Friends and associates of Sister Seli Thomas have congratulated her for winn-ing the inaugural Sisters Anti-Trafficking Awards (SATA).
“On behalf of the natio-nal Conference of Religious India we congratulate Sister Seli Thomas,” says Apostolic Carmel Sister M Nirmalini, head of India’s more than 130,000 Catholic religious.
Congregation of Jesus Sister Cyntha Anna Mathew, who now works in the United Nations, wrote on her Facebook page: “Congratulations to my friend Seli whose work was recognized and awarded. May you continue to bring hope and joy into the lives of many more women and children.”
Sisters Thomas, a member of Sisters of Mary Immaculate in Krishnagar, West Bengal, received the award at a function in Lo-ndon on October 31 along with Sisters Patricia Ebeg-bulem from Nigeria and Francoise Jiranonda from Thailand. The three have been rescuing women from networks that profit from sexual and labor trafficking.
Among those paying tribute to the them were former British prime minister Theresa May, and British champion athlete Sir Mo Farah.
The host of the award program said the three “have demonstrated courage, creativity, collabora-tion, and achievement in the protection of their communities from human trafficking.”