By Njoki Chege
As the world eagerly awaits the start of the world’s biggest sporting event, Olympics Games, a Kenyan woman is ecstatic for getting the honour to carry the games’ symbol.
Pamjeet Kaur Dadhiala, a 41-year-old accounts manager at British Airways, Nairobi, got the rare honour of being selected to carry the Olympics Flame, the symbol of the Olympics Games, just before the event begin later next month.
Thousands of people from across the world are nominated as possible torchbearers, but only a few get the rare honour.
The Olympics committee only selects inspirational people to carry the Olympics Flame.
nomination process
Permjeet is among four inspirational Kenyans who will have the golden opportunity to walk with the Flame.
Usually, the torchbearers are nominated by people who give solid reasons they think the nominated person should be among the chosen few.
Millions of people across the world are nominated for this role, and therefore it was not a surprise when a colleague at the British Airways nominated Pamjeet.
“The shocker came in November last year, when I received an e-mail congratulating me on being selected as one of the torch bearers. I thought it was a sick joke until it was confirmed,” says Pamjeet.
Pamjeet has since come to terms with the fact that out of the 500 nominations from British Airways, she had made it to the final list of 40 employees of British Airways worldwide. She is the only Kenyan British Airways employee to get the opportunity.
“At first I felt a bit nervous since I thought I didn’t deserve it. I am, however, glad that life handed me this rare opportunity,” she says.
