Friends Without A Border's Gala Features Pulitzer Prize-Winner Kristof, 4/24

Friends Without A Border (Friends) announces that its 9th Annual Gala will take place on Thursday, April 14, 2011 (6 to 9:30 p.m.) at Espace, 635 West 42nd St., New York City. Celebrated writer Nicholas Kristof will present the inaugural Healing Cambodia Award to humanitarIan Bernard Krisher.

Based in New York, with chapters in Canada, Japan, and France, Friends is a 501(c)(3) organization which raises awareness and funds to support Angkor Hospital for Children, a leading pediatric hospital in post-genocide Cambodia. Founded in 1996 by photographer Kenro Izu, Friends raised the funds to construct AHC in February 1999 and continues to raise millions each year for pediatric healthcare in Cambodia. AHC is internationally respected for quality, compassionate care provided to more than 125,000 sick, malnourished, and impoverished children annually. Since 1999, AHC has treated more than 870,000 children.

Bernard Krisher's contribution to the restoration and enhancement of civil society in Cambodia is unparalleled. He drew forth the assistance of many influential persons he met during his long career as a journalist and later as Tokyo Bureau Chief of Newsweek.

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner, best-selling author, and New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof will present the award on behalf of Friends. Mr. Kristof has earned accolades for his incisive chronicling of social injustice. Cambodia has loomed large in Mr. Kristof's examination of global poverty and the effort to defeat it.

"It is a true pleasure for Abbott and Abbott Fund to join Friends Without A Border, Nicholas Kristof, and many others in honoring Bernard Krisher for his incomparable contribution to Cambodia's welfare," said Katherine Pickus, Divisional Vice President, Global Citizenship and Policy, Abbott. "We're also proud to share a broader commitment to advancing the health of children in Cambodia and countries around the world."

As one of only five teaching hospitals in Cambodia, AHC has trained thousands of Khmer nurses and doctors as part of its mission to help rebuild the nation's healthcare infrastructure. Outreach programs instill preventive health, nutrition, and hygiene practices among rural residents and upgrade local health centers. Its Homecare program is the largest hospital-based pediatric HIV antiretroviral therapy program outside the nation's capital, Phnom Penh.