Thirteen-year-old British-Ghanaian author and philanthropist, Sarah Kittoe was on Thursday presented with a medal of honour representing the British Citizen Youth Award (BCyA), for her immense impact to her community and the wider global society.
She was among 22 young Brits who were honoured at The Palace of Westminster with the enviable medal and certificate reserved for a small number of exceptional youth aged 18 years and below, who are making positive impact on their communities and wider society through selfless acts of kindness.
By this award, Sarah and the other awardees now have the blessing of the British Crown to use the post-nominals ‘BCyA’, as a legacy of their achievements and endeavours. So Sarah can not write her name as Sarah Kittoe BCyA.
After receiving the medal, Sarah told the prestigious audience that she draws inspiration for the teachings of the Bible at church, and also from family tradition of giving to the needy, saying from when she was age five till date, her parents regularly made Christmas hampers and gave them out to homeless people every year, so she decided to take it further by contributing to various charities on the regular.
Now she support the CentrePoint, a charity chaired by Prince William, and the Wednesday Drop In by the Methodist Church in Croydon, where homeless people are given free food and other supplies every Wednesday. Sarah also furnished the book and computer libraries of the Saint Pauls Basic School in Tema, Ghana with 21 computers and accessories, furniture and loads of books.
Having already published five books, Sarah told the audience that her sixth book is already in the works, adding that it will be a sequel to her fourth book, which was themed on Ghana which is half of where she comes from. “The six book with be themed on South Africa which is the other half of where I come from,” she said.
This is the second time Sarah is receiving national honours in just two years. Last year, she was honoured at the Royal Global Awards for her literary work and philanthropy.
Also Read: Kid author, Sarah Kittoe honoured at Royal Global Awards 2024
Sarah Kittoe is the author of five books and she donates all of the proceeds from the book sales to charities in the UK and also in Ghana.
Sarah started writing during Covid-19 lockdown at the age of seven. Her mission was to solve poor representation for readers, whilst raising funds for charities close to her heart.
Sarah’s five books are driven by a singular purpose of inspiring young people to never give up and believe in themselves. Her latest, “Lindsey and the Blue Fox 2,” is an emotionally intelligent narrative that serves as a powerful call to action on exploring the important themes of environmentalism, focusing on deforestation and its impact on wildlife.
Beyond her books, Sarah has raised thousands for Centrepoint, a youth homelessness charity, and the Wednesday Club at West Croydon Methodist Church. Sarah has recently extended her fundraising from her book sales to help refurbish a school library at Tema in Ghana for children to have a comfortable and secure place to read and learn, proving that writing can be a force for global good.
Sarah’s work proves that age is no barrier to making a meaningful difference. Her unwavering commitment to giving back, now amplified by many, is an inspiration to people of all ages.
SMKittoe Foundation
Sarah, together with her 8-year-old award-winning little sister, Mary (an artist) are currently working on establishing the SMKittoe Foundation to support more communities. The foundation aims to drive community education to ensure that people can find and take advantage of opportunities within their own communities instead of migrating to other communities in search of opportunities.
Sarah and Mary plan to engage with various communities to understand their needs, which will then feed into their project design to ensure every project is target at specific community needs for the highest impact.
