The Mother Teresa Award

The national anthem, led by Jaycee president Jose Amado L. Mamuric, was followed by a prayer recited by Michael O. Cua, chairman of the 2004 Search Committee. Ambassador Alfonso T. Yuchengco, chairman of the Alfonso Yuchengco Foundation, Inc., welcomed guests at the Villa San Miguel hall after which Archbishop Gaudencio B. Rosales, D.D., chairman of the board of judges, gave an inspirational message.

The remarks of the gentle, genteel, refined Archbishop Rosales – to my mind a most worthy successor of Jaime Cardinal Sin – were extemporaneous, yet profoundly meaningful. He explained and demonstrated how Mother Teresa fully lived her motto "All for Jesus" which he later summed up in two words: "Yes, Jesus."

Forthwith, a video of the early life of Cardinal Sin, recipient of the Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta Award, was shown, and finally, Archbishop Rosales, assisted by Ambassador yuchengco, Ramon Bagatsing, Jr., Mrs. Susanne Y. Santos and Mr. Cua presented the award for the recipient who, from a wheelchair, read his response. Prior to that, the UP Singing Ambassadors under Ed Manguiat gave marvelous renditions of uplifting songs.

After these many years, it is time to turn the spotlight on the AYF and the Manila Jaycees which are behind the Mother Teresa and other awards, both of which institutions have been rendering tremendous public service to the country.

Ambassador Yuchengco explains the mission of the AYF he heads as "social return on investment" (SROI) – a corporate response to the challenge of development. "It is realized when a company invests private capital for the public good, the benefits of which impact on the poor and translate into better health, higher incomes, access to education, better housing and cohesive community organization, among others."

Incidentally, during the brunch following the rites, I expressed to Ambassador Yuchengco my curiousity regarding his unending benevolence. In a spirit of levity which, nevertheless, implied a serious import, he confessed that many years ago, he asked St. Peter whether he could take some of his goods along with him to heaven. Up to now, he is still waiting for St. Peter’s answer; meanwhile, as he waits, he feels he has to distribute or share his goods with those who need them.

With the foregoing as explanation, and guided by the SROI principle, Mr. Yuchengco established the Bayanihan Foundation in 1970, which later became the AY Foundation, Inc. Since then, over 6,000 educational grants have been awarded by it to Manila’s street children, indigent students of minority groups and needy dependents of the Yuchengco Group of Company employees. The AYF also funds professorial chairs and infrastructure development in selected universities.

Close to 5,000 surgeries, performed for free by AYF-supported volunteer doctors, have benefitted indigents in remote areas, and over 50,000 poor Filipinos have been provided with free consultations and medicines, and accomodations at the Doña Maria Yuchengco Charity Ward (named after Mr. Yuchengco’s mother) in Cavite.

Yearly, National Discipline Awards, along with medals and cash, are given to outstanding high school students all over the archipelago. Each award is accompanied by a youth leadership program that instills social responsibility in the youth by providing them with opportunities to render volunteer work in depressed communities.

The AYF also extends relief and rehabilitation to calamity victims and to the disabled, grants for environmental protection and builds shelters for street children, among many other worthy causes.

In partnership with the Manila Jaycees, the AYF, inspired by the 1979 Nobel Peace laureate Mother Teresa, established the Mother Teresa Award to outstanding individuals who dedicate their lives to the "poorest of the poor".

In 1982, Ramon S. bagatsing Jr., then incoming president of the Manila Jaycees, broke away from elaborate oath-taking ceremonies by having the board induct members on a stage in the Missionaries of Charity compound in Tayuman, Tondo. Mr. Bagatsing invited Mother Teresa to the inaugural rites and the venerable nun – already regarded "the living saint" – flew from Calcutta to honor the occason.

Her presence, especially her humanitarian work among Calcutta’s "poorest of the poor", inspired the Manila Jaycees to launch the Mother Teresa Award during their general membership meeting on April 5, 1983. In a letter to his fellow members, Mr. Bagatsing wrote: "In reaffirming our commitment to one of the most important tenets of Jayceeism, that ‘service to humanity is the best work of life’, the Manila Jaycee chapter is honoring the legendary living saint with the formal launching of the Mother Teressa Award project. With it, we hope to share with our countrymen a glimpse of what Mother Teresa and her Missionaries of Charity are doing here and throughout the world."

In the same year, the AYF, through its chairman Mr. Yuchengco (1957 Manila Jaycee president), was invited to become the project partner of the Manila Jaycees. The AYF’s first donation of P50,000 – now increased to a million pesos – went to the late Fr. Anthony Hoffste, OP, the first awardee who was chosen from among 19 nominees for his 35-year ministry to the Hansenites of Tala Leprosarium. Mother Teresa herself conferred the award in simple ceremonies at the same venue in Tondo on Nov. 23, 1983.

Re-launched in 1985, the project underwent a three-year interruption because of the uncertain political situation. The award was revived in 1989 and since then has become an annual event.

On Dec. 17, 1991 President Cory C. Aquino highly praised the project organizers for recognizing "unheralded deeds".