June 24th is a day that Alex Mutivo, Peris Bosire and Susan Mueni will remember for many years to come. The young professionals got the honor to meet the Queen of England.
Her Majesty the Queen presented the Young Leaders Award to the three exceptional leaders at a ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
As the Commonwealth celebrates The Queen’s 90th birthday, the three winners all under the age of 30 have been recognized for taking steps towards transforming their communities.
Susan Mueni. 21 years old
Mueni is a volunteer at an NGO called Carolina for Kibera. She was awarded for her outstanding dedication in working with adolescent and school-age women in the slum. Speaking to Standard Newspaper.
When I was growing up, I witnessed my friends, classmates and neighbors dropping out of school due to lack of school fees, early pregnancy and early marriages. I was lucky to be guided and given the information which helped me to grow up as a young girl in Kibera slums. Now, it is my turn to mentor them so that they can realize their potential and be role models to others,”
Mueni receiving her award from Queen Elizabeth
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Peris Bosire, 24
Peris is a founder of FarmDrive which aims at increasing availability of capital to smallholder farmers in Africa. Bosire believes investing in smallholder agriculture is the way to significantly reduce global poverty and create a sustainable economy.
She says
“I would like all unemployed youth to find it easy to access capital that will help them engage in farming activities,”
Peris receiving her award from Queen Elizabeth
Alex Mativo, 21
Alex is a computer science expert who is one of the founders of E-Lab which transforms electronic waste into innovative products.
Still speaking to Standard Newspaper
The idea was born in August 2013 after I saw how electronic waste was being dumped without any regard. I begun looking into ways to transform this hazardous waste and today we use it to make art pieces and sculptures for the art industry
He says,
Alex receiving his award from The Queen
Congratulations to the three, thank you for flying the Kenyan flag higher and higher!
