Charan Kanwal Singh Sekhon, a Senior Environment Officer for the Environment
(Samaj Weekly)- Agency (UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs – DEFRA) was named in 2022 New Year’s Honours list to receive an MBE. Charan is the Founder Chairman of charity SEVA Trust UK, Equalities and Welfare Coordinator for UNISON East Anglia Branch, a local Councilor and a former executive committee member of Bedford Race Equality Council and Guru Gobind Singh Gurdwara (Sikh Temple) in Bedford.
Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an MBE, is a national honour awarded for an outstanding achievement or service to the community which has had a long-term, significant impact.
Charan becomes UK’s first British Sikh officer of Indian origin serving for the Environment Agency to receive this honour. As per details released by the UK Government Cabinet Office, Charan received this recognition for his services and contributions in four key areas; Charity, Diversity, the Environment and the COVID-19 support work.
He received his MBE medal in an investiture ceremony held at the Windsor Castle on 31st January hosted by HM The King Charles III.
Charan said, I am truly humbled and honoured to have received my MBE from His Majesty The King. It was a very special moment to have a brief conversation with HM The King who wanted to know more about my journey and the key challenges I faced whilst working & contributing in the fields of diversity, the environment, charity work and Covid19 support work. Before the ceremony, I was bit nervous but I must say he was really engaged in the conversation and he made me feel special and I feel extremely grateful. You only have a few minutes for conversation but I felt like I had a really good conversation that lasted a bit longer.
Though it was a very special day, it would have been more special if my father was here with us to witness this occasion, we lost him last year but I am sure he is watching us and must be very proud in the same way my mother and the rest of my family is. I must thank my family for their unconditional support, all my work colleagues at the Environment Agency, my colleagues at UNISON, SEVA Trust Trustees, Teams & Volunteers in UK and India, the community, charity and faith group leaders and all the other colleagues & friends whom I had a real privilege to work with in the past 28 years of my work in various fields. This special recognition will always motivate me to do more and better for the next time & will try my best to continue to make a real difference for others, help to protect and save environment, promote diversity & equality for all and better support through SEVA Trust UK for all communities, said Charan.
Previously, Charan was commended for his environmental work and supporting his work colleagues at the Environment Agency and through Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic (BAME) Network and UNIOSN by raising equality and diversity awareness, the impacts of Covid19 on BAME communities, supporting H&S and staff welfare and the Environment Agency’s recruitment campaigns to attract diverse workforce.
Outside his day job, Charan is involved in a wide range of voluntary work. He has been supporting and coordinating various projects through SEVA Trust UK which is a registered charity working in the UK and India on Education, Health, Social-Welfare and the Environment. Since March 2020, Charan lead a team of volunteers working in Bedfordshire, Milton Keynes and Hertfordshire where hundreds of vulnerable families, homeless, rough-sleepers and international students were provided with food and other essential items since Corona pandemic stated. Previously Charan played an important role in establishing a new Sikh Temple in Kempston, Bedford where he served as an Assistant Secretary for over 15 years. Charan and his team has supported over thousands of disadvantaged children in north India in the last 7 years.
Charan is currently serving as a local councillor in Sharnbrook (Bedfordshire) and previously he served as Kempston Town Councillor giving 20 years’ service as an elected local councillor. He is a very active volunteer and charity worker for over 25 years who lead a wide range of community support projects through-out the COVID19 pandemic and the national lockdowns. Charan’s charitable work and contributions have been widely recognised by many local and national organisations including Bedford Borough Council, Papwoth Trust, Cambridge, The Sikh Missionary Society, UK, Patanjali Yog Peeth Trust, UK and Bedfordshire Asian Business Association (BABA). In Dec. 2020, he received Sports Award from Bedford Borough Council for supporting diverse communities with free online yoga classes and Everyday Heroes Award by Bedford Independent and the Harpur Trust in 2021. In 2013 Charan was honoured with’ British Asian Pride of Britain Award in an event held at the House of Commons in the UK Parliament and in 2002 he received Bedford Mayor’s ‘Citizen of the Year’ Award for his charitable work and community services.
Born and Bred in a small village of Barundi of Punjab in India, Charan faced many challenges during his educational carrier in India and in the UK. He completed his BSc. and MSc. in Physics from India and moved to Britain in Jan. 1995. He then completed his MSc in Energy and Environment from Cranfield University, Bedfordshire before joining the Environment Agency in Jan 2000. In a recent interview with Cranfield University alumni podcast channel’s program of ‘Leadership on-the-go’ Charan explained why he passionately believes in equality and social justice, education opportunities for all and environmental sustainability. He said he wanted to use his experiences of struggle and hardships to help others in line with the concept of Seva (selfless service) gifted by the founder of Sikh faith Guru Nanak. He believes there is no better reward than serving the country by supporting people who face hardships and wants everyone to work in unity to serve others. He further added that he got an superb support from the local community here is the UK and India and he wanted to give something back which prompted him to set up SEVA Trust UK to work in UK and India.
Link to Charan’s interview:
https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/alumni/communications/alumni-leadership-on-the-go-podcast
James Chrisp, Communications Officer for Environment Agency’s East Anglia UNION branch said “Our branch has been supporting SEVA Trust for their educational and environmental projects and it was really good to see they reacted fast to set up local support projects in response to COVID19 situation. Charan has worked very hard and thoroughly deserved this recognition. In 2020, Charan was honored by the Environment Agency with a ‘Loyalty Commendation Award’ for his 20 years contributions in protecting and improving the environment. He was the first senior Sikh officer of Indian origin to achieve this milestone in East Anglia. He was selected for ‘Lockdown Hero’ award by Area Director Simon Hawkins and the management team for his exceptional COVID19 support work. In 2019, Charan was awarded ‘Diversity Champion Runner-up Award’ by the Chair of Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd. Outside his day job, Charan’s excellent support work has been acknowledged by many organisations. On behalf of our Environment Agency UNISON Branch, I would like to congratulate Charan for this well-deserved honour, said James.
