Hyderabad: A 17-year-old student from Hyderabad has won the Diana Award for going above and beyond to create and sustain positive change by helping underprivileged children attain mental health support and by spreading awareness on social media through an organization, Vishwasa, which she co-founded.
Rhea Thakkal has been recognised with one of the highest accolades a young person can achieve for social action or humanitarian efforts.
Established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the Award is given out by the charity of the same name and has the support of both her sons, the Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex.
When Rhea visited government schools and orphanages in the country, she learned that there is no proper support structure in place to help these children.
In response, she co-founded ‘Vishwasa’ along with her friend Ankitha Reddy. Over the last year, the team has made videos on mental health and created zines, poems and infographics for social media.
During the pandemic, the duo worked with their team to raise nearly Rs.15 lakh to provide food to those who have lost their earnings.
Only around 186 people wins the Diana Award from all over the world this year among which 13 students are from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
