Celebrating an Outstanding Autism Sibling
Maya Kirti Nanan won the 2020 Diana Award
Maya Kirti Nanan, is a 17-year-old girl who started the Siblings and Friends Network when she was only 12 years old. This network was able to grow very strong, having more than 200 youth volunteers.
Nanan was known for her work as an autism sibling, youth leader, and special needs advocate. Due to this, the Support Autism T&T family celebrated her accomplishments by giving her the important and admired 2020 Diana Award.
“Growing up with a brother with autism was normal for me because I didn’t really see him as different or anything. He was just my brother. He didn’t do things like I did but that wasn’t an issue for me”, says Nanan to Trinidad and Tobago News. When Nanan got older was when she figured out that her brother didn’t have the same opportunities that she did. That’s when she started to understand how much of a disadvantage he had, and how unfair it was that there weren’t that many activities for him to try.
She started volunteering at Support Autism T&T, and that’s when she had the idea of the Siblings and Friends Network. This made her think that there are other people that have siblings with autism. In this Network they would do many different activities with the individuals that have autism. They would interact with their parents, or caregivers, and educate the general public about autism at the NGO’s Autism Outreach Booths.
The Diana Award is in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales. It has the support of her sons: Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex. It is the most admired honor, or tribute, a young person can get for their social action or humanitarian work.
“It is an honor to be a 2020 Diana Award recipient. It means that the work of the Siblings and Friends Network is recognized and that my team and I are on the right path and we are creating a positive impact in our country. This is very important to us because we want TT to become more inclusive of those with special needs. I want to know that there are some opportunities for my brother and I am willing to work hard to make sure that happens. The Diana Award inspires me to keep moving forward, to keep advocating for my brother. I am very happy to have a strong team of youth volunteers to work with and I want to thank every one of them for making the Siblings and Friends Network such a successful youth volunteer group. I want to encourage other autism siblings to join us. Together we can create opportunities for our special brothers/sisters. We can advocate on their behalf and help to make their lives better. I totally agree with Princess Diana that young people have the power to change the world,” says Nanan to Trinidad and Tobago News.