Nigerian Student Breaks 108-Year-Old Record, Becomes 1st African to Win UN AFS Award & R167K Cash Prize

• A student identified as Noel Ifeanyi Alumona has broken a 108-year-old record to clinch a global award never before given to an African
• Alumona, an indigen of Enugu state currently studying in the United States, clinched the AFS Award for Young Global Citizens
• The massive recognition came in respect of his not-for-profit work with his organisation named Boys Champion

Noel Ifeanyi Alumona, a young man who is currently a student at Vanderbilt University, United States, has done the country proud as he has emerged winner of the 2022 AFS Award for Young Global Citizens.

The huge recognition came as a reward for his relentless work discouraging violence against women through Boys Champion, a not-for-profit organisation he founded in 2018.

The competition was tough

In an interview, Alumona told Briefly News that the selection process for the top prize was very competitive since there were 500 contestants.

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His words:

"It was very competitive. Firstly, over five hundred participants applied for this from across the world. These were smart young people doing amazing work in their countries. The application processes were very rigorous. We went through serries of interviews, vetting from where 10 finalists emerged.

"After the pitching, the judges confirmed that it was a hard nut to crack for them."

The prize Alumona won was put together by the United Nations Department of Global Communication and was established in 1914. This means he broke a 108-year-old record to emerge not only the first Nigerian, but the first African to clinch it.

He expressed his joy when his name was announced:

"At some point I didn't think it was real until after a few seconds. I must say that these guys were so smart and were doing incredible things in their countries. Some of them are even students from Harvard, Yale and some other top universities. They were smart and had accomplished so much. Well, a day later, in an event to mark the end of the conference, I was named the winner."

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Alumona, got $10,000, an equivalent of about R167k cash prize.

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In other news, Briefly News previously reported that an inspired secret admirer gave two strangers a gift to thank them for keeping her inspired daily.

A local mama and her daughter Sibu were caught off guard by a woman who approached them to hand them a sealed envelope and then left before giving them her name.

Source: Legit.ng