Street Boy Receives Peace Prize

Cris Kesz Valdez - 13 years old, Filipino - was awarded the 2012 International Children's Peace Prize (worth 100,000 euros) on September 19 in The Hague, Netherlands, for his efforts to improve the rights of street children.



Cris Kesz Valdez shakes hands with Mr. Desmond Tutu - South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, recipient of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize - at the International Children's Peace Prize ceremony - Photo: AFP.

As a street child, Cris lived on a garbage dump and often spent the night in a cemetery. He set up a charity to solicit donations. The donations will be used to provide gifts to poor children in Cavite City, 30km south of Manila, the capital of the Philippines.

To date, Cris’s charity has donated more than 5,000 gifts to poor children, including shoes, toys, candy, and clothes. In addition, Cris has provided health, hygiene, and child welfare support to about 10,000 children in the area where he lives. The Child Rights Organization said that the Philippines currently has about 246,000 children at risk of abuse, violence, and early labor.

Cris said: "The message I want to send to children around the world is to never give up hope. Part of the prize money will help me pay for my studies and fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor."

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, praised Cris Kesz Valdez after the award ceremony. A committee will help Cris choose community projects to fund with his prize money.

According to Tuoitre - MD