Humanitarian Hero finalists

Joint Aid Movement (JAM) founders Peter and Ann Pretorius have been nominated among global organisations as recipients for this year’s Humanitarian Hero of the Year award by AidEx.

The two were selected from several entries across the globe and successfully made it onto the top five list.

The winner of the worthy award is expected to be announced on 12 November and would recognise people from all spheres of the humanitarian and development aid community.

Peter and Anne started founded JAM in 1984 after a personal tragedy in Mozambique. Peter was stranded at a refugee and distribution camp in the country and the devastation and poverty in the area was a wake-up call for him. He then decided to dedicate his life to providing relief to impoverished communities.

Pretorius said, “We garnered support from our family, friends and church community, and everyone dedicated everything they had to helping the less fortunate. That kind of humility may have been a tall order for many, if not most us, but we just shifted our minds to the goal we had.”

JAM International currently assist more than a million beneficiaries every day basis through its nutritional feeding program and boasts offices in the USA, UK, Germany and South Africa.

The pair’s nomination would certainly create a greater awareness of JAM’s significance role in the humanitarian sector.

“It’s a huge encouragement for both of us to see that an African-born, homegrown NGO could be among the five finalists. This is something that we are most grateful for and it reminds us that we should never take our roles for granted,” added Ann Pretorius.

Aidex creates links and platforms between the international aid and development communities with the private sector, in an effort to improve aid delivery in the world, while recognising individuals that have distinguished themselves as role models for their respective communities.