Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil Receives Mother Teresa Memorial Award

Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil Receives

Mother Teresa Memorial Award

By Fr. Joaquim Fernandes, SDB

(ANS – Mumbai, India – December 12) – Fr. Tom Uzhunnalil, a Salesian from the Bangalore Province who was abducted in Aden, Yemen, in March 2016 and released in September 2017, has been awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award 2017 for Social Justice by the Harmony Foundation. The presentation was made on December 10 at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Mumbai (Bombay).

This year’s theme is “Compassion across borders: a compassionate response to the refugee crisis.” Fr. Tom “has shown dedication and commitment to a place of great danger,” said Abraham Mathai, president of the Harmony Foundation, a Mumbai-based organization that has commemorated the Saint of Calcutta with the award since 2007, as he congratulated Fr. Tom and presented him with a citation and the memento for his bravery and resilience in the face of adversity.

Fr. Tom worked in Yemen together with the Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa. He was kidnapped on March 4, 2016, while inside one of their centers, while four of the sisters and several of their co-workers were slain in the attack. 

Fr. Tom was chosen “for the inspiring example of compassionate humanity, and for having continued to work for the elders of the Missionaries of Charity in Yemen, despite having had the opportunity to leave the country. We praise Fr Tom’s dedication and commitment for work in a location of great danger, where his colleagues were murdered in cold blood,” said the foundation in a written statement.

The Harmony Foundation, founded in 2005 to promote ideas of peace, dialog, and community support without distinction of religion, caste, gender, or ethnicity, has in the past awarded the prize to individuals and organizations committed to human rights, such as the Dalai Lama, Doctors Without Borders, and the young Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai. This year the awards were given to Shigeru Ban, UNHCR, IsroAID, Bayat Foundation, Caritas International, Mercy Corps, and Hellenic Resource Team along with a few eminent personalities.

Meanwhile, Fr. Tom is still engaged in official activities in India, and in Kerala, his state of origin. In each of his scheduled events so far, the Salesian continues to surprise for his clear and peaceful Christian witness, and for his declared willingness to carry out God’s plan for his life in the future. He thanked the Harmony Foundation for having honored him. “Thanks for all your constant prayers. There is goodness in everyone. It is only through love and forgiveness that we witness peace, and we need to forgive our enemies. I believe in a living God who has called me to be a witness to Him,” he said.

“I met Mother Teresa in the year 1983, and I am inspired by her love for God, her humility and simplicity and very friendly approach to people. Not all of us can do great things, but we can do great things with love, Mother Teresa said,” Fr. Tom stated.