Spark St Vincent and the Grenadines
Commonwealth Point of Light 155. Nafesha Richardson
Nafesha Richardson, representing Saint Vincent and The Grenadines, founded 'Spark SVG' to motivate young people in her community to engage with global issues.
The youth-led organisation aims to highlight areas including gender equality and environmental issues through workshops and outreach events. In 2019 she hosted her first annual summit with over 200 attendees aged between 18-30, moving the event fully online in 2020 in response to the pandemic.
Nafesha said:
“I am extremely honoured to be a recipient of the Points of Light Award. To be considered for this award is a great honour and privilege, so thank you to Her Majesty The Queen and the selection committee for providing this platform to recognise the amazing work of volunteers across the globe. I am humbled to join past recipients who I have long admired and respected. As volunteers, our work is fuelled solely by a sincere passion for our cause and awards such as this further ignite our desire to ignite positive change and be catalysts in our communities.
“It is my mission to ensure that the voice of youth is always heard when important decisions are being made. Although Spark SVG has only been in existence for over a year, we have already impacted the lives of thousands of young people across the country allowing them to develop their personal abilities while tackling some of the most prevalent global issues that we currently face. Through our Youth Network, young people are given the opportunity to connect, share ideas and receive advice from their peers and other members.”