UN Awards 2025 Mandela Prize to Brenda Reynolds and Kennedy Odede
An Indigenoussocial worker from Canada and a social entrepreneur from Kenya are the laureates of the 2025 Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize, the United Nationsannouncedon Wednesday.
Some patients are easy to diagnose. They walk into a clinic and explain their symptoms. They can afford to pay for healthcare and access it seamlessly.
Secretary-General Antnio Guterreswill present the award to Brenda Reynolds and Kennedy Odede on 18 July, Nelson Mandela International Day.
Established in 2014, the prize is awarded every five years to two individuals whose work reflects the late South African Presidents legacy of leadership, humility, service, and unity across borders.
This years Mandela prize winners embody the spirit of unity and possibility reminding us how we all have the power to shape stronger communities and a better world, said Mr. Guterres.
Brenda Reynolds
A Status Treaty member of the Fishing Lake Saulteaux First Nation in Saskatchewan, Canada,Brenda Reynolds has spent decades advancing Indigenous rights, mental health, and trauma-informed care.
Linda Dickinson PhotographyBrenda Reynolds, 2025 Mandela Prize winner.
In 1988, she supported 17 teenage girls in the first residential school sexual abuse case in Saskatchewan. Later, she became a special adviser to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), helping shape survivor support and trauma responses.
She is most recognised for her key role in Canadas court-ordered Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement and her subsequent development of the Indian Residential School Resolution Health Support Programa national initiative offering culturally grounded mental health care for survivors and families.
In 2023, she was invited by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the European Union to share her expertise on trauma and cultural genocide.
Kennedy Odede
Living in Kenyas Kibera Slum for 23 years, Kennedy Odede went from living on the street at 10 years old to global recognition when he was named one of TIME magazines 2024 100 Most Influential People.
His journey began with a small act: saving his meagre factory earnings to buy a soccer ball and bring his community together. That spark grew into Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO), a grassroots movement he now leads as CEO. SHOFCO operates in 68 locations across Kenya, empowering local groups and delivering vital services to over 2.4 million people every year.
Mr. Odede is also a New York Times bestselling co-author and holds roles with USAID, the World Economic Forum, the Obama Foundation, and the Clinton Global Initiative.
SHOFCOKennedy Odede, 2025 Mandela Prize winnerLinda Dickinson PhotographyBrenda Reynolds, 2025 Mandela Prize winner.SHOFCOKennedy Odede, 2025 Mandela Prize winner
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Toronto Sun
To save rhinos, conservationists are removing their horns: 'Is a rhino still a rhino without its horns?'
Dehorning was much more cost-effective than other poacher deterrent methods such as 24/7 patrols Published Jun 06, 2025 • 6 minute read Pauline and her calf Cecil, endangered black rhinos, right before they were set free to roam a fenced area in a sanctuary at Zinave National Park, Mozambique, on Aug. 26, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post Conservationists are increasingly turning to a method of protecting the world's diminished population of rhinoceroses: Removing their horns before poachers can get their hands on them. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A study published Thursday in the journal Science found that dehorning – a conservation practice that involves sedating the often multi-ton animals, covering their eyes and ears, and trimming their horns, which do not have nerves and grow back in a few years – reduced poaching by 78 percent over a seven-year period in eight reserves across 11 studied in South Africa, home to most of Africa's rhinos. Whereas costly surveillance and law enforcement often prove futile in a vast, tangled landscape of criminal syndicates, corruption and wealth inequality around South African reserves, conservationists and researchers say, dehorning appears to be more impactful – but should remain a measure of last resort rather than a long-term solution. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The researchers are far from blind to the implications of removing the most iconic body part of a charismatic species that has captured global interest for generations. 'Is a rhino still a rhino without its horns?' asked Timothy Kuiper, the study's lead author, a senior lecturer in conservation and statistics and South Africa's Nelson Mandela University. 'The horns are such a distinctive part of its anatomy, it's a beautiful part of its body,' he said. 'It's wonderful to see a rhino with its horn.' Kuiper called dehorning 'a necessary evil.' Vanessa Duthé, an ecologist who has studied biological effects of dehorning, called it a 'pragmatic, and, at times, essential tool' that removes the assets criminals are going for in high-risk poaching areas. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A conservationist saws off the horns of one of the endangered black rhinos inside a boma at the Manketti game reserve in Lephalale, South Africa, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post There are fewer than 28,000 rhinos in the world, a steep drop from 500,000 at the start of the 20th century, according to the International Rhino Foundation, a conservation group. The majority are from two species in Africa: Black rhinos are critically endangered (6,500 left), and white rhinos are considered near threatened (16,800), according to the World Wildlife Fund. Three other species live in Asia, with two kinds – the Javan and Sumatran rhino – each having fewer than 50 animals left alive. African rhinos are targeted by poachers who kill them to cut off their horns, which are displayed as a status trophy or consumed as an element of traditional Chinese medicine. A kilogram of rhino horn at its peak went for $65,000. