Thirteen-year-old British-Ghanaian kid author and philanthropist, Sarah Afua Kittoe, has been nominated among 22 British children from across the UK for this year’s British Citizen Youth Award (BCyA), slated for October 30, 2025, at The Palace of Westminster.
The highly coveted BCyA Medal of Honour is reserved for a small number of exceptional young individuals aged 18 years and below, who are making a positive impact on their communities and wider society.
A statement from the organisers said, “These selfless young people have shown kindness and commitment to a multitude of causes, raising funds and awareness, and are all dedicated to making a difference.”
Each of the 22 inspirational young persons will be presented with the BCyA Medal of Honour, after which they will be able to use the post-nominals ‘BCyA’, as a legacy of their achievements and endeavours. For example, Sarah Kittoe, BCyA.
This is the second time Sarah has received national honours in just two years. Last year, she was honoured at the Royal Global Awards for her literary work and philanthropy.
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 the 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), is 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 targeted at specific community needs for the highest impact.
In addition to the 22 individual medalists, one group of young people is honoured with The Dame Mary Perkins British Citizen Group Award. This unique accolade is only open to groups of young people and will be presented with an Official Presentation Plaque, Medal and Certificate of Honour.
“We are delighted to be able to recognise these amazing individuals with a BCyA. It is both heartening and uplifting to know that so many young people are consciously contributing to causes such as the environment, climate change, education, and creating awareness and fundraising for hospitals, medical research and charities.
The youth of today are truly the leaders of tomorrow, and we are humbled that BCyA Patron Dame Mary, who is also founder of Specsavers, has put her name to the prestigious group accolade, enabling us to broaden its recognition of young people in society”, stated Mike Faulkner, Director of the BCyA.
Meanwhile, nominations are now being accepted for the 2026 medal presentations. An interested person can register online at www.britishcitizenyouthawards.co.uk.
The British Citizen Youth Award (BCyA), which is in its ninth year, is in association with Specsavers, and it recognises individuals aged 18 and under who positively impact others and highlight the positive aspects of communities, schools and places of education, community groups, charities and specific causes throughout the UK.
It is also supported by the creative communications group, Tigerbond, sightseeing specialist Big Bus London, and young people’s newspaper, First News.
