Gabe Adams was born in a Brazilian hospital more than 20 years ago without any limbs. Adam Paul Steed exposed inhumane treatment of political prisoners being held captive in Syria, saving hundreds of lives. Taj Khyber Rowland provides education and income opportunities in impoverished nations. And Raymond Beckham has chaired countless boards and projects to beautify and develop Utah Valley. <\/p>\n
These four have done more than many may do in a lifetime. For their contribution to the liberty and well-being of others, they were honored Thursday night at the 32nd annual Freedom Awards Gala held at the Utah Valley Convention Center. <\/p>\n
Freedoms messy. It is so messy, said Steed, one of the award recipients. Is it worth it? Yeah. Its always worth it. <\/p>\n
The Freedom Awards are a part of the annual Americas Freedom Festival Provos city celebration that includes the Stadium of Fire, Balloon Fest and Grand Parade. <\/p>\n
Past recipients of the award include Timothy Ballard, CEO of Operation Underground Railroad; Gail Halvorsen, the legendary Candy Bomber; and the late Boyd K. Packer, once president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. <\/p>\n
Dancing usually involves a lot of footwork, some twirling and the occasional cha-cha-cha. But not so for Adams. <\/p>\n
Adams was born in Brazil without limbs. But rather than lay around, mope and feel pitied, he worked hard and overcame his obstacles to be on his high school cheerleading team at Davis High School. <\/p>\n
Adams has a unique zest for life and hopes to spread his cheerful disposition to others through motivational speaking. <\/p>\n
Someone once said, Dont let what you cant do interfere with what you can, he said. <\/p>\n
Adams has become independent in his own sense and enjoys personal freedom by overcoming what couldve been a negative aspect of his life. <\/p>\n
I love the kind and generous people who I love and who have blessed my life in too many ways to count, more than I have on my fingers, he said jokingly. <\/p>\n
Rowlands childhood was far from ordinary. When he was a boy, Rowland was born into poverty and struggled to keep himself and others of his family even alive. <\/p>\n
I have early memories of scrounging through restaurant garbage for little bits of food, just trying to stay fed, Rowland said. <\/p>\n
At a young age, Rowland was kidnapped and sold to a Christian orphanage in India. He was then adopted by Fred and Linda Rowland of Orem. <\/p>\n
The Rowlands had no idea their new son wasnt an orphan. They worked tirelessly to find Rowlands childhood home, but to no avail. <\/p>\n
For years, he searched for his forgotten home, remembering as many small facts of geography and unique landmarks as he could, going so far as to draw a map of what he could remember. <\/p>\n
Years later, he and his wife, Priya, returned to India and he found the village of his childhood. <\/p>\n
Rowland felt inspired from his reconnection with his biological family and after understanding more of the lives of impoverished communities, he and his wife founded Taprish, a nonprofit that provides educational and income opportunities to low-income communities across the world. <\/p>\n
Freedom, to me, is probably the greatest gift Ive been given through adoption, he said. It allowed me to live a life that, otherwise, I would not have had. <\/p>\n
If you take Beckham out of Provo, youre not left with really a lot. <\/p>\n
Beckham has been on the boards of countless projects and councils for Utah Valley and particularly Provo. Beckham was directly involved in the building of LaVell Edwards Stadium, the Marriott Center, the BYU Museum of Art and the Provo Recreation Center, not to mention restorative projects in downtown Provo and the citys parks. <\/p>\n
If you want to be happy, serve others, he said. I think all of us want to help the poor, to give comfort to those who are troubled. But its not enough to just want to. You have to do it. <\/p>\n
Beckhams years of countless service and dedication to his community are an example of what he hopes to see in others. <\/p>\n
May we always be searching for ways to serve others to take care of our communities and to volunteer, Beckham said. <\/p>\n
Steed has provided the gift of freedom to the lives of hundreds by working hand in hand with Syrian refugees. <\/p>\n
In September 2015, Steed, who was working at the time in Greece with Syrian refugees, learned of hundreds of political prisoners leading a revolt in a Syrian prison. He received video from the inside of the prison and published it through the European media. Steed said he knew that if Bashar al-Assad saw the unedited, raw videos, Assad would release the prisoners so as to not damage his public reputation. <\/p>\n
This strange group of people came to them from the palace in Damascus and instead of killing these people, they came into them and were like, Hey, were your friends. Heres food and water, Steed said. <\/p>\n
And just like that, hundreds of lives were saved from unknown fates. <\/p>\n
But Steed isnt the only one who can save lives. He urged all in attendance to make a difference and fight for those who only want a piece of the freedoms enjoyed in America. <\/p>\n
If I can say anything thats truly beyond measure, its that you can save these people, Steed said. You can do better than me, if that, and more. <\/p>\n
Americas Freedom Festival continues through the weekend until July 4. A list of events can be found in our special section devoted to the festival. <\/p>\n
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