Greta Thunberg, a 17-year old vegan, has inspired millions of young people across the globe to speak up and urge adults to act now before it’s too late to stop the climate crisis of our planet. In August 2018, at age 15, Greta decided the would go on strike from school, and spend her days sitting in front of Sweden’s parliament building to encourage the government to make halting global warming their top priority. Greta has spoken at some of these youth-led rallies to encourage large-scale, national-level climate policy change. “Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that homo sapiens have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop the emissions of greenhouse gases.” Supreme Master Ching Hai: “Joyfully present Greta Thunberg the Shining World Heroine Award with love, admiration, and best wishes for abundant success, in God’s grace.”

Cats are beautiful, sensitive and majestic animals with extraordinary abilities. However, as cats have adapted to becoming human companions, they do not fare well when left to fend for themselves outside. Roaming the streets comes with many dangers, including starvation, exposure to a multitude of diseases, other aggressive animals, etc. The number of stray cats in the Emirates has recently reached a hundred thousand, and in Dubai, tens of thousands. Over the past 20 years, Mr. Fawaz Kanaan has been feeding and rescuing stray cats from the streets of Dubai. Working nights and weekends as an event organizer and a rock DJ frees up time for him to help animals. “The ones that needed to be treated, I bring them to the vet. We treat them, we put them back in the same spot.” Through social media platforms such as Facebook, Mr. Kanaan has raised awareness and helped many cats find loving homes, both locally and internationally, including in Canada, the United States, Russia, Germany, Belgium and the UK. Deeply grateful for his compassionate initiatives, Supreme Master Ching Hai presented Mr. Kanaan the Shining World Compassion Award. "Dear Fawaz, It is with great admiration and gratitude that we present to you the Shining World Compassion Award for saving, then re-locating felines. This Award is presented in recognition of your impressive initiative to rescue stray cats from the streets of Dubai, then re-home them into forever loving homes. Your untiring efforts herald a new era of empathy and harmonious co-existence with our precious animal friends." "May Allah shower you and all involved with all love and blessing. With Great Honor, Love and Blessings in Allah’s Grace Supreme Master Ching Hai." "To Supreme Master Ching Hai, I really want to say a big thank You for this award and for this recognition. I’m honored, to be honest. I hope this message will reach everyone, animal lovers, and non-animal lovers so they will be animal lovers."

On today’s show, we feature a Shining World Compassion Award recipient, Animal Rescue Media and Education (ARME). We were privileged to have an exclusive interview with Ms. Shannon Keith, founder and president of ARME. “We’re active all across United States and internationally. We rescue animals from places of abuse, mostly from animal testing facilities. However, we’ve also expanded our mission to include other forms of unique captivity and abuse. So we also rescue animals in China and Korea, from the meat trade, and any type of animal who has special needs that we can save. For example, very old hospice dogs who are on death row in the local city shelters or animals who are paralyzed, we will never say no.” Founded in 2004, the California-based non-profit animal welfare organization, ARME, and their associated action group, the Beagle Freedom Project, are compassionate all-vegan heroes who save and protect animals from test laboratories. The inspiring organization has also developed an innovative and robust advocating program with the goal of removing institutional cruelty through legal action and different social media. Over the years, Shannon and her team have extended their rescue missions to include all abused animals.

Today, we are travelling to Victoria, Australia, to meet Tina Lawrence, the President of Surf Coast Wildlife Shelters Group, a remarkable non-profit organization dedicated to helping wildlife animals. Their mission statement is: “To protect, rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife and to release these animals and birds back into their own habitat.” “Ten years ago, myself and my family moved down to the Surf Coast. We realised that there were very few people who were able to rescue and care for animals.” “There were almost no people along the Surf Coast doing rehabilitation and taking these animals into care to care for them. So that was the point of which I decided to look for a way in which to become more involved.” “The set up for caring is very involved. So you have to have a range of equipment, foods and other things to be able to do this properly.” “Every single species of our wildlife is critical and performing an essential function in our ecosystems. It’s critical that we protect them, in order to protect our ecosystems and biodiversity.” Our Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai: “Gratefully present Tina Lawrence and Surf Coast Wildlife Shelters Group the Shining World Compassion Award plus US$15,000 with joy, gratitude.” “We are very, very grateful to be acknowledged by the Supreme Master. The work that you are doing in promoting compassion and supporting groups like ours is absolutely wonderful.” After receiving a report about the award presentation, Supreme Master Ching Hai sent “another US$20,000 to lovingly further this noble engagement. With all love in God's forever embrace.”

