On Thursday, 7 October, Aleesha Gadhia, a six-year-old Indian-origin girl received British Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson's daily Points of Light award for her sustained efforts to raise awareness on deforestation and climate change.
With this, Aleesha became the 1,755th person to receive the British PM's Points of Light award. The award was launched in 2014 in order to acknowledge people who are making a difference in their communities, reported news agency PTI.
A climate activist, Aleesha is also a mini-ambassador for the United Kingdom (UK)-based non-profit organisation Cool Earth that works with rainforest communities to stop deforestation and urges businesses to develop more sustainable practices. Aleesha has raised over GBP 3,000 for Cool Earth.
More About Aleesha Gadhia
In an effort to encourage others to take care of the environment with activities like afforestation and litter picking, Aleesha has also introduced a climate change club at her school.
Aleesha, further, has consistently encouraged some of the UK's largest companies and influential persons to take climate action by sending them hundreds of letters and emails.
In early 2021, Aleesha organised a 'Just Giving' online fundraiser page, which raised GBP 3,400 for Cool Earth with her 80-km scooter challenge. The challenge reportedly received the backing of Queen Elizabeth II and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough.
"I feel really excited and happy to have won the award. I am really grateful and honoured to have Prime Minister Boris Johnson to award and write a letter to me. I never thought I would receive such an award."Gadhia said, as quoted by PTI
Climate change is a really important issue, she pointed out and said she hopes raising awareness will tackle this problem.
Aleesha's parents Kiran and Pooja Gadhia said they were very proud of her. "She has done so much over the past year for someone so young," they said. They added that she had become an inspiration for everyone and wished Gadhia to continue her great work.
(With inputs from PTI.)
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