"CNN Hero of the Year"

CNN HERO OF THE YEAR 2010

A woman whose group has rescued more than 12,000 women and girls from sex slavery has been named the 2010 CNN Hero of the Year. Anuradha Koirala was chosen by the public in an online poll that ran for eight weeks on CNN.com. CNN's Anderson Cooper revealed the result at the conclusion of the fourth annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute."
"Human trafficking is a crime, a heinous crime, a shame to humanity," Koirala said earlier in the evening after being introduced as one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010. "I ask everyone to join me to create a society free of trafficking. We need to do this for all our daughters."
Koirala was introduced by actress Demi Moore, who along with her husband, Ashton Kutcher, created DNA, The Demi and Ashton Foundation, which aims to eliminate child sex slavery worldwide.
"Every day this woman confronts the worst of what humanity has to offer," Moore said of Koirala "She says, 'Stop. Stop selling our girls.' By raiding brothels and patrolling the India-Nepal border, she saves girls from being sold into the sex trade, where they are being repeatedly raped for profit, tortured and enslaved.
"Since 1993, she has helped rescue more than 12,000 women and girls. Through her organization Maiti, Nepal, she has provided more than a shelter for these girls and young women, she has created a home. It is a place for them to heal, go to school, learn a skill, and for some who are infected with HIV/AIDS, it is the place where they can spend their days surrounded by love."
Koirala will receive $100,000 to continue her work with Maiti Nepal, in addition to the $25,000 awarded to each of the top 10 Heroes honored.

Miners Honoured:

The show opened with a salute to the 33 Chilean miners and five of the people who rescued them last month after the miners spent 69 days underground.
"For 69 days we were amazed by these 33 brave miners," Cooper said in welcoming the miners onto the Shrine stage. "Their ordeal was unthinkable; their rescue, unbelievable. No one has ever been trapped underground so deep for so long and survived.
"They endured a nightmare, experienced a miracle, and in the end became each others' brothers and heroes. On behalf of CNN Heroes, we salute all 33 Chilean miners."
After the miners sang the Chilean national anthem, two of them -- speaking through a translator and holding the Chilean flag -- expressed their appreciation.
"We want to thank the world, and we want to thank God for your prayers," Luis Urzua told the audience in Spanish.

The top 10 CNN Heroes, chosen by a panel from an initial pool of more than 10,000 nominations from more than 100 countries, were each honored with a documentary tribute and introduced by a celebrity presenter.

Here are the 2010 top 10 CNN Heroes:

(1) Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega , Mexico
(2) Susan Burton , USA
(3) Linda Fondren , USA
(4) Anuradha Koirala , Nepal {Winner}
(5) Narayanan Krishnan , India
(6) Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow , Scotland
(7) Harmon Parker , Kenya
(8) Aki Ra , Cambodia
(9) Evans Wadongo, Kenya
(10) Dan Wallrath, USA