Hannah Chowdhry a volunteer with British Asian Christian Association, received a Duke of Edinburgh Scheme, Gold Award last year.
On 15th May she was invited to a party on the grounds of Buckingham Palace to celebrate with thousands of other award recipients, in the first ceremony held by Prince Edward the new Duke of Edinburgh.
The event was a real treat for visitors many of whom had met a Royal for the first time. The Party included music from a brass band and classical orchestra and a free tea and water were served with a cupcake.
Hannah had to overcome severe pain due to Juvenile Arthritis and a condition called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, this kept her off school for 8 months and made it a struggle to complete her DofE awards. You can read more of her story (here).
The programme became even more difficult to complete when the COVID-19 pandemic struck and people around the globe faced lockdowns and self-isolation.
Hannah managed to overcome these hurdles by being innovative (click here) and became one of the few people to achieve a Certificate of Achievement before her actual Gold Award.
Hannah Chowdhry, spoke about the event, she said:
“Attaining a Gold DofE Award was a special moment.
“Attending a celebratory event at the gardens of Buckingham Palace the icing on the cake.
“It’s a day I’ll never forget – the award programme has been inspiring form the outset.”
She added:
“I’ve learnt many new skills while completing the DofE Programme.
“Joining the programme empowered me as a teenager, and I’ve been able to work on some very rewarding projects, including project managing the BACA Meals for the Needy service.
“I thank everyone involved with DofE for all the positive influence in my life – I give the glory to God!”
As part of the programme, Hannah initiated a Meals for the Homeless project, Foodbank, upskilled in Badminton winning a London-wide competition and much more. You can see some of her community work in the video below:
Hannah Chowdhry, previously wrote a thank you to Prince Philip for starting the DofE which was added to the messages of remembrance on the DofE website(click here).
She completed her DofE Bronze Award in record time for the JLGB (click here) and (here).
About The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award
A Gold DofE programme is a non-competitive personal challenge, open to all young people, which takes a minimum of 12 months to complete. Young people build their own programmes with activities in five sections – Physical, Skills, Volunteering, a five-day Residential and a four-day Expedition.
While working towards their Award, young people discover new talents and passions, give back to their communities, broaden their horizons, build their resilience and self-belief and gain skills employers value – like teamwork, problem-solving and leadership.
About the DofE
Every year, the DofE inspires hundreds of thousands of young people – from all walks of life – to develop skills, resilience and self-belief. We help them take on their own challenges, follow their passions, make a difference to their communities and discover talents they never knew they had.
DofE is open to any young person aged 14-24. Each young person builds their own DofE programme – picking their own activities and choosing which cause to volunteer for – in order to achieve a Bronze, Silver or Gold DofE Award. The DofE is run in schools, youth clubs, hospitals, fostering agencies, prisons, sports clubs and more, all over the UK. Find out more at DofE.org.