Massimo Leopardi and Julia Ovchinnikova are the founders of Veggie Channel, Italy’s most vibrant and far-reaching multimedia platform about the vegan lifestyle. Veggie Channel provides scientific, nutritional and ethical resources for people who wish to switch to the vegan way of living. Animal welfare, the environment and sustainability are also important themes of Veggie Channel. During the past

Today, we travel to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, well known for its shining skyscrapers, natural attractions and culinary delights, to meet an adorable 4-year-old humanitarian named Cheikh Faizal. In a spontaneous clip his father recorded of Cheikh, the young child’s innocent kindness melted hearts on social media. His small acts of gentle kindness moved people in a profound way, reminding everyone of the humanity we are born with. Cheikh’s father, Sahouli Bouamama, was understandably very proud of his son’s compassion. “My son saw the young boy without shoes and made the decision himself that he wanted to help him. He showed his love for everyone there, even though they are homeless. He then went home without his shoes. Hopefully, everybody in the world will see this positive message and we can make life better for every human being. There are many homeless people, but if everybody makes a small gesture of kindness we can improve their lives.” Cheikh has also done many other thoughtful things to help his community. He collected garbage at a beach and left a very cute message asking people to take care of the beach. Recently, he distributed toys and other gifts to children living in less-advantaged rural areas. Upon hearing the news of his pure hearted compassion, our Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai offered the Shining World Kindness Award to the youngster “plus US$3,000 in case more socks and shoes are needed for others, in Allah’s Grace. May Heavens reward you and your good family richly. Love you.” And then, after knowing about his other altruistic deeds, Supreme Master Ching Hai arranged “to send a further US$10,000 to Sahouli Cheikh Faizal to support his noble work. With all love, big cheers and benevolent best wishes in Allah's merciful grace.” They showed deep gratitude to our Beloved Supreme Master, expressed their love towards all animals and also shared their thoughts about the noble vegan lifestyle. “A vegan lifestyle is very, very good. It will help human beings and also it will help animals a lot. And for COVID-19, it will help either to reduce or stop COVID-19. If everyone does the vegan lifestyle, maybe this COVID-19 will not even exist at all. Be vegan; save all animal life. Thank You, Master.”

Sierra is a beautiful, friendly Siberian Husky that loves to play and explore. Since she has been the loving companion of Ms. Stephanie Herfel from Wisconsin, USA, when the two were introduced by Ms. Herfel's son. What is most extraordinary about Sierra is her remarkable ability to alert Ms. Herfel about early signs of life-threatening illnesses, including stage 3 ovarian cancer. In fact, over the past few years, Sierra has saved the life of her caregiver many times. “She is just an amazing animal and I owe my life to her. I really do owe my life to her which affects all those lives that I touch. She's not only protecting me, she's giving love and giving me a longevity of time, not only for myself, but for family and those who I love, and those who love me back.” Supreme Master Ching Hai “Joyfully bestow the Shinning World Hero Award to Sierra, with lots of love and hugs, plus US$2000 for vegan snacks, in God's benevolence.”

Today, we are delighted to present a remarkable organization that has been working tirelessly for the last few decades to help inspire compassion and end animal cruelty. Founded by Mr. Milo Runkle in 1999, Mercy for Animals (MFA) is a leading international non-profit organization dedicated to protecting our precious animal friends. After witnessing the abuse of a farm animal for a high school agricultural project near his hometown in Ohio, USA, Mr. Runkle formed Mercy for Animals with the goal of ending the horrendous cruelty and promoting compassionate food choices and animal-free alternatives. This noble organization actively investigates the harsh realities hidden behind factory farm walls and aims to improve state-level policies and legislation for farm animal protection. Mark Devries, manager of special projects and drone investigation at Mercy for Animals and director of Speciesism: The Movie, explains why animals are not food, and why Mercy for Animals spreads the message of love and compassion. “Non-human animals are sentient, complex individuals with deep social and emotional lives, like ourselves. We share the very same brain structures and the very same collections of neuro-chemicals that function the same way, that allow for joy and sorrow and fear and anger, positive and negative.” Mercy for Animals believes that the greatest cruelty and injustice of our time concerns food production by the farm animal industry. This is the important Truth that the organization strives to share with the world. Posted online and via social media, Mercy for Animals’ undercover investigations have been especially effective in bringing that truth to the public. “It's our habits and the attitudes that we have been brought up with, that stop us from seeing something that's actually very clear: that causing harm, causing suffering which we’re all already opposed to, is something that we do when we support industrial animal agriculture, that causes suffering to billions of animals who are just as sentient as you and I are.” Witnessing the suffering of farm animals is a powerful tool of change in terms of both inner consciousness and outer social norms. Mark Devries shared with us his own experience of transformation sparked by directing Speciesism: The Movie, the 2013 award-winning documentary on industrial factory farming. “I actually became vegan when I was working on my first documentary ‘Speciesism: The movie.’ And that is when I started realizing that this is a fundamental issue of ethics and justice. And I could no longer come up with a defense that wasn't refuted for maintaining my current view of non-human animals and for maintaining my current practices. And it seemed to touch people very deeply and impact them very profoundly.”

