An Agenda for Reform

A blessing. A responsibility. An inspiration. "A sacred mantle of service and sacrifice". "A beacon to show the way forward." That is the Ramon Magsaysay Award, in the words of some of its recipients.

At the 17th annual awardees' conference, held last November in Chennai, India, 13 laureates shared their experiences with the RMAF board of trustees and offered their views on how the Award could continue to be relevant in this dynamic region. The latest forum, which focused on the theme, "Asia and the Maysaysay Award: Ripples of Reform," thus yielded inputs valuable to preparations for the 50th anniversary this year of Asia's most prestigious prize.

As gleaned from the reflection papers of six participants, the Award draws wider support for the laureates' work, consequently enabling them to expand it and serve more beneficiaries. At the same time, the more the laureates spread the message of selfless service, the more they see the need for it.

The conference hosts were M.S. Swaminathan (CL, 1971) and Dr. V. Shanta (PS, 2005). The participants were Mamesh C. Mehta (PS, 1997) and Lakshmi Jain (PS, 1989) from India; Ibn Abdur Rehman (PIU, 2004), Dr. Syed Adibul Rizvi (GS, 1998) from Pakistan; Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne (CL, 1969) from Sri Lanka; Anton Soedjarwo (CL, 1983) from Indonesia; Zacarias Sarian (JL, 1974), Benjamin Abadiano (EL, 2004) and Washington Sycip (IU, 1992) from the Philippines; Dr. Zafrullah Chowdury (CL, 1985) from Bangladesh and Prateep Unsongtham-Hata (PS, 1978) from Thailand. Asma Jahangir (PS, 1995) of Pakistan was under house arrest and could not attend.

Dr. Shanta said the Award has inspired faith in her and "a new sense of trust" in the Chennai Cancer Institute, which she heads as chair. Because of this, the number of patients has more than doubled since she received the Award in 2005. This has put "an enormous financial strain" on the institute, which has to maintain its state-of-the-art treatment and offer fulltime pay to keep its limited top-caliber staff.

She lamented, however, that the Award "does not seem to inspire our medical and scientific fraternity here with any spirit of service." Many of the specialists who trained at the institute seek greener pastures instead of staying and offering their services. This, she said, was the negative effect of the Award and she hoped the RMAF would look into it. As for herself, the Award will always be "a sacred mantle of service and sacrifice" to live up to.

Similarly, Dr. Rizvi said that the Award brought to the fore the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (SIUT) as a model of free care, resulting in a positive public attitude toward health care and, consequently, an "unprecedented expansion" in the institute's services.

As SIUT opened one new specialized center after another, it also opened the minds of the government and the citizens to health care reforms. One of its major contributions was its campaign against organ trade in Pakistan and the promulgation of the Transplant Ordinance in 2007, he reported.

SUIT started its selfless service in health care. "It is perhaps [the only] one of its kind in Asia, where care is offered free and with dignity," he said. Still, the gap between the rich and poor remains wide, he noted. "Asia is entrapped in debt, poverty, illiteracy, poor health care structure and a large population to feed and clothe...We have to pool our resources and Magsaysay [Award Foundation] should extend its 'greatness of spirit' from individuals to communities...to cities...to countries for the betterment of the people of Asia," he said.

Dr. Ariyaratne, founder of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, said the RMAF was the first international body to give recognition to this work. Other awards followed, as more partner agencies provided resources. But praise was shortly replaced by criticism, arising from misunderstanding or envy. His worst experience was a government-led campaign to discredit him and the movement. He looked at it as an affirmation of his group's success, and thought nothing of fighting back, save in the courts whenever their rights were violated.

It took 50 years of Sarvodaya work, he said, but "now we have a very good understanding" with the government and all sectors. However, this is only the beginning, he added. "We have to continue to develop the 'greatness of spirit in selfless service' in others by 1) advocating simplicity in lifestyles and conservation of resources; 2) spreading spiritual renewal globally; and 3) developing a democratic system of community self-governance, starting from the 15,000 villages where Sarvodaya is active.

He proposed a survey of efforts made by awardees and their organizations to develop a system that would eradicate poverty, crimes, environmental destruction, corruption, human rights violations, terrorism, war, and link them up with support groups such as the Rockefellers Brothers Fund.

To Abadiano, the Award affirmed his decision to put aside his need in favor of the need of others-in this case, indigenous peoples of the Philippines. He found it to be "a potent force" in promoting the issues and persuading the government and civic organizations to support his advocacies in education, development, and peace and security.

He considered a blessing his missions he had developed through the Assisi Development Foundation. These are the Tugdaan Mangyan Center for Learning and Development, Ilawan Center for Peace and Development and the Pamulaan Center for Indigenous Peoples.

What more can be done? Abadiano finds the answer in the RMAF dictum, "greatness of spirit," which to him simply means doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way, passionately and with a commitment to make the lives of others more just and humane.

Sarian's journalistic dedication to the agriculture beat can be likened to a gardener's care for his patch of land. And his receipt of the Award was like an infusion of a new type of fertilizer, bringing about a harvest of opportunities to help develop agriculture in the Philippines. People offer him leads to interesting subjects. Researchers share results of their studies.

From writing agriculture news and features, he branched out to co-hosting an agricultural radio program, setting up a forum for farmers, weekend organic markets and a technology transfer network. He also farms, tending a collection of exotic Philippine and imported fruit trees, which he hopes could contribute to the improvement of fruit trees in his country.

At 70, Sarian still enjoys going around the country looking for interesting stories to write. "Greatness of spirit is not stopping in making a contribution to our target clients, the farming community," he said. It means being focused on one's advocacy, doing constructive things for the community, inspiring others to be self-reliant and being sincere in whatever one does, he added.

For Ungsongtham-Hata, the Award led her to her lifework and life partner. With her prize, the community teacher set up the Duang Prateep Foundation, which formalized her work with slum dwellers, particularly her pupils. Her exposure to problems in the slums led to her becoming an active campaigner-for democracy and against the military power in 1992 and the military regime in Burma.

In 1997 she ran for the Senate and won. As a Magsaysay awardee, she was regarded by voters as someone with integrity, she said. It was also because of the Award that a Japanese social worker sought her out and eventually sought her hand in marriage.

To her mind, winning the Award at a young age, as in her case (26), when one is just on the threshold of a career, has greater impact than winning it when one is already established and well-known. In this context, she said the addition of the Emergent Leadership category for the under-40 awardees in 2001, was laudable. In her opinion, young awardees and those who have not been recognized for their work stand to benefit more from the Award.

If the RMAF seeks optimum impact, "Emergent Leadership must continue to be honored, as must those who have done significant work without winning widespread recognition in the past," she said.

Keeping her thoughts on the future, she concluded her presentation thus: "We do live in increasingly selfish times, when across Asia there is less sense of community and less understanding of the needs of others. In this context, the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation does provide a beacon which crosses all faiths, cultures, and income levels and shows a way forward."