“Stick with it,” was my uncle’s advice on the Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) awards. It was founded in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh to tap youths’ infinite potential and to make them feel that they can make a difference in society.

The program teaches some very important lessons outside the classroom such as perseverance, dedication, challenging oneself, responsibility, time management, etc.

I have completed my bronze award and have completed the requirements of the silver award. However, due to the pandemic, my gold award will now be completed in college.

While pursuing these awards, I learned how to play chess and rigorously swam, which I thoroughly enjoyed but the two life-changing things I learned were environmental protection and being a team player.

Doing beach cleaning, a part of the program, ignited my interest in knowing more about what causes environmental damage and how to reduce it. I do a lot of reading to be more aware of it and initiatives such as ESG, SDGs, etc. I still go to a beach near my home every other week to collect the trash and give it for recycling, even though I have long completed the requirements for the award.

I also went on two expeditions to Oman and Jordan. We had an allowance of 14 kg that included clothing and provisions, which made us plan meticulously so that we have sufficient food and clothing for the expedition. We moved in small groups with practically no form of communication to the others and were entirely dependent upon each other.

To mark the centenary of the Award’s founder, the DofE has invited young people to have their own Challenge 100. For my Challenge 100, I will be doing:
1. 100 laps of swimming
2. Speaking 100 minutes with elders in the family every month for three months
3. 100 km of walking
4. Raising funds for the DofE

If you want to contribute to my fundraising challenge for Challenge 100 of DofE, please do so on my page (www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Zaidaan-Zia-Siddiqui)

More information on DofE can be found on

https://www.dofe.org/do/basicinformation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Av9NoUafq0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMpo0-9E42A

In memory of HRH The Duke of Edinburgh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65fwW8JIsAw&t=22s

Details on Challenge 100 are on https://www.dukeofed.org/f100