Bengaluru-born teenager wins top US award for her work on distressed girls

New York, Oct 13: It was a moment of great pride for India when Bengaluru-born teenager Sakshi Satpathy, a high school senior based in San Francisco, received the National Gold Award from Girl Scouts of the USA - its highest honour - at a ceremony in the United Nations on Thursday, October 11, a report in Washington-based National Public Radio said.

Sakshi was felicitated on the occasion of the International Day of the Girl, a day which stresses on challenges that girls face around the world and champions girls who take the effort to make a difference.

The youngster was picked this year for her commendable work on human trafficking, child marriage and gender equality. She has done it by means of screening her three documentary films in 15 countries besides a training curriculum to help in rehabilitating trafficked girls and raising awareness about the issues through a website and YouTube playlists of educational videos from various non-profit groups.

All the above are part of the initiative she has named Project GREET which is 'Girl Rights: Engage, Empower, Train'.

"Gold Award Girl Scouts demonstrate how girls are creating positive, sustainable change to improve their communities and the world," Girl Scouts CEO Sylvia Acevedo said officially. "They are well on their way to becoming the business leaders, activists, scientists, entrepreneurs, policymakers and artists who will build our collective future."

Sakshi was born in Bengaluru and later moved with her family to northern California when she was 11.