A local couple’s “empowering” message to children in war-torn and disaster-stricken regions has won international acclaim.

In a ceremony tomorrow, puppeteers Michael Frith and Kathryn Mullen will be recognised, with the charity No Strings International, for their contribution to world peace.

“Their creative skills blew my mind,” said Kathryn Getek Soltis, director of the Centre for Peace and Justice Education, which is bestowing the Adela Dwyer-St Thomas of Villanova Peace Award, on No Strings.

“They’re not just giving aid, but giving children a chance to find their own voices.

“It’s not just protecting children. There are many organisations doing great work in protecting children from harm or mitigating the effects of disasters and trauma. Empowering children to have a voice in their own healing is just tremendous. We don’t generally appreciate how critical it is to engage with children experiencing conflict and trauma. Peace work absolutely has to begin at the youngest age.”

Past awardees include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, one of South Africa’s most prominent activists for racial justice. Each year since 1990, the centre, based at Villanova University, Pennsylvania, has awarded individuals or groups for outstanding contributions to justice and peace.

The local couple are famed for their work with the Muppets and other big-screen creations.But Mr Frith and Mrs Mullen have young audiences in some of the world’s most troubled places, from Haiti to Syria to Afghanistan, where their puppet films teach children how to survive and cope with disasters natural and man-made.

The peace centre’s selection committee was especially taken with their fidelity to the communities themselves.

“The voices are done by people in those communities; they are not imported,” Ms Getek Soltis said.

Aiming their message directly at children allows young people to become “the centrepiece of growth for a community”, she added. No Strings, which the couple cofounded with Johnie McGlade, an Irish aid worker, will be awarded tomorrow at 6.30pm Bermuda time in Villanova University.