A nurse celebrated for her dedication to helping people outside the bounds of her normal duties walked home with $250,000 on Thursday.
Anna Qabale Duba from Kenya won the Aster Guardians Global Nursing Award after a panel of judges championed her work in helping to protect vulnerable women and children in Africa.
The mother-of-two, 31, who is the only graduate from her village in Kenya, beat off the competition from nine other nurses who were nominated for the prize. The awards ceremony took place in Dubai.
On the shortlist were six women and four men working in seven countries — India, the UAE, the UK, Australia, Afghanistan, Kenya and the US.
Ms Duba, who comes from a family of 19 siblings, has worked for more than a decade to reduce crimes against women and children, including female genital mutilation and forced marriage.
“I am happy and proud because growing up in a rural village in Kenya, never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be celebrating on a global platform like this,” she said.
“I come from a place where illiteracy levels are very high. I am the only graduate in my village and in my family.
“I do not discount boys and men but I focus my efforts on women and children, because in my country we do not get equal opportunities.
“Through my organisation, I have built a unique school in my village that teaches both children and their parents, because for me education is key to a better future.”
More than 24,000 applicants were put forward for the global nursing award and on International Nurses Day Ms Duba became its first recipient, with the prize-giving in Dubai.
She is the founder of the Qabale Duba Foundation in Kenya, which opposes harmful cultural practices against women and children and advocates girls’ education.
The centre trains women and children and equips them with skills to enter the working world. While the foundation been open for only five years, she said she hopes it leads to more of her graduates entering the field of nursing.
Ms Duba said: “With the money, I plan to open a boarding school, so more children have access to education as they won’t need to travel for hours to get there.
“I also want to start a maternity shelter.
“In my region, 99 per cent of women still deliver at home due to lack of services, so I want to bridge this gap.”
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