The Queen recognises Ghanaian volunteer with Points of Light award
Her Majesty The Queen Elizabeth II recognised Cordie Aziz as the 105th Commonwealth Points of Light Award recipient in honour of her exceptional voluntary service to the environment, training hundreds of people to become recycling entrepreneurs.
H.E Iain Walker handing over the Points of Light award to Cordie Aziz
As part of the legacy of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in London 2018, Her Majesty The Queen - as Head of the Commonwealth - is thanking inspirational volunteers across the 53 Commonwealth nations for the difference they are making in their communities and beyond, by recognising one volunteer from each Commonwealth country each week in the two years following the Summit.
By sharing these stories of service, the Commonwealth Points of Light awards celebrate inspirational acts of volunteering across the Commonwealth and help inspire others to make their own contribution to tackling some of the greatest social challenges of our time.
The award ceremony was hosted by the British High Commissioner; Ian Walker at the British High Commission, Accra on Tuesday, 17th September, 2019. The Mayor of Accra, Hon Mohammed Adjei Sowah and the Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah (MP) attended the occasion to show their support of the tremendous contribution of Ms Aziz towards waste management and recycling.
Ahead of the award ceremony Cordie Aziz said:
I am absolutely humbled and honoured to be the third recipient of the Points of Light Award in Ghana. It is such a great privilege to be recognised for doing something that I absolutely love. Through my work with informal waste sector workers, I seek to not only reduce the poverty gap among a vulnerable population, but also create waste collection systems that stop plastic waste from devastating our communities and waterways. I think that by empowering the vulnerable, we can create a ripple effect that will undoubtedly change the way the world works. Through my work, I envision creating greater social equity, inclusion and a cleaner Ghana that we all can enjoy. I thank everyone at the British High Commission in Ghana for championing these causes and recognising the importance of this work.
British High Commissioner to Ghana H.E. Iain Walker said:
I am delighted to present the Commonwealth Points of Light award to Cordie Aziz of Environment 360 on behalf of HM The Queen. Cordie is bringing together communities and businesses to change the culture around recycling. Together with her dedicated team at Environment360, Cordie has become a key partner to the British High Commission at our flagship events, helping us to reduce and recycle our waste. Her work has already led to the collection of 600 metric tonnes of waste paper. Cordie’s innovative workshops in schools has resulted in 15,000 children setting up their own recycling programmes. The future looks green.
Presenting the award on behalf of the Her Majesty The Queen, the British High Commissioner H.E Iain Walker said the UK government is now diverting much more of its money into environmental protection, waste management and recycling and has recognised that it is a global effort, not just an issue for governments, communities and individuals can also make a difference.
The Deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Patrick Yaw Boamah (MP) said:
I want to encourage the youth of this country to emulate the shining example of Ms. Cordie Aziz so that not only would they find solutions to the myriad of challenges in the country but also they would be creating employment for themselves and others.
The Mayor of Accra, Hon Mohammed Adjei Sowah said:
Waste disposal has been a challenge in Accra. We need to be conscious of how we generate and dispose of waste to reduce its impact on the climate. It is not only the responsibility of the city management but all of us. We are thankful for what Ms. Cordie has done and we will continue to support her.