UAE teenage spark wins global prize for recycling campaign
UAE teenage spark wins global prize for recycling campaign
A Dubai-based teenager who founded an environmentally-friendly group with over a thousand members aged ten, has won the International Children's Peace Prize.
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The Dubai-based teen was among 120 international entries [AFP]
A UAE teen was awarded the International Children's Peace Prize for her contribution to the environment and local news reported on Friday.
Kehkashan Basu, an Indian expatriate born and raised in Dubai, won this year's annual KidsRights competition, beating 119 others to the prize.
"I feel amazing, because winning this prize doesn't only give a lot of positivity, but it motivates me to continue to do my work," said the 16-year-old who organised a campaign to promote recycling waste at the age of eight.
"It's also motivation for other children across the world that age has nothing to do with capability, and whatever we want to achieve, we can," she told The National.
In 2012, the then 10-year-old founded Green Hope - an organisation made up of a thousand volunteers in ten nations, which focuses on waste collection, recycling and beach cleaning.
Ellen Vroonhof, programme manager for KidsRights, described the environtmentally-conscious teen as "passionate and extremely driven".
"She also has a lot of knowledge on the environment and what she wants to do," she told The National.
