Jemima Nartey wins Messengers of Peace Hero Award
The Vice Chairperson of the World Scout Committee, Ms Jemima Nartey, has been crowned the joint winner of this year’s Messengers of Peace Hero Award in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia “for creating a positive impact in scouting in Ghana.”
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She was one of the 24 scouts from 23 countries in the world selected to receive the coveted award for their significant contribution to raising the profile of scouting in their respective countries.
The award
The award was presented to them by the government of Saudi Arabia on behalf of King Salman bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia.
The award was first introduced in 2012 to recognise scouts, volunteers and professionals as heroes in their communities for their outstanding work towards creating a better world.
Ms Nartey, an astute scout, rose through the enviable ranks of the mainly male-dominated association from a Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Ghana Scout Association, a member of the Africa Scout Committee, to the Chairperson of the Africa Scout Committee, a position she held for three years before assuming the position of the Vice Chairperson of the World Scout Committee.
Briefing the Daily Graphic on her return with the prize, Ms Nartey said he was excited that her effort had been recognised internationally in the mainly male-dominated association.
She said prior to the event, the exemplary scouts shared their experiences and presented their stories to the guests about the impact of scouting.
Activities of scouts
“Throughout the world, scouts work towards creating positive change and establishing peace in their communities in many different ways.
“From assisting in relief operations after devastating natural disasters in Haiti and Ecuador; helping displaced communities in conflict areas such as Syria and Lebanon; preventing bullying in schools in Costa Rica; encouraging interactions, integrating communities and working with refugees in Europe; to leading social mobilisation initiatives in Ebola-stricken Sierra Leone and working with children in difficult circumstances in Ghana,” Ms Nartey said.
Ms Nartey, who is also the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Happy Kids Schools in Accra and Dawhenya, explained that the recipients of the award had significantly contributed to raising the profile of scouting in Ghana and other areas.
She said scouting was one of the world’s leading educational youth movements with 40 million active citizens around the world committed to promoting the culture of peace and positive change in the community.
“The movement, through its World Scout Programmes and local initiatives, has contributed more than 700 million service hours to communities worldwide. It aims to achieve one billion community service hours by the year 2020,” she told the Daily Graphic.