Meghalaya’s Hasina Kharbhih receives Mother Teresa Memorial Award for social justice

SHILLONG | Nov 5, 2019:

Founder and Managing Director of Impulse Social Enterprises, Hasina Kharbhih has been awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award 2019 for Social Justice at the Harmony International Conference in Mumbai on Nov 2.

Kharbhih, who is Ashoka Fellow and Aspen ILI Fellow, also delivered a speech on 'Combating Contemporary forms of slavery' during the event.  

Hosted by Harmony Foundation, the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice felicitates selfless and intrepid individuals and organizations who have channelized all of their energies and creativities towards social justice, peace and harmony.

"We, at Harmony Foundation acknowledge Hasina relentless and passionate work and ongoing efforts towards freeing the world from modern day slavery practices. We salute your successful partnership with the state and civil society groups directly and positively impacted the lives of 72,442 survivors of human trafficking as a result of its successful implementation of the Impulse Model, in Northeast India, Nepal, Myanmar and Bangladesh, which has earned you worldwide recognition reminiscent of the "Emancipation Proclamation" and "40 acres and a mule" issued by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and 1865. The reintegration program of the survivors into mainstream society by empowering them to live with dignity and equipping them with traditional skills for sustainable livelihood is highly commendable", stated Harmony Foundation.

For 30 years now, Hasina Kharbhih has been working to provide sustainable livelihood in a safe environment for women and children. What started out as a mission in her home state of Meghalaya has today evolved into a global program that aims to put an end to human trafficking and exploitation worldwide.

The Award, which is the only one endorsed by Late Sr. Prema, the Superior General of the Missionaries of Charity, Kolkata, was instituted in the memory of Mother Teresa in the year 2005.

A few of the previous recipients of this Award include — Ms. Malala Yousufzai, the Nobel laureate who has become a global icon for the education of the girl child, The Dalai Lama, current Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo; Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Mahathir Mohamad; former Deputy Speaker of the United Kingdom's House of Lords Baroness Caroline Cox and Aid Groups like Medicines Sans Frontiers (commonly known as Doctors Without Borders), the largest volunteer medical organization worldwide, and White Helmets, which provided aid to war-ravaged Syria

Harmony Foundation is an international NGO organisation which was founded in October 2005 by Dr. Abraham Mathai to established social cohesion between various communities, castes and work towards the benefit of all the communities without any discrimination on the grounds of religion, caste, creed, gender or region.