24-Year-Old Varsha Purohit From Pune Honoured With The Diana Award For Humanitarian Efforts
24-Year-Old Varsha Purohit From Pune Honoured With The Diana Award For Humanitarian Efforts
Pune, India:Â Varsha K. Purohit, a 24-year-old social activist from Pune, India, has been recognised with the prestigious Diana Award, the highest accolade for young individuals driving social change and humanitarian efforts. The award, established in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, is supported by her sons, HRH The Prince of Wales and Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.
Varsha received the honour for her exceptional initiative, Smira, which focuses on alleviating urban homelessness through clean clothing distribution to improve health, hygiene, and morale. Motivated by her childhood tradition of donating garments during Diwali, Varsha initiated Smira with a single drive in Pune. Over time, it scaled to 100+ drives across India, donating 50,000 kilograms of clothing, along with first aid and food, positively impacting the lives of 40,000 individuals.
With global expansion in mind, Smira recently conducted its first international drive in Nigeria, inspiring plans to extend its reach to Algeria and Ethiopia. Varsha’s innovative leadership, ability to engage volunteers, and collaborations with corporate entities like Tech Mahindra and Decathlon have cemented Smira as a powerful force for social impact worldwide.
Dr. Tessy Ojo CBE, CEO of The Diana Award, lauded Varsha and other recipients, saying,
“We warmly congratulate our new Diana Award Recipients from across the world who are dedicating their time to making positive change. These young people demonstrate that young people have the power to change the world; a belief also held by Diana, Princess of Wales. We know by receiving this honour, they will inspire more young people to get involved in their communities.”
About The Diana Award
The Diana Award celebrates young individuals aged 9-25 who demonstrate outstanding efforts to drive positive social change. Nominees are put forward by professionals who have witnessed their contributions firsthand. In 2024, over 1,700 nominations were submitted globally, evaluated by a diverse panel of 80 volunteers from 30 countries. The rigorous judging process assesses nominees on five key criteria: vision, social impact, inspiring others, youth leadership, and their social action journey.
This year marked the most competitive yet for The Diana Award, further highlighting the remarkable nature of Varsha’s achievement.
