German Federal President Joachim Gauck has awarded Mrs. Monika Naik, In-Charge-cum-Secretary of Bantra St Thomas Home Welfare Society in Howrah, with the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany of the Federal Republic of Germany. Yesterday the German Consul General in Kolkata, Rainer Schmiedchen, handed over the Order of Merit to Mrs. Naik.
“We salute the modest, highly competent and warm-hearted Monika Naik for her courage and dedication to work relentlessly and making an Indo-German partnership project such a big success”, said Consul General Schmiedchen.
Mrs. Naik, nee Dutta, was born on 21 November 1960 in Howrah. At the age of 20 she started working as a nurse in the Tuberculosis clinic of St Thomas Home in Howrah. At present, Mrs. Naik is the In-Charge-cum-Secretary of the clinic.
“German Doctors e.V.”, a German NGO, has been working in close cooperation with St Thomas Home for many years. Medical doctors from Germany, sent by the NGO to India on a regular basis, offer free medical treatment to patients suffering from Tuberculosis. Throughout the last 14 years, one German doctor has been stationed permanently at the clinic. The German Consulate General in Kolkata has been supporting St. Thomas’ Home over the last decades.
The German Government has awarded Mrs. Naik the Order of Merit as a gesture of thankfulness and appreciation of not only her exemplary service and expertise, but also for her empathy and dedication towards bringing health and hope back to the life of so many people.