Queen Elizabeth to award two Malawian Young Achievers
The Head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II has recognised two young Malawians and 58 others from member countries for being exceptional leaders in their communities.
As part of the recognition, the Queen will in June 2016 award these youths at the Buckingham Palace in London.
In a statement issued today, the Queen’s Young Leaders say the two, 18 year old Asante Mzungu from Lilongwe and 21 year old Madalo Banda from Zomba have been selected in recognition of their extraordinary contributions to their communities.
“Mzungu has been acknowledged for his work in ensuring that young people benefit from education while Banda for setting up Loud Link, which addresses social issues through creative writing,” reads the statement in part.
In 2013 Mzungu started distributing books, stationary and uniforms to
a primary school in Lilongwe with over 2,000 students. Two years later, he started working for Malawi Young Agents of Change, which aims at helping young people from disadvantaged households to acquire entrepreneurial and leadership skills.
The awards are part of a programme celebrating achievements of young people who are taking the lead to transform lives of others and make a lasting difference in their communities.
The winners aged between 18 and 29 are said to be working to support others, raise awareness and inspire change on a variety of issues including education, climate change, gender equality, mental health and empowerment of people with disability .
The Queens Young Leaders programme was established in 2014 by the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust in partnership with Comic Relief and Royal Commonwealth Society in recognition of the Queen’s lifetime of service to the Commonwealth.
