2007 Award Recipient
Richard Moore
Children in Crossfire

Richard Moore was 10 years old and on his way home from school in Derry’s Creggan Estate in May 1972, when he was hit by a plastic bullet and he was blinded for life. Earlier that year, his mother’s brother, Gerard McKinney, had been killed on Bloody Sunday. It was six months before Richard could go back to school, and he used his time to learn Braille and to touch-type. He went on to graduate with an honors degree from the University of Ulster in 1983; he married, and has two lovely daughters who are now in University.

Richard believes that there are a number of things that have helped him to accept his blindness and get on with the rest of his life. First the fact that he never at any time harbored any bitterness towards the soldier who shot him – he actually has met him and had a meal at his house last year. He has always felt that bitterness is a self-destructive emotion and that if he gave into it, he would not be free to get on with the process of building his future. He was born into a good family and community where he received tremendous support. He had wonderful teachers who were unstinting of their time in their efforts to ensure that he was not at a disadvantage.

Today, Richard is Director of Development Education for a Third World Organization called Children in Crossfire, and he has raised awareness throughout Northern Ireland of the plight of the poor in Brazil, Columbia, Malawi, Gambia, Guinea and Bangladesh. Their projects range from working with street children in Brazil, rehabilitation of child soldiers, mother and child development projects, and agriculture water schemes. He has persuaded many leading business people and one national newspaper to accompany him to these projects. He says there are many millions of people throughout the world who are not as lucky as he is and his work provides an opportunity for him to put back into society a fraction of what he has received.

At a local cross-community level, Richard visits schools, community groups, and victims’ groups to tell his story, talk about how fulfilling his life has been and emphasize the futility of violence. He has been of outstanding help to many of the injured and bereaved and given hope where people were finding it difficult to face daily life because of their injuries. He takes every opportunity to contribute to the process of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and in doing so makes a difference to the lives of so many.