বাংলায় পড়ুন
The French Ambassador to India Alexandre Ziegler presented the highest civilian award of France, Legion d’Honneur to a 92-year-old priest in Kolkata. Father Francois Laborde is the third person to receive this honor from the state of West Bengal. Prior to him film director Satyajit Ray and actor Soumitra Chatterjee received this honor. Ray was conferred with this award in 1987 and Chatterjee last year.
Coming back to Father Laborde, he dedicated his life for the development of the specially-abled children. He started off in 1976, with eight volunteers and a few children and established the home, South Point in Howrah. And now there are nine homes, three formal and five non-formal schools, vocational training centres, dispensaries, specialized schools, and creches. Currently, there are 300 social workers who cover more than lakh people in Howrah, Jalpaiguri, and Asansol.
On this occasion, an exhibition was also organized in his honor which was visited by the French Ambassador. Father Laborde has been working for 60 years and still continues to work for the betterment of these children. He is truly an inspiration for all.
