KARACHI: Ten young Pakistanis have made the country proud after being recognised by the Diana Awards this year.
The Diana Award honours those aged between nine to 25 working for the betterment of the community in any way.
The award was established in 1999 after the name of the late Princess of Wales, Diana. It is one of the most prestigious awards a youngster can receive for their humanitarian work.
The 10 Diana awardees from Pakistan are Alizey Khan, Arqam Al-Hadee, Iqra Bisma, Faryal Ashfaq, Muhammad Amir Khoso, Moazzam Shah Bukhari Syed, Moiz Lakhani, Aiza Abid, Ramna Saeed, and Sikander Khan.
The youngest awardee is 18-year-old Iqra Bisma who is from Islamabad. She is a mental health activist who started volunteering from the age of 8. She developed a listeners’ society called “TALK” where 50 fully trained listeners volunteer.
Moazzam Shah Bukhari Syed, who is a 24-year-old from Hyderabad, received the award for providing sustainable education to children. He recently opened several schools for more than 1,500 children in remote villages.
“It’s such an honour to carry this prestigious award in memory of Princess Diana. I know it will inspire me to do even more. I know there are many young people, like me, who could benefit from the support of The Diana Award,” Moazzam told Geo.tv
Twenty-year-old Ramna Saeed has worked against sexual harassment. The Diana Award Roll of Honour 2022 site reports that she created a safe space for women in her community to talk about sexual harassment and bullying they face on a daily basis.
Faryal Ashfaq from Lahore has been fighting against gender-based violence. She started her own NGO “The Mirror” at just 17 years of age.
Muhammad Amir Khoso, 22, bagged the award for providing water facilities, food, and education in the underprivileged areas of Pakistan. Khoso has provided food to 700 families during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alizey Khan, a 24 year old from Lahore, got the award for focusing on food poverty. The Diana Award Roll of Honour 2022 website said that she started “Ruhil foundation” in 2016 to fight food poverty. Under its name, she was able to delivery 5,500 meal parcels monthly.
Arqam Al-Hadeed, 21, is a young leader who currently lives in Leeds, England. He is an international award-winning youth leader. He has represented 180,000 youngsters of Leeds in the House of Commons.
Moiz Lakhani, a 20-year-old who currently lives in Toronto, Canada, taught women self defence techniques, empowering and training them. He received seed funding and mentorship for his project “Ninja Girls”, a non-profit organisation.
Aiza Abid, 23, has been a life-long advocate of children’s rights. She established “Aiza’s Teddybear Foundation” in 2013 to provide emotional and physical support to children worldwide.
Sikandar (Sonny) Khan, also 23, currently lives in the US. He received the awarded for founding an organisation called “Paani” which builds water wells in Pakistan. Apart from providing clean water in the affected areas of Pakistan, the awardee’s organisation has also donated over $500,000 in medical supplies during the pandemic.