Author, advocate for the homeless and young leader Bella Burgemeister is one of six South West individuals nominated in this year’s Western Australian Young Achiever Awards.
The ambitious 12-year-old said she was really proud to have been nominated for the Catholic Education WA Young Leadership Award.
“Last year I was in the finals, so it’s quite exciting to go back,” she said.
Well known photographer Dean Lomax nominated Bella for the award for “showing leadership well beyond her years” and for “inspiring young people across WA.”
Bella spent 2017 talking to more than 3000 students in WA, SA and Victoria with her book Bella’s Challenge, which she was inspired to write after watching a video on the United Nations Global goals for Sustainability.
After 11 months of campaigning, Bella also succeeded in getting approval by the City of Bunbury to have lockers installed for the regions homeless, an initiative partly funded by her book sales.
“The homeless lockers we asked for a year ago and we’re just getting them in now so they’re going to trial 12 lockers in four different locations around Bunbury and see if it works and then put 16 permanent lockers in so it’s very exciting to see that happening,” she said.
“We are the next generation and if we don’t start make changes now we’re never going to get anywhere.
“I think I’d be really proud if I got into the finals again, it’d be pretty amazing and a great honour.”
