Prize Awards $1 Million to Social Impact Organization

Story and Photos by Adia Fienagha Data News Weekly Contributor

One million dollars. This was the prize money awarded to the Laureate of the 2025 Opus Prize, an Annual Award given to faith-based Humanitarian Organizations. Each year, the Opus Prize Foundation partners with a Catholic University to announce the award recipient. This year marks the first time the award was hosted at an Historically Black University at Xavier University of Louisiana, which is the only Catholic HBCU in the country.

“It is very important for us to read the sign of the times so that we remain relevant and we are not imposing our needs on the people. We choose the way of agriculture because we went through a period of drought,” said Sister Rosalia Sakayombo, the Superior Mother of the Religious Sisters of the Holy Spirit in Monze, in Zambia. Sakayombo along with Sister Juunza Mwangani were this year’s Opus Prize Laureates on Nov. 13th. Together they lead an order of nuns that combat food insecurity in their home country by educating youths on agriculture and sustainable livelihood.

“We needed to help people put food on the table and we needed to start changing the young people’s mindset. We all learned that we need to invest in the soil because that’s where the livelihood is. We find that there is a lot of dignity in working with the soil,” Sakayombo said.

Each of the three finalists were chosen by a jury convened by Xavier’s President Dr. Reynold Verret, who gathered a group of leaders from across the United States to serve as the jurors. Teams of three Xavier students joined by a university staff served as ambassadors travel to the home of this year’s finalists for The Prize for site visits to learn more about the social impact work of the organizations.

“One of the things that we value is that we measure our success in relationships, experiences and signs and symbols of the kingdom of God. Yeah, that’s broad and it’s not measurable by traditional academic means but it’s what really works for people that are otherwise not able to access things that can fundamentally transform their lives,” said Meghann Cotter, the Executive Servant-Leader at Micah Ecumenical Ministries in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Micah Ecumenical, which was one of the 2025 finalists awarded $100,000, is a collaboration of churches who care for unhoused members of the Fredericksburg area. They provide assistance with basic needs, cold weather shelter, preventive medical care, and employment.

The other two finalists received $100,000 each to support their humanitarian in global social innovation. Since the Opus Prize’s establishment, 20 Laureates and 34 finalists have been honored operating in 28 different countries.

“You build trust by being honest. That’s important and it’s about compassion. It’s how you treat people with dignity,” said Alicia Spence, the Director of Services at the African Caribbean Community Initiative in Wolverhampton, England, the other finalist for the 2025 that was awarded $100,000. “We try not to encourage dependencies. What we want is dignity for people,” Spence said about the Mental Health Services her organization provides.

“A large amount of the people we work with are very disenfranchised. How do we get them to trust us? Being respectful to them, being non-judgmental,” Spence added.