Young Care Leaver wins High Sheriff's Award
A young Care Leaver and one of Oxfordshire's Joint Chairs of the Children in Care Council was among 14 winners at the High Sheriff's Award Ceremony on 23rd March at County Hall in Oxford.
What happened?
Alidja Templar was one of 14 winners from around 60 nominations for the High Sheriff of Oxfordshire's Awards. The focus for this year was on Young People and Community Safety. The current High Sheriff of Oxfordshire Richard Dick has now completed his year of office - and this was his final event. He spent his last weekend walking 80 miles of the towpath to raise money for Footsteps, a rehabilitation centre providing individual programmes for children and young adults with neuro-motor disorders to maximise their physical abilities.
Alidja has worked with the Participation and Play Team at Oxfordshire County Council for many years through her joint Chairing of the Children in Care Council. She was nominated for the award by Alison Partridge, Strategic lead for Participation and Play. This nomination was read out during the ceremony:
"Alidja Templar is a remarkable young woman who arrived in the UK aged 8 with her older brother, as an unaccompanied asylum seeker. They had fled the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo and were taken into care by Oxfordshire County Council when they arrived in Oxford. Alidja is now 22, married and living in Blackbird Leys. She went to college after finishing school to train as a dance teacher and has subsequently taken Access courses to gain further qualifications. Alidja is a very active member of the Leys Community Church, and runs dance classes for numerous girls groups as part of the Leys Youth project. Alidja is also the Joint Chair of the Children in Care Council and sits on the Children and Young People Trust Board, representing Looked After Children. Alidja has applied to do a Social Work degree and is studying hard to go to university. On top of all this, she and her husband are trying to raise money to go to the Congo this summer to work in an orphanage – she has been running miles every day to achieve her goal and raise the £3,000 she needs! Alidja is an extraordinary inspiration to everyone she meets, with an infectious and bubbly personality! I cannot recommend her highly enough to you for a nomination."
Further information
If you would like to find out more about the Children in Care Council, please contact James Collins on (01865) 256677 or email james.collins@oxfordshire.gov.uk
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