Medical Doctor wins 2012 Martin Luther King Award for Peace and Social Justice

: L-R, Ambassador Donald Teitelbaum, Dr. David Abdulai, his wife, Mariama Alhassan Dokurugu.

The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum presented the 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Peace and Social Justice to Dr. David Fuseini Abdulai, in recognition of his unwavering commitment to the poorest and most vulnerable citizens of Tamale. 

Dr. Abdulai is the 5^th recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Peace and Social Justice Award; instituted by the U. S. Embassy in 2008 to honor a Ghanaian citizen who best personifies the philosophy and actions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King, the 1964 Nobel Peace laureate, played a pivotal role in the African-American civil rights movement in the United States during the 1950s and 1960s.

Presenting a plaque to Dr. Abdulai at a reception held in his honor, United States Ambassador to Ghana, Donald Teitelbaum praised him for his heroic actions, which he said “speak louder than words.”

Ambassador Teitelbaum also stressed the need to protect the rights of minority groups in society. “Recognition of someone’s rights does not mean agreeing to everything they say or do. It is in fact, the unpopular, the unattractive, and the weak who need our protection the most. And I think it behooves on us to look around and say ‘who are these people who need the protection of the constitution?’  It doesn’t mean I agree with everything they say or do, but I have to recognize their rights and even if I disagree with them strongly, I’ll refuse in participating in oppressing them.” 

In 1989, Dr. Abdulai founded the Shekhinah Clinic in Gurugu in northern Tamale to provide free medical treatment and other services to the poorest citizens of Tamale. Shekhinah Clinic is funded entirely through donations and staffed by 27 volunteers. Director of two clinics which serve an average of 120 people daily, Dr. Abdulai also founded the “Meals-on-Wheels” program to provide lunch to an average of 150 destitute and mentally ill people daily, covering a 65-kilometer radius.

Dr. Abdulai, in a brief statement acknowledged the support of people who had contributed to his life in diverse ways. “I am the only survivor of 11 children who all died out of poverty related diseases… I have received several scholarships and the kindness of various benefactors that made it possible for me to go through Senior High School and subsequently the medical school”, he said. Dr. Abdulai described his action as a way to give back to his community and the society at large.  Ambassador Teitelbaum acknowledged previous recipients of the Martin Luther King Jr. Awards- 2008 Winners, Bishop Vincent Boi Nii and Alhaji Al-Hussein Zakaria for their efforts to promote peace and social justice;  2009  winner, Mrs. Angela Dwamena-Aboagye for assisting abused women and children; Mrs Janet Adama Mohammad for her work in peace building to address local and regional conflicts (2010) and George Achibra for rescuing trafficked children working in the fishing industry in Lake Volta (2011).

We encourage those interested in volunteering with or supporting Dr. Abdulai’s work to contact info@shekinah-clinic.com.