Since its founding in 1999, Mercy For Animals has committed “to end the greatest cause of suffering on the planet, the exploitation of animals for food.” They believe the violence and discrimination against farm animals carry no less political and ethical weight than racism, slavery, and crimes against other human groups. Up to 2019, Mercy For Animals has launched more than 70 major investigations into cruelty cases within the animal farming industry, and guided several of the world’s largest food companies to adopt animal welfare policies. In the past two years, the organization’s efforts to change legislative and corporate animal welfare policies helped ease the pain of over 100 million animals and saved the lives of nearly 220,000. The suffering of farm animals exposed by Mercy For Animals has awakened the kindness in many people. Our beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai greatly appreciates “their compassionate effort” and gratefully presents “US$20,000 to Mercy For Animals for their noble work, plus the Shining World Compassion Award, with all love and gratitude. May Heaven bless you and all involved with success and a long life of happiness.” “Dear Supreme Master Ching Hai, We are so grateful for your generous donation of US$20,000 on January 2, 2019. Your support fuels undercover investigations, legal victories, corporate commitments and social impact programs that create a kinder future for farmed animals. Because of you, 2018 was full of monumental successes at Mercy For Animals. You helped us release 8 undercover investigations exposing the deep horrors of commercial driftnet fishing, the plight of chicks and piglets born in factory farms and the suffering of mother pigs trapped in gestation crates. Mercy For Animals enters 2019 with stronger than ever plans to change the world for farmed animals with your support. Thank you for standing with us against cruelty and for compassion.”

No Dogs Left Behind (NDLB) is an international emergency rescue organization on a mission to end the dog meat trade in Asia. Jeffrey Beri, a vegan, is the founder of No Dogs Left Behind. Although he loved his career, he decided to follow the true calling of his heart and devoted his life to rescuing the helpless dog friends in Asia, healing their physical and mental pains, and finding them loving

Today we will share the remarkable story of a precious heroic dog named Willow whose intelligence and loyalty is larger than life. Adorable Willow was adopted by Ruth Spurr in 2016 with the intention of being her pet companion rather than an assistance dog. Ruth suffers with a rare genetic connective tissue disorder called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which affects joints and multiple organs, making simple daily tasks incredibly difficult for her. Initially, Ruth worked with a regular dog trainer to help socialize Willow and teach her basic commands. A close friend then suggested Dog A.I.D. (Assistance in Disability), a UK charity group dedicated to training animal companions to better help people with disabilities. Although many thought tiny Willow could never be certified as an assistance dog, she soon amazed everyone. Just three months, or halfway into Willow’s training, Ruth experienced a life-threatening incident. She critically burned herself and lost consciousness. Willow had no prior training on situations where her mom is unconscious, but still knew exactly what to do. "It was in the summer of 2018, I was at home and I was cooking and I was making pasta, and basically, I burnt my leg. I accidentally poured the hot water onto my legs and I couldn’t move back. I’m in a wheelchair. And I passed out from the pain and I collapsed onto the floor. When I woke up, Willow was lying on my chest here with my phone. So when I passed out… she went to the lounge and she got my phone of her own accord… and with that I called the ambulance. When there is a moment when you are unconscious or you’re not asking her something, she has to think for herself, her initiative. And it just shows you how incredible dogs are. And yeah, literally she is a lifesaver. Literally, and my best friend." Heartfully touched by her outstanding fidelity and heroic deeds, Supreme Master Ching Hai presented Willow the Shining World Heroine Award, plus a loving donation of USD $2,000. “For outstanding fidelity, for your unconditional love, and for being human’s best friend, we hereby applaud and celebrate the heroic deeds of super canine Willow. May you and Ruth forever be happy in each other’s company. With Gratitude, Best Wishes and All My Love. Supreme Master Ching Hai”

