Homelessness Advocate, Former Togo Refugee Recipient Of 2012 Cardinal Bernardin Award

WASHINGTON—Karl Kumodzi, 20, of LasVegas, an advocate on homelessness and racial injustice and co-founder of aninternational non-profit program for access to education, is the winner of the2012 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award.

WASHINGTON—Karl Kumodzi, 20, of LasVegas, an advocate on homelessness and racial injustice and co-founder of aninternational non-profit program for access to education, is the winner of the2012 Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award. The award is sponsored by theCatholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD), the anti-poverty program of theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Originallya refugee from Togo, Kumodzi is a student at Stanford University, where he is aleader in campus ministry and was instrumental in opening a student-runhomeless shelter on campus in early 2012. The shelter, Hotel de Zink, works toempower homeless guests through community meetings and a guest advocacyprogram. Students and guests also learn about structural barriers, includinglack of access to education and affordable housing, and take action in response.

Kumodzisays that his family "was very lucky" to find a home in the United States and thathe is driven by a "strong sense of responsibility and desire to give back."Although work for justice can be difficult, he says, "there is always hope withJesus."

In2011, Kumodzi was one of 40 students selected as 2011 Student Freedom Riders,retracing the footsteps of the 1961 Civil Rights freedom riders. On thejourney, he reflected on how racial injustice still affects many of thecommunities he encountered. In 2007, he co-founded the Hidden Talent Foundationto channel U.S. resources to train students in Togo and Benin to work forfuture economic, political and social development.

Kumodziwill be honored by the U.S. bishops at a reception, November 12, in conjunctionwith the Fall General Assembly of the USCCB in Baltimore.

TheCardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award honors a Catholic between the age of 18and 30 who demonstrates leadership in fighting poverty and injustice in theUnited States through community-based solutions. It is named for the lateCardinal Joseph Bernardin, former archbishop of Chicago and a leading voice onbehalf of poor and low-income people, who understood the need to build bridgesacross ethnic, economic, class and age barriers.

Moreinformation on the Cardinal Bernardin Award is available online: www.usccb.org/about/catholic-campaign-for-human-development/cardinal-bernardin-new-leadership-award.cfm

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Keywords: Cardinal Bernardin New Leadership Award, CatholicCampaign for Human Development, CCHD, U.S. bishops, USCCB, Karl Kumodzi,Standford University, Togo, refugee, student freedom rider, racial justice,campus ministry, poverty

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