Harmon Parker, founder of Bridging the Gap, has been named a Top Ten CNN Hero for 2010 and is now in the running to be Hero of the Year.
Parker is the brother of Steve Parker, who has been an active member of the airport concessions industry for many years including roles with HMSHost Corp. and SSP America.
Parker is being honored for his work in building footbridges in Kenya that provide safe access to education, health care, commerce and families. He will receive $25,000 for Bridging the Gap, as well as be honored at “CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute,” hosted by CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, which will air on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 25.
CNN has opened the voting up to the general public, and the candidate with the most votes will be named CNN Hero of the Year. The award comes with $100,000 for their non-profit organization, and the winner will be announced at the event in November.
“This recognition will give us a platform to communicate the need for life-saving bridges for thousands of marginalized communities in East Africa,” Parker says. “Our bridges provide safety from the dangers of impassable rivers that threaten lives daily. Every life is important to us!”
Parker has been a Christian developmental worker in Africa for the past 20 years. While there, he saw the dangerous river crossings residents must make on a daily basis to attend schools, markets and health clinics, and to visit family in other villages. He built his first bridge in 1996 and created Bridging the Gap in 2003. He has built more than 45 footbridges in Kenya in the past 13 years.
He says the communities help themselves by participating in the bridge-building process. They use his “IPO” process: Initiative, Participation and Ownership. Communities take the initiative to request the bridge be built, then participate in its construction and finally, celebrate ownership of it.
In a nod to the airport concessions industry, one bridge is dedicated to Jim Borgano, who held various positions with Host Marriott, which became HMSHost Corp. He was executive vice president of concepts and development when he died in November 2003.
Voting for the CNN Hero of the Year award goes through 6 a.m. EST Nov. 18. To vote for Parker, visit www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cnn.heroes/archive10/harmon.parker.html.
Subscribe to ARN! Click Here!
