Filipino missionary Fr Martin Antonio Abad Santos SJ was one of five recipients of Timor-Leste’s Sérgio Vieira de Mello Human Rights Award for his humanitarian work in the sub-district of Railaco. Timor-Leste President Francisco Guterres conferred the award on the occasion of the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations on 10 December.
A physician by training, Fr Abad Santos, or Fr Bong to those who know him, started a feeding programme in 2005 to bring nutrition to the many undernourished children he saw in the rural villages of Railaco located in the well-known coffee-producing municipality of Ermera, southwest of the capital, Dili. He and his team have been running the programme for 15 years now.
“We do what we can to feed the children who need food that will not just make them full but more importantly to help the growth of their brain and body. They need to grow physically well before growing mentally well. They need nutrients that will make them strong mentally to be able to understand lessons in school and to understand life and how important it is for them to become someone valuable to their community and society,” said Fr Abad Santos, adding: “This is not our mission, but the mission of God of which we are only partakers.”
Over the years, his team has seen not only how the children have grown physically healthy but also how the feeding programme has helped parents, young people, and children grow in closeness to the mission.
“It was already clear to me then that those children needed this kind of help, and until now many of them still need our help,” said Christina Wakini Haryunika, feeding programme coordinator. She is happy with the recognition and thankful for the US$10,000 cash prize that comes with the award. “We can do more with this money,” she exclaimed.
“This award is a sign of recognition, appreciation, trust, and encouragement that we are walking on the right path,” said Fr Joaquim Sarmento SJ, Regional Superior of the Jesuits in Timor, who received the award on behalf of Fr Abad Santos.
“We do what we can with what our donors and friends give us, and feed the many who are in need the most,” he said, calling to mind the miracle of the multiplication of loaves and fish in the Gospel.
Fr Sarmento thanked the partners of the Jesuit Mission in Railaco who have supported the feeding programme all these years, particularly St Canice’s parish in Sydney and Jesuit Mission Australia, as well as the families and friends of Fr Abad Santos. “This award is a sign for us to continue working together in the many years to come,” he said.
In his address, President Guterres encouraged the awardees to continue being promoters and defenders of human rights.
“I am hopeful that these awards will motivate and encourage you and others to do more, to serve with commitment and enthusiasm, and to become role models for our people so that each one of them will find their own way to contribute in guaranteeing the human rights of everyone in the country,” he said.
Nelson Madeira Pacheco is the Communication Officer of the Jesuits in Timor-Leste.