Two young people from Williams Lake were among several others honoured by receiving Duke of Edinburgh Awards last month.
The awards celebrate the achievements of young people around the world and were presented by Lt. Gov. Judith Guichon on Saturday, Oct. 26 at St. Andrew’s on the Square in Kamloops.
The B.C. winners who completed the bronze or silver level include Charles Cecil and Tashina Matilpi-Hordiuk from Williams Lake, Eve Shen and Carol Gwena from Surrey, Breeanna Riov-Green from Port Moody, Natasha Romana from Coquitlam, and Farai Simbabure from White Rock.
The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a global leadership program for ages 14 to 24.
It generally takes around four years to achieve a silver level award and this year celebrates its 50th anniversary.
There are several areas participants must complete including service, skills, physical fitness, an “adventurous journey” and a residential project, which entails spending five days away from home working for others.
“This award means a lot to people” as it is recognized by universities and those in the business world alike, said Umeeda Switlo, executive director of the award for the B.C. and Yukon division.
As they learn leadership skills, the youth “learn to manage themselves.”
They are keen on encouraging rural youth to take notice of the award as 95 per cent of previous recipients have been from Victoria and Vancouver, she said, thus the effort to hold one of the three B.C. award ceremonies in Kamloops.