School students Isabella De-Lisser and Keziah Maqbool have been announced winners of the Young Seacole Ambassadors awards at a ceremony held in London’s Shakespeare’s Underglobe on 12 April.
Isabella, winner of the secondary school category, produced an impressive presentation outlining why internationally renowned climate activist Joy Egbe is her choice for modern day Mary Seacole. This presentation can be viewed by clicking HERE.
Keziah, on the other hand, wrote a piece about her mum.
She said: “My mum cares for others even if she doesn’t know them, even if someone fell down, and she didn’t know them she would help them up and check if they’re all right. She wanted to be a nurse, but she already had a job and a house.
“My mum always perseveres and if she can’t do it will keep trying until she can do it, and because of that she usually gets it afterwards. She kept trying when we had to do the parking at Chessington. She kept trying to make a really nice dish in her recipe book, when she got that dish right it tasted amazing. My mum does as much as she can, for my family.
This shows that my mum has been my Mary Seacole!”
The awards, run by the Mary Seacole Trust, are in their third year. Children in South London, close to Mary’s statue at St Thomas’ Hospital, were asked to write an essay or submit an artwork or a piece of music describing their choice of a modern day Mary Seacole, a person they believe demonstrates Mary’s Seacole’s values.
MST Inspiring Young People Lead Jermaine Sterling explained: ‘We were delighted to attract entries of such an extremely high standard. It shows there are many heroes out there who are inspiring today’s youngsters. They are our future leaders, and it is heart-warming that they are able to identify the characteristics of good role models so early on in life.’
Among the modern day heroines and heroes identified by the children were Oprah Winfrey; Australian sailor Jessica Watson; Zainab Salbi, founder of Women for Women International; athlete Mo Farah; a teacher and a number of family members.
MST Chair Trevor Sterling commented: ‘Mary Seacole overcame many obstacles to reach her goals in terms of caring for the men fighting in the Crimea. These children identified a wide range of people who share Mary’s qualities.
‘It has been a privilege to work with schools in across London and beyond, who have taken part in the competition. We could not have done this without them, and I would like to thank them for their support and enthusiasm. It has been a great opportunity to show that today’s children are well versed in the need for compassion, integrity and diversity in public life.”
There were performances at the awards ceremony by:
- Florence Nightingale Museum’s Mary Seacole (played by actor Cassandra Harris-Hercules)
- MST Young Seacole Ambassadors : Kaya and Rio
- Tia Murrell, previously of the Lion King and Tina Turner the Musical
Winners and runners up
| Name | Place |
| Isabella De-Lisser | 1st Place – Secondary |
| Keziah Maqbool | 1st Place – Primary |
| Autumn Hardy | Highly Commended – Secondary |
| Freya Kewell | Highly Commended – Primary |
| Elsie Smith | Commended – Secondary |
| Katie Carter | Commended – Secondary |
| Seraphina Fent | Commended – Primary |
| Julia Konuk | Commended – Primary |
| Georgia Murray | Commended – Primary |
| Megan Bicheno | Commended – Primary |
| Lucia Bermejo Coss | Commended – Primary |
Click HERE to see the photos from the evening.
