60 young people in the Commonwealth received Queen’s Young Leaders Awards at the Buckingham Palace, United Kingdom, last week. Among them were three Ghanaians who were awarded by Queen Elizabeth II for their contribution to community development in Ghana. The trio included; Elijah Amoo Addo, Winnifred Selby and Efua Asibon.
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They trio was presented with medals by Queen Elizabeth II. This was after they received mentoring and training from the University of Cambridge.
The Queens Young Leaders award recognizes and celebrates exceptional people aged 18-29 from across the Commonwealth, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives.
The event was attended by many personalities from the British royal family including Prince Harry. The recipients of the award were praised by the monarch for their hard work and commitment to developing their respective communities.
Elijah Amoo Addo, a chef, is the founder of Food for All Ghana; an organization through which he collects leftover foods from restaurants and food vendors to feed the mentally challenged and needy people. As a matter of fact, the Ghanaian chef prepared a meal for the Queen of England after she requested for his services.
Mr. Addo chose to make one of the favorite dishes in Ghana, Waakye for Queen Elizabeth II. The Ghanaian chef was recognized for his Food For All Program which is built on advocacy against food wastage. Elijah’s program entails collecting leftover items and waste food items with which he prepares food for the mentally challenged persons, and the needy.
The second awardee Winifred provides bamboo bicycles and sanitary pads for deprived school pupils in the country. She achieves this through her EPF Educational Empowerment Initiative and Ghana Bamboo Bikes Initiative. Conquering some of the basic obstacles of attaining education, Miss Winfred surely has helped tons of less privileged children access education.
Efua Asibon helps to raise awareness on disability and has committed herself to improving teaching in special schools. She is the co-founder of Dislabelled, an organization which provides a teacher training program called SustainAbility, offers a scholarship fund for disabled children. Efua is currently organizing a forum for parents of disabled children.
Winners of this prestigious Award will received a unique package of training, mentoring and networking, including a one-week residential program in the UK during which they will collect their Award from Her Majesty The Queen.
The Queens Young Leaders Award was established in 2014 by Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief, The Royal Commonwealth Society and the University of Cambridge’s Institute of Continuing Education, in recognition of The Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.
The program sees 60 individuals from Commonwealth countries each year, receive training, mentoring and networking opportunities, and take part in a week-long residential program in London. This aimed at empowering them to build on the work they are leading in their communities which are changing the lives of others for the better.
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