Manila sources stated that at a ceremony in Manila, Cambodian activist Youk Chhang Filipino Howard Dee, Vietnam's Vo Thi Hoang Yen and East Timore's Maria de Lourdes Martins Cruz were also honored for their work. Carmencita Abella, president of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation said "All are unafraid to take on large causes. All have refused to give up despite meager resources, daunting adversity and strong opposition”.
Meanwhile Vatwani has dedicated his life for rescuing mentally ill people from the streets of India who number around 400,000 according to estimates and providing them with shelter and treatment through his Shraddha Rehabilitation Foundation. Furthermore since 1988, Vatwani has helped around 7,000 mental patients, reuniting many of them with their families.
Accordingly Wangchuk has been recognized for
"his uniquely systematic, collaborative and community driven reform of
learning systems in remote northern India, thus improving the life
opportunities of Ladakhi youth, and his constructive engagement of all sectors
in local society to harness science and culture creatively for economic
progress, thus setting an example for minority peoples in the world". So
far the institution has collected and digitized around a million documents
since 1995 from around 23,000 forced labor camps, where around two million
people were killed, and recorded the testimonies of around 10,000 victims and
aggressors.
