On October 4, Doctor P. K. Gopal, from Erode, India received a
FESCO award here in Tokyo for his years of selfless work in the
service of those who have been affected by leprosy in his country.
The award is accompanied by a one million yen cash prize from The
Nippon Foundation.

FESCO is short for the Foundation for the Encouragement of Social
Contribution which, since 1971, has given out its prizes in an
effort to publicize good works around the world. The award does
not discriminate according to age, sex, nationality or any other
factor. Fields in which the awards are given have grown since the
origins of the foundation, to include such diverse areas as social
welfare, education, environmental protection and conservation of
the sea. This year, 26 people were selected from a total of 222
nominees for awards in the fields mentioned above, and 3 of 222
nominees for a new field--the promotion of reading. Awards were
bestowed at a ceremony presided over by Their Royal Highnesses,
the Prince and Princess Hitachinomiya.

Dr. Gopal was nominated by Dr. Kenzo Kiikuni, president of the
Sasakawa Memorial Health Foundation. He was then selected for one
of this year's top prizes because of the brilliant way he has
taken his life's difficulties and crafted them into a successful
movement that is having strong, concrete effects on those around
the world who have been affected by leprosy.

Dr. Gopal was born in 1941 into a large weaver's family. When 12
years old, he got a leprous patch on his body, which was
unfortunately not diagnosed correctly until his final year of
university. At that point, he was admitted to the government
leprosy hospital, where he stayed for two years. He continued to
study at the hospital, and by the time he was discharged, he had
acquired a degree in economics.