Crusader named Young New Zealander of the Year

Divya Dhar with Prime Minister John Key at the Awards Night

Winning Awards has almost become a habit for Divya Dhar.

Over the years, she has picked up the Future Leaders Programme Award, Rotary Youth Leadership Award, Manukau Young Achiever’s Award and the Zonta East Auckland Young Woman in Public Affairs Award.

But the biggest and the best yet was the inaugural Coca-Cola Amatil Young New Zealanders of the Year Award that she received from Prime Minister John Key at a gala Awards Presentation Dinner held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on February 3.

She received a handcrafted, New Zealand made trophy, a citation and $5000 from Kiwibank, the Principal Sponsor of the Awards.

She was among four other winners in as many categories, chosen from a pool of about 500 nominees.

As New Zealand Post Chairman, Awards Patron and former Prime Minister James (Jim) Bolger said, “Their sacrifice and commitment to community and national pride make them perfect ambassadors for New Zealand and worthy recipients of these awards.”

Each of the following would describe her succinctly - Samaritan, Youth Activist advocating policy changes for a better world, Campaigner against social injustice and an opinion gatherer on climate change.

The 24-year young woman of Jammu & Kashmir origin does not just talk about problems as most of us do; she acts and shows the way.

“My vision is to eradicate the world of poverty. I see a world that is just and fair to all its citizens globally. I want to be in a world where everyone has the luxury to dream and has equal opportunity to achieving them,” she said, speaking to us from San Francisco.

She was in the US to attend an International Relations Conference on the economic, social and political issues concerning the Asia Pacific region at the Harvard University in Boston. The ‘Harvard Conference,’ as it is called, will focus on the ‘New Asian Century.’

Her article on the ways and means of containing the problem of brain-drain among the New Zealand medical community, written for the magazine of the New Zealand Medical Students Association (of which she is the Vice-President), caught the attention of the Government.

Her suggestions are now a part of the official strategy, providing up to $50,000 to young doctors who choose to work in areas of need.

This young crusader has been an instrument of change at almost every organisation with which she has been associated. During her early year at the University of Auckland School of Medicine and Medical Sciences, she established HealtheX, a research group that brought together 250 presenters and participants to showcase their research on health and develop student and faculty camaraderie.

Her social enterprise business idea on improving cultural understanding won the University of Auckland Spark Aspire Entrepreneurship Challenge in 2005.

In 2007, Divya led a delegation to the International Federation of Medical Students’ Association, the only student organisation represented in the United Nations.

Her presentation on ‘Climate Change’ and subsequent efforts qualified the New Zealand Medical Students Association to join the Climate and Health Council Coalition, seeking to put pressure on government leaders ahead of Copenhagen.

Last year, she established the P3 Foundation (to propagate Peace, Prosperity and Progress) aiming to mobilise young people to break the poverty cycle.

“Education, Development Projects in New Zealand and overseas, and campaigns asking our leaders to take poverty as a serious issue are among the initiatives of the Foundation,” she said.

As well as being a consultant and speaker to the Manukau Indian Association Youth Development Project, Divya was the President of the Rotaract Club.

She organised OXFAM’s Biggest Coffee Break at the University of Auckland to promote Fair Trade, at which she supported the ‘Stand Up: UN Millennium Campaign,’ which saw millions around the world standing together to show solidarity in eradicating extreme poverty, creating a new Guinness World Record.

During her medical elective, she built houses for Costa Rica’s poorest in a flood-ridden region and raised over $20,000 for the Accor Cure Kids Charity Race.

There is a certain charm and commitment that distinguishes this young woman, whose parents combine the precision of an engineer (her father Kaushal Dhar) and the grace of a teacher (her mother Urmila). 

They have taught their three daughters (Divya’s twin sister Shivya, who is working as in Dunedin, while simultaneously preparing to become a Chartered Accountant and a younger sister studying at McLean’s College in Howick) values that would make them good human beings first and successful professionals next.

“Indians are exceptionally bright and colourful people, who have given much to New Zealand. I would like to see us give even more community service and truly live in the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi,” she said.