Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - The Pan American Foundation for Development honored Matas de Farfan resident Amarilys Castillo for her efforts to increase trust and development along the Haiti-Dominican border.

The recognition was bestowed during the 2nd annual awards at the Heroes of the Hemisphere event, which is organized by PADF. She was one of five honorees from Latin America and the Caribbean.

Among her achievements, Castillo donated land for a vocational school and has dedicated her life to reforesting the Dominican-Haitian border by helping families plant avocados and other fruit trees. Through collaboration with PADF's Nuestra Frontera, she was able to expand her work to 120 families and engage the public and private sectors.

Dominican actress Dania Ramirez presented the award to Castillo in front of an audience of 250 diplomats, business leaders and celebrities.

“Amarilis was also one of the leaders who created a network that links together the 23 strongest Dominican civil society organizations,” Ramirez said at the Oct. 17 celebration in Ft. Lauderdale. “She dreams of linking this network with one from the Haitian side so that these neighbors can truly talk about ‘their border.’”

In her thank you speech, Castillo recognized everyone for the honor.

She thanked her family, the PADF and the OEA for supporting her efforts to spur an unprecedented pride among all residents on both sides of the border.

Castillo’s projects were supported by Royal Carribbean Cruises Ltd., the Inter-American Development Bank, the U.S. Mission to the OAS and the U.S. Agency for International Development. The projects were implemented by PADF.

In addition to Castillo, PADF’s second-annual Heroes of Hemisphere recognized individual from Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and Haiti.

Corporate supporters of the 2010 Heroes of the Hemisphere include: Chevron; Caterpillar; Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.; the Private Sector of the Americas; Greenberg Traurig; United Way; Univision; IMCA; Merck; MTV; and Interlex.

The 2010 Heroes of the Hemisphere celebration was hosted by Celebrity Cruises, which donated the venue, luncheon and live show.