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. An estimated 12,713 rhinos have been poached in Africa since 2006, the majority in South Africa, according to conservation charity Save the Rhino. Five hundred and eighty-six African rhinos were poached in 2023, the International Rhino Foundation found. More than 300 of those were killed in just one state-run park. 'You can catch a poacher and there's three standing in line to take his place,' said another researcher behind the study, Rhino Recovery Fund Director Markus Hofmeyr. Endangered black rhinos walk through their bomas at the Manketti reserve in Lephalale, South Africa, on August 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post Dehorning was the only practical anti-poaching intervention for which the researchers found strong evidence of effectiveness, and it is much more cost-effective than other methods such as 24/7 patrols. Over the seven-year study period, the reserves dehorned 2,284 rhinos. Reducing poacher incentives through dehorning achieved 'large and abrupt' reductions in kills, while using just over 1 percent of the reserves' $74 million anti-poaching budget, the study found. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The researchers estimated a '13% risk of an individual horned rhino being poached in a particular year compared with a 0.6% poaching risk for a dehorned rhino.' Between 70 and 134 rhinos were saved from poaching in the 12 months after dehorning, the study said. The median cost to save a rhino was $7,133 per rhino. Dehorning itself 'is quite an operation, logistically,' Kuiper said. But it doesn't include pain for the rhino, researchers say – their horns are made mostly of keratin, the same material as human fingernails. Usually, a helicopter is involved, to locate the rhino. A team is deployed, often driving off-road, to reach the animal. A qualified veterinarian and a team immobilize the rhino with drugs. The horn is removed with a chain saw, Kuiper said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Once off, the horns are held in stockpiles in secure, secret locations, according to researchers. A member of the anti-poaching security unit watches over as Paulina, an endangered black rhino stands in its Boma at the Manketti game reserve, in Lephalale, South Africa, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post There is ongoing debate about legalizing the international rhino horn trade. Some argue that harvesting horns at regular intervals might satisfy demand while contributing to rhino protection funds. Others say it could increase poaching and demand – a grave risk with so few rhinos left. Dehorning 'is not a silver bullet,' Kuiper said. Some poachers have even killed dehorned rhinos for their regrowing stumps. Veterinarians can only cut up to the growth plate, which has nerves and blood vessels, leaving 5 to 15 centimeters of horn. Over two years, the researchers recorded the poaching of more than 100 previously dehorned rhinos – some just weeks after the procedure, Kuiper said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Horn demand, including for trophies and use in traditional medicine, along with poverty and the presence of criminal gangs, drives poaching. But researchers add that entrenched corruption – including between police, reserve staff and courts – has skewed the cost-benefit analysis for criminal poachers. There are cases of repeat offenders, too. 'It's a kind of perfect storm of criminal syndicates to come in and recruit people who are vulnerable socioeconomically,' Kuiper said. In remarks last month, South Africa's forestry minister, Dion George, praised the efforts of law enforcement. 'Our rangers are the true heroes in this fight, risking their lives daily to protect our rhinos,' he said. George has also praised the potential of dehorning programs, in combination with other methods of protection. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The practice of dehorning, initially tried decades ago, is growing. Across southern and eastern Africa, you can see more and more rhinos 'in a dehorned state,' Kuiper said. Rhinos can survive and breed without their horns, but at least some researchers have raised questions about behavioral effects. A 2023 study found that dehorned black rhinos decrease their home ranges. The theory is that dehorned rhinos might be less bold without them. Duthé, that study's lead researcher, said by email that while there are measurable changes in movement and social patterns, current evidence shows no impact on population growth rates. The known effects are 'generally considered acceptable when weighed against the significant reduction in poaching,' she said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'A live rhino without a horn, because you've cut it off, is a lot better than a dead rhino without a horn,' said Nina Fascione, IRF's executive director. The IRF supports dehorning, but not as a stand-alone, end-all technique. 'You can't just dehorn a rhino and then think they're safe, because the poachers will go after it even for a little nub of a horn,' Fascione said. Rhinos have probably changed little for at least the past million years, Hofmeyr said. By sheer size and strength, they have been able to successfully breed and survive. That they are an evolutionary marvel is also a liability. They have not shown an ability to rapidly adapt to human threats – such as how elephants know not to return to a watering hole where one of the group has been shot, he said. 'You can kill every last rhino in the landscape if you know … where they drink, the way they walk' – and how to evade law enforcement, Hofmeyr said. 'You can shoot the rhinos at the same waterhole until the very last one is gone.' It's a 'symbol of us as a human species,' he said, that we cannot take responsibility for 'keeping something alive that has actually been much more successful than we've ever been' at surviving on our own. Ontario Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Olympics
