Bronze,Silver,Gold

Late night star gazing in the wild before lights out.

29

Kenya

Carried on to join as a Life Member of the Award Holders Alumni, signed up as a volunteer, and assessed multiple expeditions at all stages of the award. Also served for 2 years on the award committee. My Unforgettable Memory of the Award - By Tanvir Singh Sabharwal (Gold Award Holder, Life Member Award Holders Alumni Kenya, Volunteer, and Assessor) The world is a big book and those who don’t travel read only one page.My journey at DOE started as a young teenager with basic knowledge of hiking and camping from my early scouting days. Little did I know, we are not just going hiking but I was embarking on an expedition to discover myself in a small town in Kenya.They say a journey of a thousand miles begins with one step and mine began with my first Pre-Bronze expedition. Fun is an understatement; I had the time of my life and got addicted to the President’s Award Scheme – Duke of Edinburgh Award in Kenya.Fast forward to our Gold award, we had gained multiple skills, clocked countless hours in community service, and experienced pains in our body in muscles we never knew existed.Coming to the Gold expedition, I was made group leader which I thought would be a walk in the park but little did I know, this walk is going to be up a mountain. As a group we became a family, helping each other through various emotions - tears, anger, and frustration. But as we were told, defeat is just in the mind, we proceeded to conquer Mt. Longonot.You must be wondering why this mountain is stuck in my head, I will tell you why!We started our 3rd day of hiking up the foothills of Mt. Longonot, a volcanic mountain around 7 am. This was after experiencing intense showers of rain and extreme heat on the previous days, combined with drought and crazy hills.Towards midday * Navigators please take note * our compass started to deviate away from our rest point and started taking us in the opposite direction, taking us into the deep gorges of the mountain. This disturbance was a result of magnetic interference from volcanic activities.We reached the peak of the mountain for sunset, we watched the sun go down behind Lake Naivasha and we couldn’t take any photos, this was before anyone had smartphones. The descent down the mountain in the dark with no special lighting or gear is what is most memorable. Due to the loose rock in some places, we had to sit down and came sliding down at full speed. I was the group leader so was right at the back, we would bump into each other like a bunch of dominos.We eventually made it down the mountain at around 2.30 am the next day and to camp around 3 am, ready for the final day of hiking. Our mental capacity, stamina, strength, and sanity were all tested that day, but we were victorious.From my experience with the award, I learned how not to give up and find a solution to any problem in life. The other big lesson I took away is teamwork, if you work as a team in harmony you also grow. We would walk at the pace of our slowest teammates but we never gave up. Throughout the award, your mind opens up and you learn the value of life, the charity exercises are not just for the hours, but for us to learn about humanity. The Duke of Edinburgh International Award makes us World Ready for a reason, finish the Gold Award and you shall come out a new and changed person.Today I am proud to say that I am a Life Member of the President’s Award Holders Alumni Kenya and have previously served on the board, a volunteer and assessor for the Award and have accessed multiple groups throughout Kenya at multiple levels, and have met Former Late President Mwai Kibaki and Prince Edward The Earl of Wessex and H. E. Uhuru Kenyatta President of the Republic of Kenya.The networking opportunities after the award are endless onboard the Global Award Holders Alumni and now is your time to Act to change your future and be a better Citizen of your Nation.I do hope my story encourages you to join and continue through the award and like me, you too shall play an important part to grow the award that was a small seed planted by our founding father His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh in 1956 and is now a shade that covers the world.

Award Leader