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National Peace Corps Association Honors Kul Chandra Gautam

  2 min 13 sec to read

August 23: National Peace Corps Association (NPCA) has announced to award Kul Chandra Gautam, a native of Nepal who rose from humble beginnings to become a distinguished United Nations diplomat,  with the highest honor bestowed to a global leader by the NPCA.

Gautam, who currently serves as chairman of the board of the international anti-poverty non-profit organization RESULTS, will be conferred with The Harris Wofford Global Citizen Award at NPCA’s annual Peace Corps Connect conference on Friday, August 24.

The annual award is named after former US senator who was instrumental in the formation of the Peace Corps in 1961 as a special assistant to President John F Kennedy. NPCA is the largest non-profit organization representing Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.

Born in a small village without running water or electricity, Gautam’s ties to the Peace Corps date back to 1962 when he attended a school in Tansen, about a three-day walk from his home.

According to his official biography, Gautam, an outstanding student, “became good friends with several US Peace Corps Volunteers who were English language teachers at the school. He learned to play scrabble with them and surprised them by often beating them – quite a feat for a Nepali 7th or 8th grader.” 

Recognizing Gautam’s talents, Peace Corps volunteers encouraged Gautam to seek a college scholarship in the United States. Gautam eventually graduated with degrees from Dartmouth College and Princeton University and then worked for UNICEF for over three decades, rising to become deputy executive director of UNICEF and assistant secretary-general of the United Nations in the early 2000s.

After retiring from the UN, Gautam was briefly special advisor to the prime minister of Nepal on international affairs and the peace process. He continues informally to advise his country’s senior political and civil society leadership on the peace process, consolidation of democracy, human rights, and socio-economic development.  

"I am thrilled and most grateful for this honor,” said Gautam. “My experience with the Peace Corps has been a source of great inspiration for me from my early student days in Nepal and throughout my long career with the United Nations in the service of the world's poor and disadvantaged, particularly women and children. This prestigious award will further motivate me to continue to dedicate the rest of my life to pursue the core Peace Corps values of service, peace, development, human rights and global human solidarity.”

 

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