Humanitarian Work
Hendricks has dedicated much of her life to the plight of refugees and has been a long-time supporter of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She was named UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador in 1987 and performs special tasks for that organization.
Since 2000, she has been a member of the Council of the Foundation for the Refugee Education Trust. The RET is dedicated to post-primary education of refugee youth all over the world.
In 1991 and 1993 Hendricks gave two concerts in the war-torn formerly Yugoslavian cities of Dubrovnik and Sarajevo. In 1998 she founded the Barbara Hendricks Foundation for Peace and Reconciliation, which seeks to facilitate reconciliation where conflicts have already occurred.
In 2001 she performed at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo, Norway, at the invitation of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Kofi Annan. In May 2002, she performed at the East Timor Independence Day Ceremony.
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