If you only caught a quick glimpse of the commercials for CNN’s Hero of the Year starring silver fox Anderson Cooper, you might have assumed it was the type of end of year wrap up that that could go to Kim Kardashian for her courageous decisions regarding marriage, Lindsay Lohan for her efforts to keep Marilyn Monroe’s memory alive, or even you, via a cheap mirror held up to your TV screen.
Though there were plenty of celebrities in attendance, the ceremony actually honored non-famous people doing incredible things to help others. This year’s winner is Robin Lim, an American woman who moved to Indonesia to work as an advocate for maternal care after her sister and her sister’s baby died in childbirth. Lim, who’s known as “Mother Robin,” became a midwife and opened a clinic that has provided prenatal and birthing services to thousands of low-income women in Indonesia. Lim was selected by CNN.com voters, and in addition to the $50,000 each hero received, she won $250,000 to continue her efforts to make pregnancy and childbirth safer.