Sudanese doctor receives Aurora Prize in Yerevan

The awarding ceremony of the humanitarian Aurora Prize-2017 was held in Yerevan. Doctor Tom Catena, a surgeon of the Mother of Mercy Hospital, located in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, and a missionary of the Catholic Church, was awarded the Prize on behalf of all survivors of the Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that there were 558 nominees for the Prize, including Arthur Sargsyan, a helper to the "Sasna Tsrer" detachment. Sargsyan died at hospital on March 16. Nominees from Somalia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Syria and Congo made the short list of finalists.

Tom Catena will receive a USD 100,000 grant for his projects, said Agavni Egiazaryan, the press secretary for the "Aurora" humanitarian initiative.

Also, doctor Katena was awarded the Aurora Prize of USD 1 million for a charity relay through supporting the organizations that inspired him. He will share the prize among the African Mission Health Fund (AMHF, USA), the Aktion Canchanabury (Germany) and the Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB, USA).

Tom Catena have saved thousands of lives, being the only doctor in the Sudanese Nuba Mountains, devastated by the war. He makes up to 1000 surgeries a year. For the past nine years, the doctor was on duty around the clock. A civil war goes on there of the government against the People's Liberation Army of Sudan.

The Aurora Prize was set up within the framework of the Charity Fund 100 LIVES of the "Armenia's Development Initiatives" Project. It is awarded to people who, at the risk of their lives, help others to survive, and promote ideas of humanism.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.