Egyptian Heba El-Sewedy Wins Mother Teresa Award for Reaching Out to Burn Victims
The other seven were presented the award for their contributions spanning maternal health, women’s rights, environmental conservation, and medical services.
Pune: Harmony Foundation has conferred its prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2025 on Egyptian Dr Heba El-Sewedy for her humanitarian leadership in providing care and her role in giving people a second chance at life.
The other seven were presented the award for their contributions spanning maternal health, women’s rights, environmental conservation, and medical services.
Starting with the treatment of the wounded during the clashes of 25 January 2011 in Tahrir Square during the Arab Spring that led to the fall of Mubarak, El-Sewedy compassionately cared for all burn victims in Egypt, taking responsibility for 4,000 victims.
Dr Abraham Mathai, founder and chairman of the Mumbai-based Harmony Foundation, which instituted the award in 2005, said Dr El-Sewedy also reached out to the wounded in the war in Libya.
“In 2013, El-Sewedy founded the Ahl Masr Foundation, which in 2016 added the construction of the Ahl Masr Hospital, the first non-profit hospital and research centre specializing in the treatment and care of burns in the Middle East and Africa,” he noted.
“This award recognizes a long-neglected cause. For decades, burn patients and survivors of these traumas have remained invisible, particularly in my country, Egypt, as well as in the Middle East and Africa. This recognition confirms that their suffering matters and that their healing deserves dignity, care and hope,” Dr El-Sewedy said, accepting the award.
The awards, presented in Mumbai at a function, consisted of a trophy of Saint Mother Teresa and a citation.
The Mumbai-based non-governmental organization instituted the annual award in memory of Saint Mother Teresa in 2005. It is the only award bearing Mother Teresa's name, officially recognized by the Missionaries of Charity headquartered in Kolkata.
The 2025 awards also honored Congolese gynecologist Denis Mukwege for his medical care and advocacy for survivors of rape and sexual violence in eastern Congo.
Indian environmentalist Swami Prem Parivartan was recognized for his decades-long efforts to plant and conserve millions of trees nationwide.
Accepting the award, Parivartan said it belonged to “every tree saved and every person who believes that caring for nature is caring for humanity.”
Physician Ganesh Rakh received the award for his Save the Girl Child initiative, under which he waived medical fees for the birth of girls to promote gender equality.
Rakh said the honor reflected a collective commitment to compassion and dignity in health care.
Other recipients included social activists Safeena Husain, Rajendra Singh, as well as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The ceremony marked the 21st year of the awards and carried the theme “Guardians of Humanity.”
Dr Mathai said the honors recognize individuals and organizations whose work reflects Mother Teresa’s legacy of compassion and selfless service at a time of global conflict, humanitarian crises, climate change and growing social inequality.
