Rotary Young Citizens Award Winners: Making a Difference in their Communities

This year, a number of young people from Great Britain and Ireland have been awarded the Rotary Young Citizen Award. This prestigious award celebrates young volunteers who have made a real difference to their local community. These young people are inspirational, and they show that anyone can make a difference if they put their mind to it. We would like to congratulate all the winners, and we look forward to seeing more great things from them in the future!

Here's a quick rundown of the winners, but if you'd like to learn more and watch videos from the winners, visit the Rotary website for the full stories of these inspirational young people

Rotary Young Citizens Award Winners 2022. Credit: Rotary

Dr Mya-Rose Craig

This may not be the first time you have heard of Mya-Rose, also known as birdgirl, as in 2020 she was included in the BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Power List for her commitment to helping combat climate change.

In 2019, Mya-Rose became the youngest person ever to be awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Bristol. This was in recognition of her dedication to conservation and campaigning for social justice.

In 2021, Mya-Rose launched her debut book "We Have a Dream," which examines how Indigenous people and minorities are disproportionately harmed by climate change, yet their challenges are rarely mentioned in global discussions. As a British-Bangladeshi environmentalist and race activist, She spent months finding and speaking to 30 young environmentalists from all corners of the world who were working on various projects, sharing their inspiring stories in her book. You can read more about Mya-Rose and her journey on her site.

At just 20 years old, she has already achieved so much, and we can't wait to see what she does next!

Amy and Ella Meek

These sisters are campaigning to end the use of single use plastics, and they have already made a big impact in their local community. The Meek sisters, aged 18 and 16, have started a charity called 'Kids against Plastic' in order to educate young people about environmental concerns such as plastic pollution and the Climate Crisis.

The sisters Amy and Ella started their environmentalism journey when they were just 12 and 10 years old, when they wanted to do more about plastic pollution and plastic waste. The charity they set up educates young people through free resources, initiatives and a 'Kids against Plastic' club which aims to inspire and empower other young people to act against plastic waste.

The sisters have also collected 90,000 pieces of single-use plastic litter, launched campaign efforts with nearly 1000 schools and 50 cafés, businesses, and festivals, and released a book titled Be Plastic Clever in 2020. Their educational projects raise awareness of plastic pollution while also providing methods for children to get involved in making the world a better place.

The work of Amy and Ella is truly inspiring, and we hope that their efforts will help to make a difference in the fight against plastic pollution.

Avye Couloute

Avye has been coding since she was 7 years old - and now the 14 yea how to code when she was just seven years old, and now she is using her skills to help others. Wanting to get more women into STEM Avye with the help of her mother, created Girls into Coding.

The organisation provides runs educational workshops for young women from underprivileged and underserved communities. They give these girls the opportunity to learn about coding and robotics seeing how it can be used in various careers. Pre-pandemic Girls into Coding ran many successful in person seminars and during the pandemic ran 29 online sessions to help continue their mission.

Avye's work is important in getting more young women interested in coding, and her efforts are sure to have a positive impact on the future of STEM.

Megan Rodd

Since she was 5 years old, Megan has been helping her local community through a mix of fundraising and random acts of kindness. At 6 Megan climbed Ben Nevis and has since completed marathons and bike rides to benefit others. From all of these efforts Megan has raised over £35,000 for local and national charities.

During the pandemic Megan decided she wanted to do more for her local community, so she started a project called 'Megan's Kindness Mission'. She set up a Facebook page to organise food parcels for those in need - and during the pandemic Megan and her mum delivered as many as 30 parcels a day to families and individuals in need!

Megan's work is truly inspiring, and she is making a big difference in her community. We hope that her efforts will continue to make a positive impact on those around her.

Amol Neupane

When Amol was 6 years old, he began charitable fundraising efforts. Now 11 years old he has continued to raise money for various charities, and has during the lockdown, Amol cycled 400 kilometers over a three-week period, raising more than £3,300 for the Oxford University Coronavirus Vaccine Research Project, as he wanted to do his part in fighting the coronavirus.

