Father Marian Kuffa.
The first recipient of the Celestýn Opitz Award for 2015 is from Kežmarok. After studying at a university in Nitra, he became an agricultural engineer. He loved horses, enjoyed karate, and was passionate about mountaineering. The latter activity proved to be fateful when he fell from a rock face in the High Tatras mountains. Rescue workers fought for 13 hours to save his life. They were successful. However, after this event, he decided to radically change his life and dedicate it to God as thanks for being saved. He chose to devote his life to those who need it most. After attending a seminar, he was assigned a dilapidated rectory in Žakovce, located at the foot of the mountains. Since 1994, he has been renovating it with the help of homeless people and former prisoners who had served some of the harshest sentences. He built houses for single parents, farm buildings, a rehabilitation center for women, and a home for seniors. He assists Ethiopian nuns, and his methods of social work are being studied in Belgium and Sweden. Two films have already been made about his extensive activities. The institute he founded operates on community principles, and its motto is: "Love people as they are. The less they deserve it, the more you should love them. Don't love them based on their merits, but based on their needs."
Source: www.milosrdni.cz/
