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Payatas NGO is finalist for $1 - million Opus Prize
Aug. 31, 2007

A non-governmental organization serving slum dwellers on a sprawling garbage dump in Quezon City, Philippines, has been chosen as one of three finalists for the 2007 $1-million humanitarian Opus Prize, the Minneapolis-based foundation announced on Thursday.

Given the chance to get the $1 million award is the Homeless People's Federation Philippines (HPFP) headed by Rev. Norberto Carcellar, a priest of the Congregation of the Mission.

The Catholic University of America, in partnership with the Opus Prize Foundation, selected the finalists to the $1-million Opus Prize, a humanitarian award given every year since 2004 by the Opus Prize Foundation to recognize an unsung hero -- either an individual or an organization -- working on the front lines in helping solve problems brought about by poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease, injustice and other social issues.

Of the three finalists, one stands to get the $1-million prize and each of the other two will receive $100,000 for their organizations. The winner of the $1-million award will be announced after all three finalists arrive in Washington in early November.

The 2007 Opus Prize will be presented at a ceremony on November 8, at the Catholic University's Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center.

The Opus Prize Foundation is a philanthropic organization affiliated with the Opus Group, a real estate development company based in Minneapolis.

In its website, Opus Prize said recipients of the $1 million humanitarian award 'may not be household names, but don't be fooled by their relative anonymity. The Opus Prize winner and finalists are making all the difference in their communities and their countries.'

'In these recipients, an unshakeable faith and a belief in entrepreneurship mingle and the results are stunning.'

The HTFP has enabled slum dwellers in the Payatas dumpsite area in Quezon City create community savings and credit programs, purchase land, build houses and set up waste disposal and water distribution systems.

Reverend Carcellar, founder of numerous social service initiatives and popular organizations, emerged from his experiences in the Payatas dumpsite. He is an active leader of Slums Dwellers International and a member of the Think-Tank on Poverty Eradication and Systemic Change of his congregation.

The other two finalists are Rev. John Adams from Washington DC and Brother Constant Goetschalckx, FC, from Tanzania.

Rev. John Adams, president of SOME (So Others Might Eat), has directed the organization for the past 29 years. Through his Adams leadership, SOME has grown from a soup kitchen that served 50 to 60 people daily with a single employee and two volunteers to an organization that serves more than 800 meals a day.

SOME also offers a clinic, dental services and transitional housing to the homeless.

Brother Constant Goetschalckx, FC, founder and director of Ahadi International Institute, Tanzania, leads an organization with a Swahili name that means 'working toward the fulfillment of a promise.'

Ahadi educates refugees from the war-torn countries of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi by providing post-secondary training via a distance-learning program and instruction for 500,000 high school students every year.

The finalists have been chosen because of their dedication to transforming the lives of many people.