Egyptian Heba El-Sewedy wins 2025 Mother Teresa Award

by Nirmala Carvalho

The award, which recognises individuals in Mumbai who carry on the spirit of the founder of the Missionaries of Charity, was given to a woman who, starting with the wounded of the Arab Spring in Egypt, created an NGO and a hospital that cares for burn victims throughout the Middle East. ‘Mother Teresa taught us that service is not measured by greatness but by sincerity.’

Mumbai (AsiaNews) - During a ceremony in Mumbai on Sunday 21 December, the 2025 edition of the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice - the only award bearing Mother Teresa's name, officially recognised by the Missionaries of Charity - was presented to Egyptian Heba El-Sewedy, in recognition of the good she has done in the lives of thousands of burn patients in her country.

The Harmony Foundation, which promotes this international award, was founded in October 2005 by Dr Abraham Mathai: the Mother Teresa Memorial Award is a global celebration of compassionate leaders for their selfless service, justice and humanity, continuing the legacy of Mother Teresa. Over the years, the award has been given to individuals and organisations from around the world, including Nobel Prize winners who have worked tirelessly to improve society.

Heba El-Sewedy is the founder and president of the Ahl Masr Foundation, the first non-profit organisation of its kind in the Middle East and North Africa dedicated to the treatment, prevention and research of trauma and burns. The award highlights her humanitarian leadership in providing care and her role in giving people a second chance at life.

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. Her generosity was not limited to her own country: she also helped the wounded in the war in Libya. In 2013, she founded the Ahl Masr Foundation, which in 2016 added the construction of the Ahl Masr Hospital, the first non-profit hospital and research centre specialising in the treatment and care of burns in the Middle East and Africa.

Accepting the award, Heba El-Sewedy said: ‘I am deeply honoured to receive the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice, which is particularly dear to me for three reasons. First, because it bears the name of Mother Teresa. Her life taught us that true service is not measured by greatness, but by sincerity. Receiving an award that bears her name is an honour and a responsibility that I accept with humility.’ .

‘The second reason,’ she continued, ‘is that this award represents recognition of 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.’

"Third, the most personal reason: this award comes on the birthday of my son Ismail, whom I carry in my heart every day. May his soul rest in peace. Being here on his birthday makes me feel that this work continues to reach him and that what is done with love never really stops. I pray for Mother Teresa,‘ concluded Heba El-Sewedy, ’for her legacy, her light and the path she continues to inspire."