Barre, Vermont - December 13, 2011
This week CNN named the founder of the nonprofit Bumi Sehat Foundation International, Robin Lim, its 2011 Hero of the Year.
"I don't think any of us were really expecting to win, all 10 nominees hoped to win, but I don't know how to expect to win something like that," said Katherine Bramhall of Bumi Sehat.
The honor recognizes the group's efforts to make sure Indonesian women have healthy pregnancies and babies. Lim runs the operation in Indonesia, her partner Katherine Bramhall organizes Bumi Sehat's volunteers and supplies that are sent overseas from her headquarters in Barre.
"There are days when I feel like I am too tired to do it and inevitably somebody will send me some kind of support, whether it is a box of knitted hats or a donation or just a really, really good idea to help, that's the kind of thing I rely on personally," Katherine Bramhall said.
The organization beat thousands of other nominees for the award. Now it will use the $250,000 prize to build a new clinic in Indonesia.
"It gives me goose bumps to think about," said Devin Bramhall of Bumi Sehat. "We were in the office going over these plans, coming up with ideas and it was like now we actually get to make these ideas happen."
Bramhall helps her mom and others serve roughly 160,000 Indonesians a year with little recognition. Now, from Barre, they're tracking tens of thousands of dollars in donations and hundreds of new fans that showed up online since the honor was announced.
"We got about 500 I believe last time I checked on Twitter and Facebook. I mean it felt like it was the only thing happening on Facebook," Devin Bramhall said.
Mother and daughter agree the award is a pretty big deal, but they're both staying focused on the lifesaving work they're committed to overseas.
"There is just a lot of work to do, one of the things that Robin and I say is we hope we are too busy to realize that we've died," Katherine Bramhall said with a laugh.
Bumi Sehat expects to have its prize money in hand by the end of the year and then get started on its new clinic.
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