Today, we honor Redefine Meat, an Israel-based start-up company which utilizes 3D printing technology to produce realistic plant-based steaks. The company’s revolutionary approach brings alternative meat to a whole new level. Made from natural, sustainable sources, their cruelty-free steaks closely replicate the appearance, texture and flavor of animal meat. Mr. Eshchar Ben-Shitrit, founder and CEO of Redefine Meat, started his company with a vision to make a positive change in the world. “The vision of the company is to replace meat. So it’s not bringing 3D printing to people’s home. Because if you look at an industry that has a problem, the food industry has many problems. What’s the biggest problem for the food industry, for the world? Animal as a source for food. What’s the biggest issue within? That is beef. So we want to have a platform that solves the problem that we need beef to make steaks. People want to buy meat, so we are giving them meat. We’re not giving them dead animals. If the meat can come from a different source, everybody will be happy to serve.” “But unfortunately or fortunately, most people in the world did not decide to stop eating meat. They still eat meat every day. And this is the market that we need to educate. But we need to serve them a different kind of meat.” With great mainstream appeal, Redefine Meat is cruelty-free, healthier, has 95% less environmental impact, and will be more affordable than animal meat when it reaches the market. “We have no cholesterol, and this is easy. When you look at an animal, when you slaughter an animal, people don’t understand that you have food pathogens that exist in a cow, and it’s almost impossible not to have them go to your meat. In our case, we don’t have any of these pathogens.” “But in April this year, we served over 200 dishes as meat to people that didn’t know that it’s meat, in restaurants and in a hotel.” For their outstanding innovation, Redefine Meat won the 2018 Food Accelerator Network Program competition. “So it was sort of, the starting point of us not only being a technology company, but a part of this food technology movement. Smarter companies in the meat industry, they embrace this innovation. So instead of saying, ‘What you’re doing is not meat, I am, I’m doing meat for 500 years, it’s our tradition.’ He says, ‘I have a know-how on how to get meat to chefs, what chefs want.’ You have a new kind of meat, let’s collaborate. Instead of competing, let’s collaborate.”

Our program today honors several countries that reached peace agreements or normalized relations with each other in 2020 through the mediation efforts of the President of the United States, His Excellency Donald Trump, a Shining World Peace Leader Award and Shining World Leadership Award for Compassion laureate. After two days of talks mediated by the United States, Kosovo’s prime minister, His Ex

Michelle Carrera is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of the non-profit organization, Chilis on Wheels. Her son, Ollie Carrera, is the Co-Founder and Director of Kids Outreach. Together, they run a free vegan food delivery service for the homeless, Chilis on Wheels, which has quickly blossomed into a substantial charitable organization, with thirteen chapters around the United States, from New York City to San Diego, all the way to Honolulu and Puerto Rico. They estimate that over thirty-eight thousand vegan meals have already been served, and that number continues to grow. Michelle believes each meal builds relationships that will sustain and support people in the future. They also give out free personal care items that are not tested on animals. They also organize clothing drives to offer free clothing, blankets, personal items, etc. These events bring the community together with a message of compassion for animals and kindness for all species. Upon learning about Michelle and Ollie’s noble efforts, our beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai stated “gratefully present the Shining World Compassion Award to Michelle Carrera and Ollie with love and a humble US$15,000 contribution towards their noble work, in God’s blessing. May you inspire more people to show their love in action for each other.”

Today’s “Shining World Awards” program features The Reverend Dr. Uta Elisabeth Düll from Germany, who has whole-heartedly dedicated over 24 years of her life to care for patients in Rwanda, many of whom require special care and treatment. “My name is Uta Elisabeth Düll. To work in a country in need, was always the aim of my life. Our aim is to be better. Our aim is to get our service more perfect,

We are blessed to have benevolent, wise, and caring medical providers who dedicate their lives to healing, protecting, and educating people about the most healthy and compassionate way of living; the vegan path. One such individual is Dr. Armaiti May, a vegan veterinarian from Los Angeles, California, USA. An animal advocate, she is the founder and president of the Veterinary Association for the Protection of Animals (VAPA). Dr. May promotes the benefits of a plant-based diet for both humans and our animal companions. She also strives to change Veterinary education policies to ensure all animals are treated with the utmost respect and kindness. Our Beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai gratefully contributed "US$21,000 to Dr. May's Foundation for her noble work and the Shining World Compassion Award with all love and high esteem. May God bless you abundantly. We love what you do." "I was so happy and ecstatic! Just amazed! And I am so so grateful to Supreme Master Ching Hai for supporting my work."