Toronto Sun
3 days ago
- Toronto Sun
To save rhinos, conservationists are removing their horns -- and a study finds it's working
Dehorning reduced poaching by 78 percent over a seven-year period Published Jun 06, 2025 • Last updated 1 minute ago • 6 minute read Pauline and her calf Cecil, endangered black rhinos, right before they were set free to roam a fenced area in a sanctuary at Zinave National Park, Mozambique, on Aug. 26, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post Conservationists are increasingly turning to a method of protecting the world's diminished population of rhinoceroses: Removing their horns before poachers can get their hands on them. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account A study published Thursday in the journal Science found that dehorning – a conservation practice that involves sedating the often multi-ton animals, covering their eyes and ears, and trimming their horns, which do not have nerves and grow back in a few years – reduced poaching by 78 percent over a seven-year period in eight reserves across 11 studied in South Africa, home to most of Africa's rhinos. Whereas costly surveillance and law enforcement often prove futile in a vast, tangled landscape of criminal syndicates, corruption and wealth inequality around South African reserves, conservationists and researchers say, dehorning appears to be more impactful – but should remain a measure of last resort rather than a long-term solution. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The researchers are far from blind to the implications of removing the most iconic body part of a charismatic species that has captured global interest for generations. 'Is a rhino still a rhino without its horns?' asked Timothy Kuiper, the study's lead author, a senior lecturer in conservation and statistics and South Africa's Nelson Mandela University. 'The horns are such a distinctive part of its anatomy, it's a beautiful part of its body,' he said. 'It's wonderful to see a rhino with its horn.' Kuiper called dehorning 'a necessary evil.' Vanessa Duthé, an ecologist who has studied biological effects of dehorning, called it a 'pragmatic, and, at times, essential tool' that removes the assets criminals are going for in high-risk poaching areas. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. A conservationist saws off the horns of one of the endangered black rhinos inside a boma at the Manketti game reserve in Lephalale, South Africa, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post There are fewer than 28,000 rhinos in the world, a steep drop from 500,000 at the start of the 20th century, according to the International Rhino Foundation, a conservation group. The majority are from two species in Africa: Black rhinos are critically endangered (6,500 left), and white rhinos are considered near threatened (16,800), according to the World Wildlife Fund. Three other species live in Asia, with two kinds – the Javan and Sumatran rhino – each having fewer than 50 animals left alive. African rhinos are targeted by poachers who kill them to cut off their horns, which are displayed as a status trophy or consumed as an element of traditional Chinese medicine. A kilogram of rhino horn at its peak went for $65,000. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. An estimated 12,713 rhinos have been poached in Africa since 2006, the majority in South Africa, according to conservation charity Save the Rhino. Five hundred and eighty-six African rhinos were poached in 2023, the International Rhino Foundation found. More than 300 of those were killed in just one state-run park. 'You can catch a poacher and there's three standing in line to take his place,' said another researcher behind the study, Rhino Recovery Fund Director Markus Hofmeyr. Endangered black rhinos walk through their bomas at the Manketti reserve in Lephalale, South Africa, on August 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post Dehorning was the only practical anti-poaching intervention for which the researchers found strong evidence of effectiveness, and it is much more cost-effective than other methods such as 24/7 patrols. Over the seven-year study period, the reserves dehorned 2,284 rhinos. Reducing poacher incentives through dehorning achieved 'large and abrupt' reductions in kills, while using just over 1 percent of the reserves' $74 million anti-poaching budget, the study found. