice and attention.
Shay Cullen
-Media Release