Now Amol is preparing to raise money by taking on a 1000k cycling challenge to raise money for rural primary schools in Nepal. The money raised will go to Friends of NIC-Nepal charity, which supports schools in the region by giving children access to computers with all the educational learning materials they need.

Amol's fundraising efforts are truly commendable, and he is making a big difference in the lives of others. We hope that his work will continue to have a positive impact on those he helps.

Khovan Hussein

To put others first, Khovan - a 17 year old from Warrington, has overcome having a heart condition, autism, and Tourette's syndrome. Despite all of these challenges, Khovan has managed to raise money for teenagers with cancer.

In addition to his fundraising efforts, Khovan also volunteers to help fellow students with medical and mental health issues get into sport, meet others in the community and lead a more active lifestyle. Even during the Covid pandemic, he has assisted his classmates and instructors in maintaining their fitness.

Khovan said he began his efforts “Because I'm autistic, I had trouble socialising. So, I wanted to help others with sport and fitness because I felt I used to be a really shy kid and I thought, you know, if it made me more sociable and more outgoing, maybe it could work on others.”

Khovan's work is truly inspiring, and he is making a big difference in his community. We hope that his efforts will continue to make a positive impact on those around him.

Spark UK

Spark UK is an organisation that helps young people with their mental health. The four teenagers who founded the charity describe it as a mental health organisation for young people by young people.

Their aim to break the stigma around mental health and 'spark' the conversation around mental health through their website. They create online rescources including lessons, videos, self-care acts, assemblies as well as resources from their network of organisations they partner with. To raise money for charities in the mental health field they created an online advent calendar for people to donate to which recieved support from celebrities such as Steven Fry and Emma Thompson.

The work that Spark UK is doing is truly inspiring, and they are making a big difference in the lives of young people. We hope that their work will continue to have a positive impact on those they help.

CATCH Leeds

CATCH (Community Action To Create Hope) is a volunteer-driven organization run by young people between 11 and 24. Many of the volunteers, who had previously been in trouble and have since redeemed themselves, wish to contribute to their community. They have accomplished this by converting a crime hotspot into a thriving social centre for the community. The CATCH youth program has more than 1,000 members who may participate in a variety of activities, including sports and creativity as well as volunteering and social action initiatives.

Catch work in partnership with other organisations including schools, the police, and the local council to make a difference in their community. They are making a big difference in the lives of young people and we hope that their work will continue to have a positive impact on those they help. If you are interested in CATCH (as a volunteer or not)you can find their site here.

Fay Pretty

22-year-old Fay wants there to be more peace in the world. From the age of 16, she has worked on initiatives locally as well as in Ecuador, Uganda and India to promote peace, understanding and community cohesion.

Fay was a founder member of PeaceJam UK's Youth Leadership Team and now leads this group, as well as growing its membership and capacity. During this time, Fay has worked with young people in many volunteer roles, including a community development internship in Southern India and helping refugee exclusion in the Calais Refugee Camp.

Areeb Khan

Areeb, at just 16 years old, made headlines when she bravely spoke about her battle with COVID in order to encourage other young people to get vaccinated. Areeb caught COVID just days before the vaccine roll-out to 16-17 year olds began.

She was taken to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, where she received a treatment called Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO), which is known as a "last hope" for COVID-19 patients. She had to relearn skills such as walking, but her illness drove her to want to pursue a career as a doctor to help others.

Areeb using her own struggles to help others is truly inspiring, and she is making a big difference in the lives of those around her.

Esha Nadeswaran

5 year old Esha's fight with acute myeloid leukaemia has motivated over 20,000 people to join the bone marrow donor list, including many from underrepresented ethnic minorities.

Esha's personality and her journey moved many, and test facilities were established to locate a donor for her. Between 60 and 70 percent of the new registrations came from ethnic minorities. After a donor was found outside the UK, an urgent stem cell transplant combined with a new treatment has been carried out and we here at Spotlite are wishing Esha the best.

These are just a few of the amazing young people who have been awarded the rotary young citizen award. They have all made a huge difference in their communities and are truly inspirational. We hope that their work will continue to have a positive impact on those they help. Thank you for reading! We hope this has inspired you to make a difference in your community as well.