Expanding the Jairo Mora Sandoval Bravery Award
Help us Honor Our Conservation Heroes
The SCB Marine Jairo Mora Sandoval Bravery Award is a new award given for bravery associated with an outstanding contribution to the field of marine conservation, with particular emphasis on responsible and educated scientific endeavor, public engagement and conservation activism. It honors Jairo’s commitment to marine conservation, while facing threats and persecution.
Jairo was a young Costa Rican working in sea turtle conservation. He grew up in Gandoca, an isolated Caribbean community of farmers located inside the National Refuge of Wildlife. Jairo encountered sea turtles for the first time at the age of 8, when his school class took part in the release of young sea turtles. It was love at first sight.
Since then, Jairo dedicated his life to sea turtle conservation as a volunteer as well as an employee of an international organization. On the night of May the 31st of 2013, Jairo went to patrol a nearby beach with 4 female companions, who remained in the car. When driving back to town, the group was ambushed and attacked by several men, who were hidden in the forest. The girls were taken to an isolated location where they were raped, while Jairo was taken back to Moín beach where he was brutally murdered. He was only 26 years old.
Jairo has become a hero and a symbol for environmental conservation in Costa Rica and elsewhere.
The Jairo Award is currently given once every two years. It includes a cash prize of $1,000 to allow these courageous people to continue their work. However, we’d like to honor more conservation heroes for their bravery in the service of conservation. To do this, SCB Marine is looking to raise $5,000 to support more Jairo Award recipients.
Please help us to raise the profile of more conservation heroes like Jairo, and help them to continue their work by donating
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Learn more about the award and our 2018 winner, Patima Tungpuchayakul, who saved over 3000 trafficked fish workers, some of whom were literally chained and trapped in cages on these islands.
Note: Donations may be tax deductible to US citizens as charitable gifts. (SCB is a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. No additional goods and services are being provided to you based on this contribution. Our EIN is 33-0147824. If you have any additional questions about the deductibility of your contribution to SCB, please consult your tax adviser).
Thank you for your support!
Jairo Mora Sandoval Award Committee
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