George Clooney has presented a $1.1 million humanitarian award to a Catholic woman who has offered sanctuary to thousands of orphans. The actor presented the first Aurora Prize, an award recognising an individual’s work to advance humanitarian causes, to Marguerite Barankitse. Armenian philanthropists selected her for the award. “By recognising Marguerite Barankitse’s courage, commitment and sacrifice, I am hopeful that she can also inspire each one of us to think about what we can do to stand up on behalf of those whose rights are abused and are in most need of our solidarity or support,” Mr Clooney said. Mrs Barankitse, 59, began her work during Burundi’s civil war in the early 1990s. Mr Clooney said she was a “reminder of the impact that one person can have even when encountering seemingly insurmountable persecution and injustice”. Before he presented the award, Mr Clooney reminded the audience that Hitler once reportedly said: “Who remembers Armenia?” Mr Clooney said: “The whole world.” The massacre is widely viewed by historians as the first genocide of the 20th century, in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered. It began with the killing of more than 200 Armenian intellectuals on April 24, 1915. Turkey, the successor to the Ottoman Empire, vehemently denies that the deaths constitute genocide, saying the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest. The others shortlisted were Fr Bernard Kinvi, a Catholic priest who saved 1,500 Muslims from slaughter in the Central African Republic; Dr Tom Catena, the sole surgeon for 750,000 people in the Nuba Mountains in Sudan, and a Catholic who says his work is inspired by St Francis of Assisi; and Syeda Ghulam Fatima, who has worked to end bonded labour in Pakistan.