A LAWYER who lost her hands and feet due to meningitis has won this year's Robert Burns Humanitarian Award.

 

Olivia Giles, of Edinburgh, picked up the international honour - inspired by the bard's values - because of her work providing prosthetic limbs in the Third World.

She was presented with the prize at a special ceremony at the Robert Burns' Birthplace Museum in Alloway by Scotland's Minister for Europe and International Development, Humza Yousaf.

Her charity, 500 Miles, has two centres in Malawi, run in cooperation with the Malawian Ministry of Health, providing more than 1,650 prosthetic and orthotic devices each year to people who badly need them.

It also works in Zambia and Zanzibar.

Ms Giles, who lost her own limbs 13 years ago after surviving meningitis, said: "I'm both shocked and overwhelmed to receive this award and thank the judges for this unexpected recognition.

"I consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to help out the people we work with and firmly believe that I got my second chance so I could help others get theirs.

"It's impossible to describe how it feels when you see a young girl walk for the first time thanks to a prosthetic leg we've provided or to hear that men who had to depend on family and friends to get around are regaining some form of independence because they are now mobile."

She said the award "means the world".

"As a proud Scotswoman, it's a tremendous honour to receive the award and I will continue to do all I can to live up to his beliefs of treating everyone as equals and working towards a fair and just society throughout the world," she said.

The humanitarian award has been handed out since 2003, with previous winners including aid workers Khalil Dale and Linda Norgrove, both of whom were given the award posthumously, and charity worker Blanche Nicolson.

Mr Yousaf said: "The Robert Burns Humanitarian Award recognises the selfless vital work that is undertaken around the world, every day of every year, to help others.

"Olivia's tireless work has undoubtedly improved the lives of the many people that don't have access to the same levels of healthcare as we do.

"Countless people with impaired mobility in developing countries have benefited from the leadership that Olivia has provided and live a better life thanks to prosthetics.

"She is a well-deserving recipient of this award and an inspiration to others."

The runners-up for the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award 2015 were Sompop Jantraka, a Thai activist who has worked for more than 26 years to rescue children from exploitative labour and prostitution, and Sanduk Ruit, who has devoted his life to treating blindness in the Himalayas.

The Robert Burns Humanitarian Award was launched in 2002 and supported by South Ayrshire Council and EventScotland as part of Scotland's Winter Festivals with sponsorship from William Grant & Sons and The Herald.