Health and Help is proud to announce that Hanna Plotnitskaya, Director of our Guatemalan Clinic, received The Diana Award in a ceremony held on Friday, June 30th 2023.
The Diana Award is the most prestigious accolade for young people in social or humanitarian work. 189 young people from 31 countries across the world received the award in 2023. Created in memory of Diana, Princess of Wales, the award was presented in a virtual ceremony with speeches from Diana’s two sons, HRH the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex.
The award is decided through external nominations, and judged by a panel of experts. Nominees are considered in the following five areas: Inspiring Others, Vision, Youth Leadership, Service Journey and Social Impact. Award recipients gain access to an exclusive Development Programme, giving them access to resources and training opportunities in order to help them develop their skills and abilities in innovation, social change and leadership.
At 24 years old, The Diana Award recipient Hanna Plotnitskaya is a powerhouse and inspiration to all of us at Health and Help. Growing up, Hanna always wanted to do medical care in different countries, particularly in underserved areas. She was inspired to become involved with Health and Help after finding our founder, Victoria Valikova’s blog, and started volunteering at our Guatemalan Clinic after her third year of medical school.
Hanna became Country Director in Guatemala in 2021. There, she is responsible for leading a team that serves a community of 25,000 people. Without our clinic and Hanna’s leadership, these people would not have access to lifesaving help and healthcare. As Clinic Director, Hanna calls herself a “5-in-1 doctor”: She is a doctor, director, fundraiser, procurement specialist and human resources manager.
Alongside her medical degree, Hanna speaks three languages and has completed her Fundraising Management Certificate as well as a Business Management Course. Her passion for helping others and creating meaningful change is what drives her to continue doing the work that she does.
“The most rewarding part is seeing the impact of your work and what you have done. Seeing how patients’ lives are changed. For these patients, without Health and Help they would have to travel far to receive this surgery and come out of pocket for many costs that are typically inaccessible and expensive to pay for. Seeing how grateful the patients were and seeing how their lives changed was so rewarding for me. Witnessing how the work I’m doing positively affects others is one of the best feelings.”
Health and Help’s Guatemalan and Nicaraguan Clinics could not exist without the continued support of our donors and sponsors. Hanna, and the doctors, nurses and volunteers like her, continue changing lives in these regional and underserved communities with your donations.
Please donate at the link to help support Hanna and the work that she does with Health and Help.
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