The Mother Teresa International Award recently conferred on Bashundhara Group Managing Director Sayem Sobhan Anvir is not an award endorsed by Sister Prema, the superior general of the Missionaries of Charity, the organization launched by Mother Teresa.
The award was handed over to Anvir at a function held at Satyajit Ray Auditorium of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in Kolkata on Thursday for his contributions to the media industry of Bangladesh.
The only award endorsed by Sister Prema is given by Harmony Foundation under the title Mother Teresa Memorial Awards for Social Justice.
The Harmony Foundation was founded in 2005 by Dr Abraham Mathai aimed at establishing social cohesion between various communities and castes and works for the benefit of all communities without any discrimination as to religion, caste, creed, gender or region.
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Since the formation of the foundation, 123 individuals and 37 organizations have so far been given the award, including Nobel laureate Malala Yusufzai, Kailash Vidyarthi and epidemiology disease expert Anthony Fauci.
The only Bangladeshi to receive the award till date is Faraaz Ayaz Hossain, the 20-year-old man who lost his life in the Holey Artisan attack trying to save two of his friends. He received this posthumous recognition in 2016. The award was conferred to him posthumously.
Meanwhile, the award that Anvir received was conferred on him by Mother Teresa International and Millenium Award Committee (MTIMAC).
Earlier, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni, Bashundhara Group Chairman Ahmed Akbar Sobhan and some other distinguished personalities of Bangladesh received this award for their contributions to their respective fields.
The PM received the award in 2006.
