Three Ugandans receive prestigious Queen's Young Leader award

Three young Ugandans have received the prestigious Queen's Young Leader award for their community service at a ceremony held in London.
Elizabeth Kasujja, Stephen Katende and Bazil Mwotta Biddemu received the award in a ceremony presided by Queen Elizabeth II.

The Queen’s Young Leader Award recognizes and celebrates exceptional young people from across 53 Commonwealth in Asia, Africa, Europe, The Caribbean and Americas, who are taking the lead in their communities and using their skills to transform lives.

Elizabeth Kasujja uses technology to transform the lives of people living with mental health issues in Uganda. She is the co-founder of Clear Yo Mind, which creates secure online platforms for people to express their feelings and access free help from mental health professionals. Clear Yo Mind also offers a text message service for users to request help, and secure one-to-one appointments with professionals outside of a hospital environment.

Stephen Katende is the founder of Kisoboka Africa, which runs School Community Banks in the rural districts of Lyantonde and Lwengo that allow parents to save, borrow and invest for their children’s education. Kisoboka Africa also equips parents with entrepreneurial and agricultural skills to help start and run their own businesses.

Bazil Mwotta Biddemu is the founder of AgroDuuka, which helps farmers in Uganda access information about market prices for produce in their region. It is designed to act as a low-cost SMS platform to connect smallholder rural farmers directly to buyers, before and after their harvest. Bazil and his team have helped more than 800 farmers from 36 villages in Western and Central Uganda to gain a fair price for their produce. AgroDuuka has recently partnered with the Uganda National Farmers Federation, which is enabling almost five million farmers to have access to AgroDuuka.