On Thursday 13th July Wings of Hope Achievement Awards (WOHAA) Ceremony for the Class of 2022-2022 was held at London Business School. Hundreds of students, parents, teachers, supporters and patrons joined the charity to celebrate the outstanding achievements of this year’s cohort. Co-Founders Dr Sri Ram and Mrs Rajni Sriram welcomed the guests and the evening was presented and hosted by TV, and radio presenter, and long-standing supporter of Wings of Hope, AJ King. Wings of Hope Patrons for the evening included Lord and Lady McNally and Professor Shivakumar of London Business School – a senior member of the faculty. The audience saw a roundup of work through video of the projects in the UK, and in the recipient schools and slum projects in India.
Mrs Rajni Sriram and Dr Sri Ram
Co-Founders of the Charity
AJ King
Host and TV presenter
Lady Juliet McNally and Teacher from Royal Masonic School
Student performing arts showcase
The evening started with a performance from young adults from the world-class dance school, Pineapple Dance studio and then a showcase of music throughout the evening was conducted by supporters and participants of WOHAA – including two flute recitals – one from Mayukjit from Ilford County High School and one from participant from Team Goal Diggers from King Edward Camp Hill School in Birmingham. A song called “ A Million Dreams” was sung by Rivini from Team Firebirds, and a rap with percussion from Team WOHAAholics. There was also an electric guitar performance by Aman from the popular Netflix Series, Stranger Things.
Winners and runners up were presented with trophies and a celebratory photoshoot to remember their incredible work.
“Don’t curse the dark when you can light a lamp”
“Don’t curse the dark when you can light a lamp” – Lord Tom McNally gave high praise to all participants for their work and told them how important their work shone a light. “You are all winners”, Dr Sri Ram, Co-Founder of the Wings of Hope Children’s Charity told the students, “as you have learned skills for life that you will be able to carry into your work, and your academic careers.”
A full list of student winners and their work is here
| Team Name | School Name | Award | Team Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team 4Ever Free | West Kirby Grammar School | Winner of Community Action Award | They supplied food to food banks, did volunteer work at local care home and wrote inspirational messages with chalk on pavements! |
| Team WOHAA Wonders | Wet Kirby Grammar School | Winner of Community Action Award | Apart for doing a charity walk in Pyjamas, they did a whole day's work of cleaning at a local Hedgehog Centre! |
| Team Charitable Champions | King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Birmingham | Winner of Excellency in Sports | In addition to doing Valentine's Day Bake Sale and Car boot Sale, this team collectively did a Sponsored Walk of 350 kms! |
| Team Bizzy Bees | Melksham Oak Community School in Wiltshire | Winner of Best Presentation and Most Awareness Raised | Organized a Boot Camp during Easter Holidays and also put together a Type 1 Diabetes recipe book ! |
| Team Phoenix | King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Birmingham | Winner of Most Funds Raised | Did Bracelet and Jewellery Sale along with a Non Uniform Day at School |
| Team WOHAAholics | King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Birmingham | Winner of Best Presentation and Most Awareness Raised | Raised lot of awareness of the charity both in Uk and in India too. Presented very well at the Houses of Parliament. |
| Team Goal Diggers | King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls, Birmingham | Winner of Most Entrepreneurial Team | They took inspiration from Charlie and the Chocolate factory and put a Golden ticket inside a chocolate bar as one of their several events done both in and outside school. |
| Team Meraki | Oaks Park High School, Ilford | Winner of Excellence in Technology | Did a variety of events, like Christmas jumpers, Henna at mosque, Book mark competition for World book Day. But also held a Coding Competition on Python at school for individuals in Years 7-13 |
| Team Avengers | St. Olave's Grammar School, in Kent | Winner of Community Action Award | This team helped their primary school students for a whole day, giving them help and advice on how to transition from primary to secondary school! |
| Team Philanthropists | Queen Elizabeth's School for Boys, Barnet | Winners of Most Entrepreneurial Team | They invited Avi Sharma, from TV programme the Apprentice to talk to all students at School on how to become Entrepreneurs. It was a sell out event! |
Now let’s announce the Runner’s Up for WOHAA
| Team Name | School Name | Award | Team Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team Revolution | Copthall School, in Mill Hill | Runners Up in Excellency of Arts | They did a fantastic Origami Presentation to Governors at School - making paper butterflies and linking them with Wings of Hope! |
| Oxford International College, Oxford | Runners Up for Community Action Award | Wrote a lot of positive messages for their fellow students all around the school to keep their spirits uplifted during the exam season. Also distributed food to the Homeless in Oxford | |
| Team The Change Makers | The Ellen Wilkinson School for Girls, Ealing | Runners Up for Community Action Award | Donated food to Food bank and to homeless on the streets of London. |
| Team Unity | Dagenham Church of England School, Dagenham | Runners up for Excellence in Arts | Conducted an excellent evening convert at School for external guests. |
| Team Wings of World | Royal Masonic School for Girls, Rickmansworth | Runners Up for Excellence in Arts | Designed and sold handmade Japanese and Taiwanese book marks and post cards. |
This leaves us with just two other Awards to announce
| Team Name | School Name | Award | Team Work |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team Firebirds | The Henrietta Barnett School, Barnet | Overall Runners Up of WOHAA | Did a series of Events during Christmas and also Easter Mufti Day asking the younger students to wear colourful Easter hats! Did a walk and bake sales in local parks with due permission from the Council. |
| Team Jarak | Ilford Country High School and Newham College, East London | Overall Winners of WOHAA | Did multiple Badminton and Basket Ball tournaments both within their schools as well as in Neighbouring schools. Involved lots of planning both before and on the day. |
