HM The Queen recognises Ghanaian volunteer Abena Asomaning with Commonwealth Points of Light award
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has recognised Abena Asomaning, representing Ghana, as the 62nd Commonwealth Point of Light in honour of her exceptional voluntary service supporting the rehabilitation of offenders.
Abena with her Commonwealth Points of Light Award
Abena Asomaning is the founder of the ‘Angel-Zoe Foundation’, providing a range of innovative rehabilitation services for offenders. Abena, nicknamed ‘Angel’ by those she supports, has developed a comprehensive set of programmes to support offenders during their prison term and in their lives beyond. This includes a project supporting offenders to maintain contact with their families, a social enterprise creating fabrics to give offenders a vocation in prison and a large-scale commercial farm which gives employment opportunities on release.
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.
Each Commonwealth Point of Light will receive a personalised certificate signed by Her Majesty The Queen as Head of the Commonwealth. The award for Abena Asomaning was presented on Thursday 19th July at The British High Commission in Accra by Mr Iain Walker.
Abena Asomaning said:
It’s a great honour to receive the Point of Light Recognition for my humanitarian work for women and juveniles in prisons in Ghana through the Angel-Zoe Foundation. The paradox of my work’s journey is that, I set out to help other people without thought for any public acknowledgement but my modest efforts seem to have gone beyond the private. My intention had been to give a voice to the many voiceless people behind bars who had same rights as the rest of us unrestrained human beings, for them to attain the highest potential of themselves. There are many more lives to touch and our government cannot do it all, citizens must get involved. I am grateful to God for this vision and also, to the British government for this recognition.
Mr Iain Walker, UK High Commissioner to Ghana said:
Her Majesty The Queen was delighted to recognise Abena’s contribution and commitment to improving the lives of women and children. It was my pleasure to present this award to her this evening. The world is full of people who can commentate and criticise, but needs more people like Abena: she is making change happen with her own selfless efforts. We have been delighted to work with Abena over the last number of years and we look forward to doing more together in the future. This recognition is timely and the award is very well deserved.
The Commonwealth is a diverse community of 53 nations that work together to promote prosperity, democracy and peace. The Heads of Government meeting brought together leaders from all the 53 Member countries to reaffirm common values, address shared global challenges and agree how to work to create a better future for all citizens, especially young people. Voluntary service is a vital part of this agenda, which is why Her Majesty The Queen has chosen to recognise outstanding volunteers across the Commonwealth in this special way.
Contact
For more information, please contact Abigail Foaty
Further information
About the Commonwealth Points of Light Award
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The Points of Light awards recognise outstanding volunteers every day of the week – people whose service is making a difference in their communities and whose story can inspire others to creative innovative solutions to social challenges in their own communities and beyond.
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Points of Light began in America under President George H. W. Bush and today over 6,000 US Points of Light have been recognised. The scheme has the support of all living US Presidents.
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Since 2014 the UK Prime Minister has been recognising a daily Point of Light from the UK, with more than 900 volunteers now recognised.
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Commonwealth Points of Light is a continuation of this programme with a special series of awards recognising inspirational volunteers throughout the Commonwealth, coinciding with the UK being the Commonwealth’s Chair-in-Office of for the next two years. One volunteer from each of the 53 Commonwealth countries was recognised in the days leading up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018. Following the success of this programme, Her Majesty The Queen decided to continue this work and award one volunteer from each Commonwealth country every week leading up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda in 2020.
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More information, including details of other Commonwealth Points of Light recipients, can be found on the website
About the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
In April 2018 the UK hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where leaders from across the Commonwealth gathered in London and Windsor. With the theme of ‘Towards a Common Future’ they will work to create a more prosperous, secure, sustainable and fair future for the Commonwealth’s 2.4 billion citizens, particularly its young people.
For further information visit the CHOGM website or follow them on Twitter.