Benefactor of India's Poor Wins 2002 Hublot Prize
By William George Shuster, Senior Editor -- JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 6/1/2002
The Prix Hublot 2002 has been awarded to Father François Laborde, who serves the poor and deprived of Howrah in the West Bengal district of India. The announcement was made April 6 by Carolo Crocco, president of MDM Geneve, which produces Hublot watches, at the international watch and jewelry fair in Basel, Switzerland.
The prize of 50,000 Swiss francs (about US$30,100) is awarded annually by MDM Geneve and the MDM Foundation to a person or organization aiding underprivileged children.
Since arriving in India as a young man, Father Laborde has worked to transform Pilkhana, one of Asia's largest slums and home to some 100,000 people. He created dispensaries, nourished children, and raised funds to build new housing and a school. In 1976, he founded Howrah South Point, a facility to rehabilitate the handicapped, which runs seven outdoor physiotherapy clinics, three schools, two non-formal schools, and traditional and mobile dispensaries.
