Amid COVID-19, several people rose up to the occasion when people were in dire need of help. Ranging from finding medical aid to making sure no one sleeps hungry, we've seen COVID heroes and NGOs walk the extra mile to keep humanity alive. Two Bengaluru teens, through their selfless humanitarian work, have received international recognition.
Sia Godika and Lakshya Subodh were awarded the prestigious Diana Award, which honours youngsters who work to improve the lives of people and supported by Prince William and Prince Harry. The award was presented at a virtual ceremony due to COVID restrictions on Monday.
Donate a sole, save a soul
Sia Godika is a 14-year-old student of Neev Academy, residing in Koramangala. She was awarded with the Diana Award for the work carried out by her group, Sole Warriors, which donates footwear to those who need it. Godika started the initiative in November 2019 after she was disturbed by the damaged feet of construction workers near her home. So far, her efforts have resulted in collection of over 15,000 pairs of footwear from 4,000 households, refurbishing them and then distributing them to the unprivileged, TOI reported.
"I did some research and found that millions of people contract diseases by walking barefoot, while 350 million footwear is discarded by privileged households and some are just stashed in cupboards unused," Godika said.
Igniting Dreams
Another powerful initiative that won the Royal Family's award is the brainchild of Lakshya Subodh. The 17-year-old teen started his social work way early since he was in eighth grade. A student of Delhi Public School offered help to rural students with micro internships, industry-based opportunities like mentorship and future employment options.
His "Igniting Dreams" initiative then saw an opportunity to help the rural residents amid COVID-19 pandemic. By raising funds, he started working on a COVID curriculum to educate people in villages with the right information and even used attractive animated videos to make content more engaging and easy to grasp.
His curriculum reached more than 250 families and 5,000 women and youth in the villages of Solepura on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border, Lakkawaram in Andhra Pradesh and Pauri-Garwal in Uttarakhand over the last year, the report added.
