Friday 28 February 2025
On February 28, 2025, Sarah Onyango was among the persons who were awarded the King Charles III Coronation Medal, in the Senate Chamber, in Ottawa. On this occasion, Senator Andrew Cardozo presented the medals to the twenty recipients of the Coronation Medal program, in recognition of their outstanding contribution to Canadian society.
This prestigious award recognizes Sarah’s outstanding commitment to community media and the promotion of multiculturalism in Canada. A translator by trade, Kenyan-born Sarah Onyango is very active in the Black community in Ottawa-Gatineau, and has done a great deal to promote its people, organizations, causes and events. In addition to volunteering as a host and producer on three weekly shows at the University of Ottawa’s radio station CHUO 89.1FM and a monthly program on Rogers TV, Sarah has emceed and helped organize numerous community events. Sarah is also a board member of Black History Ottawa, where she is responsible for public relations and outreach activities. Sarah has for many years been actively involved in public relations work for various African and Caribbean diplomatic missions, as well as numerous community organizations such as Black History Ottawa, Conseil de la communauté noire de Gatineau, Fête Caribe, DreamKEEPERS, Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Ottawa, Ottawa Local Immigrant Partnership (Co-Chair of Welcoming Ottawa Week since 2013), and the United Way East Ontario (Member of the Volunteer Recognition team since 2008). Sarah’s community service has been recognized with various awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012), the Ontario Volunteer Service Award (2012), the Ontario Black History Society’s Mathieu Da Costa Award (2016), the DreamKEEPERS Citation for Community Leadership (2020) and the Volunteer Ottawa Lifetime Achievement Award (2023).