Please join us on April 29 as we celebrate the Women's Refugee Commission's work and impact, and honor three extraordinary women who exemplify courage and resilience.

Dr. Amani Ballour is a Syrian resident pediatrician and an advocate for women's and children's rights. For six years, during the siege of eastern Ghouta, a suburb of Damascus, she was a doctorand later the directorof an underground secret hospital known as The Cave. Following the siege, she was exiled and forced to flee and is now working on establishing a foundation to empower other women and children in conflict areas.

Faridah Luanda is a refugee youth leader and activist, originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). After her husband was killed, Faridah fled DRC and lived in a refugee settlement in Uganda, where she started Da Vision Refugee Group to engage youth in music and dance to promote community engagement, girls education, and sexual and reproductive health, and to combat gender-based violence and child marriage.

Kandace Vallejo is founding executive director of Youth Rise Texas, an Austin-based organization that provides leadership opportunities and a safe space for young people whose parents have been incarcerated, detained, or deported. Through her work, Kandace uplifts youth harmed by the criminalization or deportation of a loved one so that they may heal, learn, and lead.

We will also honor Mastercard for their work within the humanitarian space on cash assistance. As we at WRC know, cash assistance can play a huge role in achieving gender equality and economic empowerment--enabling household choice and providing dignity. We are pleased to recognize Mastercard for their innovation on this front.