Chrissy Sykes 2022
On Thursday, October 20th, 2022 The Global Presence was honored to recognize Chrissy Sykes’ magnanimous contributions in the arena of personal safety with the 2022 Global Presence Humanitarian Award. Presenting Chrissy the award on behalf of The Global Presence is UK-based Ambassador Irene Murray.
Chrissy Sykes was a young singer achieving her dream, flying from her native Zambia to the US to produce a record with a famed country-western producer. During her layover in London, however, she heard the brutal news of the murder of a four-year-old girl named Kimberley at the hand of her father. A mother herself to a four-year-old girl, Chrissy was so emotional that she spent the next leg of her flight to the US writing a song in Kimberley’s honor.
Shortly after her arrival in the US some friends asked Chrissy to sing a song for them. For the first time publicly, she sang Kimberley. Unbeknownst to her, the President of the Child Welfare Board for the state of Texas was in the room. He was deeply moved and asked Chrissy if she would be willing to sing the song at a school assembly the following day. Chrissy accepted the invitation and not only sang, but shared also her personal experience with child abuse and the pressure she’d felt to keep things secret.
The combination of Chrissy’s compassionate song and personal vulnerability proved surprisingly therapeutic. Several children shared their experiences in response. The President then asked Chrissy to speak at other schools. He also requested permission to use the song to raise funds and awareness for Child Abuse in Texas. Chrissy consented and later that year, during Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Texas Child Welfare Board sold 14,000 copies of the song, raising $70,000.
Fast forward to 2022 and Chrissy Sykes is the Founder of the educational nonprofit My Body Is My Body Foundation. MBIMB uses songs and animation to teach children of all ages how to protect themselves from abuse and the importance of reporting transgressions. To date, the free program has been translated into 26 languages and taught in over 60 countries empowering up to two million children.