Deetya Chhatwal, age 12, is a member of the all-youth board of advisors of the We Cancerve Movement, Inc.  She’s also an Arrow of Light Scout with Boy Scouts of America nd has won the Luiz Alvarez and Charles Townes Supernova Medals, which are awarded to scouts for STEM.  

 

She led a We Cancerve project in the summer of 2018, handmaking games for children at Anna’s House, the site of We Cancerve’s Camp Happy I. She’s also project leader for We Cancerve’s first Towel Drive for area children experiencing homelessness. She's also led or participated in projects to collect and deliver donations to organizations that serve homeless, sick and foster children. Deetya also served as co-projec leader for a Wintabulous Toy Drive/Giveaway to children living with their families in area hotels.

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"I am a Sikh and our basic philosophy of serving God is community service. I volunteer at the local Gurudwara (our place of religion) by serving food to the devotees and by taking care of little kids while the parents are worshipping. I also save money that I collect from chores and for my birthday and donate it to charities either here or in India. India is a very poor country and the poor people there are much poorer than here. There are lots of children who beg on the streets when they should be in school. The families often have no shoes, and that breaks my heart. I am also an AOL scout with Boy Scouts of America and I do service projects with my pack like Scouting for Food, park cleanups and organizing donations for homeless families during the holidays. I work on service projects with WeCancerve too so that I can help people and children in need. Being a part of this organization, allows me to experience the joy and satisfaction of giving to those who really need our help during the tough times that they are going through."

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She reminds us that India is a very poor country and the poor people there are much poorer than people who live in the United States of America.  She said there are lots of children who beg on the streets when they should be in school. “The families often have no shoes, and that breaks my heart,” she said.

As a scout, Dia does service projects with her pack like Scouting for Food, park cleanups and organizing donations for homeless families during holidays. She works on service projects with We Cancerve too so that she can help people and children in need. Being a part of this organization, allows me to experience the joy and satisfaction of giving to those who really need our help during the tough times that they are going through.

 

Deetya is an exceptional scholar at her school and has received awards for being ‘Pawesome’.  She won awards from Maryland Engineering Challenges 2017 Paper Airplane Challenge and Maryland Engineering Challenges 2018 Safe Racer Challenge with her team. She has represented her school’s First Lego League team and now serves on the Odyssey of the Mind team. She is also the recipient of Luis Alvarez Supernova Award Medal and Charles Townes Supernova Medal that she earned as a part of being in the Boy Scouts of America program. She was one of the first girl scouts in the history of this organization to earn this honor. 

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Deetya enjoys doing a lot of different things. She volunteers at Luna’s house as because she loves animals. She is currently learning horseback riding, swims and performs martial arts regularly. She also enjoys playing cello and loves to do art projects. She and her brother love riding bikes, working in their kitchen garden and just hanging outside together.  She also enjoys cooking and is learning new dishes that she can prepare herself. She often fixes meals for her family.