Newsday photojournalist Thomas A. Ferrara wins international award of excellence

Newsday photojournalist Thomas A. Ferrara has won an award of excellence in the Pictures of the Year International Competition for his 2022 portrait of a Congolese teenager from Long Beach who overcame a near-fatal attack by chimpanzees in his native country to become a high school wrestling champion.

Ferrara was awarded in the portrait category for his picture of then 14-year-old Dunia Sibomana-Rodriguez, a Long Beach eighth-grader who won a New York State wrestling championship last year.

Ferrara was awarded in the international competition that judges more than 52,000 works from 71 nations.

“The Dunia Sibomana story is truly inspirational. Tom’s picture portrays a young man who overcame tremendous adversity to become a state champion,” said John Keating, Newsday’s director of multimedia newsgathering. “We are thrilled that Tom has been recognized by Pictures of the Year International.”

Ferrara previously received a Pictures of the Year International award as part of team coverage by Newsday of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests on Long Island and in New York City.

He has been chronicling Sibomana-Rodriguez's journey since the teenager arrived on Long Island from the Congo in 2015 to undergo facial reconstruction surgery at Stony Brook University Hospital.

Sibomana was 8 when he got to Long Island and stayed with a family in Hauppauge while he awaited surgery.

He was attacked two years earlier while playing in the jungle of Virunga National Park in the central African country. The wild chimps attacked the boy along with his brother and a cousin, both of whom were killed.

Ferrara recalled the first assignment when he met Sibomana-Rodriguez, who instantly melted his heart. His initial photo went on to win a Deadline Club award in New York City.

“He was such an amazing spirit and within 20 minutes of experiencing him, you realize he’s a force of nature,” Ferrara said. “It was a privilege to see a full circle on his story and seeing the guy he became. You can’t help but fall in love with him.”

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.