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The researchers estimated a '13% risk of an individual horned rhino being poached in a particular year compared with a 0.6% poaching risk for a dehorned rhino.' Between 70 and 134 rhinos were saved from poaching in the 12 months after dehorning, the study said. The median cost to save a rhino was $7,133 per rhino. Dehorning itself 'is quite an operation, logistically,' Kuiper said. But it doesn't include pain for the rhino, researchers say – their horns are made mostly of keratin, the same material as human fingernails. Usually, a helicopter is involved, to locate the rhino. A team is deployed, often driving off-road, to reach the animal. A qualified veterinarian and a team immobilize the rhino with drugs. The horn is removed with a chain saw, Kuiper said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Once off, the horns are held in stockpiles in secure, secret locations, according to researchers. A member of the anti-poaching security unit watches over as Paulina, an endangered black rhino stands in its Boma at the Manketti game reserve, in Lephalale, South Africa, on Aug. 22, 2022. Photo by Salwan Georges / The Washington Post There is ongoing debate about legalizing the international rhino horn trade. Some argue that harvesting horns at regular intervals might satisfy demand while contributing to rhino protection funds. Others say it could increase poaching and demand – a grave risk with so few rhinos left. Dehorning 'is not a silver bullet,' Kuiper said. Some poachers have even killed dehorned rhinos for their regrowing stumps. Veterinarians can only cut up to the growth plate, which has nerves and blood vessels, leaving 5 to 15 centimeters of horn. Over two years, the researchers recorded the poaching of more than 100 previously dehorned rhinos – some just weeks after the procedure, Kuiper said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Horn demand, including for trophies and use in traditional medicine, along with poverty and the presence of criminal gangs, drives poaching. But researchers add that entrenched corruption – including between police, reserve staff and courts – has skewed the cost-benefit analysis for criminal poachers. There are cases of repeat offenders, too. 'It's a kind of perfect storm of criminal syndicates to come in and recruit people who are vulnerable socioeconomically,' Kuiper said. In remarks last month, South Africa's forestry minister, Dion George, praised the efforts of law enforcement. 'Our rangers are the true heroes in this fight, risking their lives daily to protect our rhinos,' he said. George has also praised the potential of dehorning programs, in combination with other methods of protection. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The practice of dehorning, initially tried decades ago, is growing. Across southern and eastern Africa, you can see more and more rhinos 'in a dehorned state,' Kuiper said. Rhinos can survive and breed without their horns, but at least some researchers have raised questions about behavioral effects. A 2023 study found that dehorned black rhinos decrease their home ranges. The theory is that dehorned rhinos might be less bold without them. Duthé, that study's lead researcher, said by email that while there are measurable changes in movement and social patterns, current evidence shows no impact on population growth rates. The known effects are 'generally considered acceptable when weighed against the significant reduction in poaching,' she said. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'A live rhino without a horn, because you've cut it off, is a lot better than a dead rhino without a horn,' said Nina Fascione, IRF's executive director. The IRF supports dehorning, but not as a stand-alone, end-all technique. 'You can't just dehorn a rhino and then think they're safe, because the poachers will go after it even for a little nub of a horn,' Fascione said. Rhinos have probably changed little for at least the past million years, Hofmeyr said. By sheer size and strength, they have been able to successfully breed and survive. That they are an evolutionary marvel is also a liability. They have not shown an ability to rapidly adapt to human threats – such as how elephants know not to return to a watering hole where one of the group has been shot, he said. 'You can kill every last rhino in the landscape if you know … where they drink, the way they walk' – and how to evade law enforcement, Hofmeyr said. 'You can shoot the rhinos at the same waterhole until the very last one is gone.' It's a 'symbol of us as a human species,' he said, that we cannot take responsibility for 'keeping something alive that has actually been much more successful than we've ever been' at surviving on our own. Ontario Sunshine Girls Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Olympics
Winnipeg Free Press
6 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
New Zealand Cricket seeks new head coach for all formats
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand Cricket has begun a search for a new head coach to lead the Black Caps in all three formats after ruling out the incumbent Gary Stead, who has been national coach since 2018. Stead stepped down in April from the white ball formats and said he was considering his future as test coach. NZC hurried his decision when it said Wednesday it is now looking for one coach to cover all formats. South African Rob Walter, former New Zealand fast bowler Shane Bond and current assistants Luke Ronchi and Shane Jurgensen are expected to be interviewed. Stead coached the Black Caps in 52 test matches, winning 27 including the inaugural World Test Championship. Under his coaching, New Zealand won 56 of 97 one-day internationals and 64 of 119 Twenty20 internationals. New Zealand was runner-up on a countback of boundaries in the 2019 World Cup and runner-up at the Champions Trophy earlier this year. Stead took over as head coach from Mike Hesson, who had enjoyed success in company with captain Brendon McCullum. 'Brendon McCullum and Mike Hesson had left the team with strong values and a style of play and I've just tried to build and shape that further to grow our ability to be consistent in everything we do,' Stead said. 'It's been nice to be competitive across all three formats and I'd like to think that regardless of results, the opposition know the Black Caps are a team that won't fold and will always show the grit and determination to compete.' ___ AP cricket:
