Otermans Institute
1581. Pauldy Otermans
1582. Dev Aditya
Dr Pauldy Otermans and Dev Aditya, from Uxbridge, founded the ‘Otermans Institute’ to provide employment skills training to underprivileged children in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, so far benefitting over 25,000 students.
Following the Coronavirus outbreak, they launched a free online series of learning activities, ‘Lessons from Humanity’, which is based on the curriculum they run in Nepal, India and Bangladesh, and designed to support people’s mental health and self-development. They also expanded their support by providing digital lessons to school students in Lebanon and Iraq who are still forced out of school due to the pandemic. In addition to their work with the institute, in 2020, Pauldy and Dev also released a book ‘Together: An anthology from the COVID-19 pandemic’, a collection of human experiences from the pandemic, with profits being donated to NHS Charities and frontline services.
In a personal letter to Pauldy and Dev, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
“Congratulations on the success of your book ‘Together: An anthology from the COVID-19 pandemic’. When we look back on the pandemic in years to come, we will remember the incredible human stories and acts of kindness we have seen.
“Through art and poetry, your book has captured hundreds of personal reflections and wonderful examples of humanity. You have also raised a fantastic sum for healthcare charities at a time when our healthcare workers need our support more than ever.”
Pauldy said:
“I am surprised, humbled, and grateful to have received this award and look forward to continuing my work to help our community and society in the months and years to come.”
Dev said:
“It is very humbling to be recognised by the Prime Minister and I see this recognition not only for me but to all the people who have supported us to give back to society, be it in the book project or our education work through ‘Otermans Institute’ and community projects, in the past year.”