By Robert A. Emmanuel
As the recipient of the JCI Courage to Care Humanitarian Award, Tanya Ambrose wants others to know that one does not need to be rich to establish a non-profit organisation to give back.
Speaking to Observer, Ambrose who was born in England but raised in Antigua and Barbuda, before later returning to the UK, said “when I first migrated from Antigua, I thought that I had to be super rich to give back, or start a fully functioning organisation; but no, you just need to educate yourself, get all the resources you can get but do not give up”.
Besides running her charitable organisation, Scrub Life Cares, Ambrose also works as a public health professional in the maternal, child and reproductive health sector.
“Scrub Life Cares was founded in 2020 and when I first migrated from Antigua, I wanted to give back to the country that raised me, but it wasn’t until I was studying abroad – on a trip to Uganda where we had to donate items, working in the slums – where I got the idea,” she said.
Recalling when she first got the call that she had been nominated for the humanitarian award, Ambrose also shared how unexpected it was for her.
“At first, someone affiliated with the organisation on Facebook, but I didn’t think much about it at the time. Then I got the call a few days later and I was honestly speechless,” she said.
Ambrose is also the host of her own podcast “Tea with Tanya”, a weekly podcast focused on sharing public health stories, self-love, and health and wellness tips.
Junior Chamber International (JCI) is one of the biggest worldwide non-political and non-sectarian youth service organisations with the aim and purpose of creating positive change in the world.
The JCI Youth Empowerment Programme (YEP) has been a flagship project for JCI Antigua for over 10 years. Its aim is to empower youths of Antigua and Barbuda by giving opportunities to discover the greatness which lies within them and developing their full potential in becoming positive, productive citizens.