In France, a country known for gourmet food, the Vegetarian Association of France (AVF) is making history by transforming a Parisian neighborhood into a lively vegan community, called "Veggietown," with vegan eateries, boutiques and other services. The team has a greater noble vision of compassionately restructuring the food industry of France into an Earth-friendly and healthy plant-based system. Working side by side with schools, politicians, lawmakers, enterprises and organizations, they strive to realize this dream. Envisioning the smooth transition of France and Europe towards a fully vegan society, the Vegetarian Association of France also provides assistance to other pro-vegan organizations and campaigns. Supreme Master Ching Hai "joyfully present the Vegetarian Association of France the Shining World Vegan Incentive Award plus US$10,000 with love to humbly support the "team work." May God grant you all peace, love, happiness and long life."

“Dogs are my best friends, and this is my way of changing this world just a little bit different, by trying to fight alongside the brave activists and volunteers, and all the children, and it’d be an inspiration for the children, to end the dog meat trade. And we will continue to fight till it’s over.” Not only that, his love is extended to all species and he calls on everybody to adopt a compassionate, eco-friendly diet. “For rescuing dogs and cats in peril, for your vision, wisdom, creativity and kind-hearted benevolence, and for being a dedicated and noble role model, we hereby applaud and celebrate the compassionate deeds of ‘No Dogs Left Behind’ with special thanks to Founder, Jeffrey Beri.” In December 2018, Master awarded the organization with the “Shining World Compassion Award” in recognition of their selfless and courageous work to promote benevolence.

It is our pleasure to introduce some of the distinguished individuals, animal companions, and organizations who were honored with the Shining World Award by Supreme Master Ching Hai. An historic peace deal to jointly develop the Karamoja-Pokot-Tukana region along the nations’ border, has been witnessed by both His Excellency Uhuru Kenyatta, the president of Kenya, and Ugandan President, His Excellency, Yoweri Museveni. Supreme Master Ching Hai: “Joyously present Their Excellencies Uhuru Kenyatta and Yoweri Museveni each the Shining World Leadership Award for Peace with highest esteem, honoring salute and best wishes.” The non-profit-wildlife organization Bats QLD (Flying Foxes & Microbats) lnc, is enticing flying foxes in the area with “apple kebabs.” These adorable mammals are crucial in maintaining forest ecosystems by cross pollinating tall coastal forest trees. Supreme Master Ching Hai: “Thankfully present Bats QLD the Shining Word Caring Award plus US$15,000 as a loving token of support toward this good cause.” A system to safeguard birds from power lines at night has been developed by United States scientists. Supreme Master Ching Hai: “Joyfully present the Shining Would Invention Award to EDM international for this compassionate project, with much love, high praises and gratitude, in Heaven’s grace and blessings.”

Today, we have the pleasure of speaking with Ellie Laks, founder of The Gentle Barn, a vegan a nimal sanctuary in Santa Clarita, California, USA. When she was seven, Ellie had already dreamt of a place where she could live together with all the beautiful animals. “What was very clear to me at seven years old, was that I had this very, very deep connection with animals and I saw us as the same. I could hear them and communicate with them and they had so much to teach me. It was so clear to me that animals were here to help us, teach us and heal us. So, I had this idea that when I grew up, I would have this big place full of animals and I would show the world how beautiful these animals are, show people the intelligence of animals, their communication, their affection, and their magic, and maybe more people could be more compassionate and kind to them and we can head towards a gentle world.” The Gentle Barn’s mission is “Teaching People Kindness and Compassion to Animals, Each Other and our Planet.” The sanctuary teaches by example through their meticulous attention and loving care given to their 200 plus animal residents. The gentle rescued animals in turn help teach visitors the same kindness and compassion, opening their minds and hearts. Kindness begets kindness and that is how we heal our world. In her welcome speech to visitors at The Gentle Barn, Ellie also urges people to adopt a plant-based diet. She and her staff provide delicious vegan food and informational flyers to help guide people towards the compassionate and earth-conscious lifestyle. “I’ve done a lot of research, and it seems that the most effective, most efficient, most powerful thing that we can do as individuals to make a gentle world is to go vegan. Did you guys know that when one person goes vegan, we save 200 animals a year? That’s thousands of animals over the course of just one lifetime. When one person goes vegan, we save 1100 gallons of water a day. The cumulative effect of that will end this drought. When one person goes vegan, we save an acre of trees every year, which will combat deforestation, which will ensure that we have a planet to live on in future generations. And if that’s not exciting enough, when we go vegan, we reduce our own risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol level and dementia by 90%. When we set our bodies up for success nutritionally, a plant based diet and a vegan diet is not only crazy easy, but really, really yummy.”