African countries in difficulty." In August 2020, the Community of Sant'Egidio in collaboration with the charity Children Do Matter started the construction of The Green Lotus, an orphanage and shelter for homeless young girls in Blantyre, Malawi. Action to abolish the death penalty Since 1998, the Community has been campaigning for a worldwide moratorium on the capital punishment. An appeal that was signed by more than 5 million people worldwide in 2007, in collaboration with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP), helped the United Nations General Assembly to pass by a large majority on 18 December 2007, a resolution which calls for a moratorium worldwide. Mario Marazziti, a member of the Community and of the lower house of parliament in Italy, head of its Human Rights Committee, published an English-language book entitled 13 Ways of Looking at the Death Penalty. Every year since 2002, the Community of Sant'Egidio organizes the Global Day of Action Cities for Life / Cities Against the Death Penalty on 30 November, inviting cities around the world to take part in the Cities for Life Day. It also shows its commitment against the death penalty by furnishing pen pals for many death-row convicts and by collecting signatures for a moratorium on executions. Criticism In 2003 the Italian journalist Sandro Magister wrote that working groups within Sant'Egidio, along with the poor, can displace the birth family for some Community members (Mt 10:35). He also printed a former member's memoir of having to defend one's behavior or beliefs before executive members. Awards The Community of Sant'Egidio and its leaders have received numerous honors. These include: 1997: World Methodist Peace Award from the World Methodist Council 1999: Niwano Peace Prize from the Niwano Peace Foundation 1999: Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize from UNESCO 2002: Nominated by Parliament of Italy and American Friends Service Com. for Nobel Peace Prize 2004: International Peacemaking Award from Common Ground 2004: Balzan Prize for humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples, and in particular for its DREAM program Science Prize of the University of Aquila 2004 for the DREAM project 2009: International Charlemagne Prize recognizing Andrea Riccardi, the Society's founder, as a "great European" whose life has been at the service of his neighbor Award of the Chirac Foundation for conflict prevention: awarded in 2010 to Mario Giro "for his work with the Community of Sant'Egidio" Disarmament Archive Journalist Award – Golden Doves for