Leena Lavanya of India is the 2009 recipient of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award.

Lavanya, referred to by some as the "Baptist Mother Teresa," is being recognized for her work among the poor and dispossessed of India. Her "Serve Trust" organization operates several ministries, including homes for the aged, lepers, and adults and children living with HIV/AIDS.

Serve Trust operates a school for children in one of the most depressed areas of Narasaraopet, a town of approximately 100,000 in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. In another town, Chilakaluripet, Lavanya operates training programs for female sex workers and their daughters with the hope that these women and their daughters would break the cycle of prostitution.

Chilakaluripet reportedly means "the place where prostitutes live, " and is populated by descendants of women who were once concubines of kings, who have since evolved into a caste where their role and function is prostitution. HIV/AIDS infection is high among this population, where many men depend on the earnings of the women by being pimps or part of the mafia.

In addition to operating a free HIV/AIDS counseling center, Lavanya distributes rice and lentils to female sex workers and blankets to Hindu beggars, many of whom live on the streets or in depressed communities.

"The ‘Denton and Janice Lotz Human Rights Award’ was launched, endowed with US$100,000, to recognize individuals who have played a significant role in human rights and religious freedom in different parts of the world. The 2009 award will be presented during the meeting of the BWA General Council in Ede, Netherlands, in July.

Denton Lotz (70), a Baptist theologian, served as the General Secretary of the Baptist World Alliance from 1988 until 2007. Also he taught for 11 years as an Associate Professor of Missions and Homiletics at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Rüschlikon (Switzerland). Presently Lotz serves as President of the Board of Directors of the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) and is active in promoting good relations with the Christian World Communions (CWC’s).