A Mombasa student has been nominated to join other hundreds of youth globally for this year’s Diana Awards
Diana Award's mission is is to foster, develop and inspire positive change in the lives of young people. It is one of the highest accolades for social action or rather humanitarian efforts a young person can receive.
The 17-year-old Ziyaan Virji is a student at the Aga Khan Academy in Mombasa.
He was awarded for his project of distributing reusable sanitary pads and creating awareness to end menstrual poverty in different parts of the world, Nairobi New reports.
Speaking during an interview in Mombasa office, the student said that he was honoured to be nominated on this prestigious international award.
He attributed his success to his family, close friends, mentors and the his school, the Aga Khan Academy.
“It is such an honor for my work to be recognized in the legacy of Princess Diana. I would like to thank everyone who was involved for their continuous support. It shows credibility of my work,” Ziyaan said as quoted by Nairobi News.
Ziyaan is aiming to create entrepreneurial opportunities to empower girls to access menstrual hygiene through an initiative called Affordable and Accessible Sanitation for Women (AASW).
“In 2017 when I was working on my school personal project I was taken aback to learn that over 500 million girls across the world do not have access to the necessary menstrual health resources they require. Through AASW, I want to change the narrative,” Ziyaan said.
Ziyaan has been working the project by the help of his fellow students aged 13 to 18, Ziyaan in collaboration with a group of women with disabilities called Tunaweza.
They produce and distribute reusable sanitary packages and equip girls with the necessary skills to give themselves access to menstrual hygiene.
The Diana Awards will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.