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UN honours Red Cross chief

Executive Director,UNEP,Mr Achim Steiner and the winner of the UN Person of the year inNairobi, Kenya,October, Mr Abbas G, Gullet of Kenya Red Cross Society country Director. Julius Mwelu/IRIN
    NAIROBI

    Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) secretary-general Abbas Gullet has been given the UN in Kenya Person of the Year 2007 award for his work in reforming the organisation into a successful and partly self-financing operation.

    Gullet received the accolade as part of celebrations to mark UN Day at the UN headquarters in Nairobi on 24 October.

    UN resident coordinator and UNFPA representative Mustafa Kemal said Gullet was honoured for his personal commitment in making the KRCS a world-class humanitarian agency.

    "This award is for the thousands of dedicated and selfless staff and volunteers who have given their lives to serve Kenyans in need," Gullet said.

    In 2001, when Gullet was appointed, the society was heavily in debt and had lost credibility among its membership. Today, the KRCS says it is a leading humanitarian agency, partly self-financing and operating through a network of 58 branches and 69,000 volunteers countrywide.

    Gullet attributes the revival to good governance and transparency and has challenged local and national NGOs to do the same.

    He becomes the sixth individual to receive the UN annual award for achievements and contributions towards the Millennium Development Goals.

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    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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