‘I had the blues because I had no shoes until upon the street, I met a man who had no feet.’ - Denis Waitley. People who live under a roof often complain about their lives. They don’t recognize the privileges and luxuries they have. Though, around the world, tens of millions of children live or work on the streets and the number keeps growing. In the year 2000, there were 246,011 children living on the streets in the Philippines. Kesz was one of these children. Kesz, a 13 year old boy, ran away from home and grew up in the dumpsites of the Philippines. He lived a dangerous life filled with no hope of being saved. He suffered through lots of pain, despite that, he finally did get saved and he knew he had to do something about the other children still living in the dumpsites. The children weren’t aware of the hazard of living on the streets. They were uneducated and living a terrible life. They had no hope of escaping. Kesz received the International Children’s Peace Prize, as his experience was a bad one so he wanted to help the other children by giving them hope about being saved and educating them about health.
As Kesz was lucky to be saved from the dumpsite, he wanted to give hope to other children. He made sure that they never stopped believing that they would eventually start living better. As a result of his success and power, he could help them. Fortunately, Kesz’s wish to be saved from the dumpsite was a success, therefore, he knew it was possible for anybody to eventually be saved. Kesz says, ‘I am young, but I have a firm purpose to help make things better for generations to come.’ (Street Children Have Rights Too! Page 3). For his seventh birthday, instead of receiving presents for himself, he chose to get presents for the children on the streets. He couldn’t let the children lose hope so he made them feel happy. He was determined to keep their hopes high. Kesz suffered through pain and anger, but he still continued to make children happy. ‘Looking back, the fire that burned my skin and flesh is the same fire that started a flame in my soul.’ (Street Children Have Rights Too! Page 3). Kesz grew up in the dumpsites and he had gone through so much and through all of his experiences he’d probably lose hope on being saved, but it happened. He eventually did get saved by Mr. Harmin, ‘the father he looks up to’. As being saved was something unexpected for Kesz he knew that hope was important and that everybody that lived like the street children had to feel hope. The other children in the dumpsites go through the same thing as Kesz everyday. Kesz knows that since he was saved all the other children will eventually be saved. His success has given the other children hope. Not only does he help with giving them hope, he has also provided them with information on living healthier.
Kesz knew living in a dumpsite was unhealthy, so he had to provide these children with information on living a healthier life. He experienced many unhealthy situations, not knowing they were unhealthy. ‘Allowing flies to feast on my open wounds was normal to me and my friends.’ (Street Children Have Rights Too! Page 3). Kesz wasn’t aware of how dangerous the dumpsites were, health-wise. Dumpsites were filled with flies, trash and germs everywhere. Nobody ever cleaned them. So once he found out, he needed to help the other children because they were oblivious to the fact that where they lived was dangerous. ‘This is why I started and continue to lead street children to better health by teaching, demonstrating and spreading basic hygiene practice.’ (Street Children Have Rights Too! Page 3) Kesz encountered many unhealthy experiences, not knowing they were harmful at the time, but he soon learned the effect they had and he wanted to inform children who would pass it on to other children still living in the dumpsites, before it was too late. Šƒ’‹‘‹‰‘—‹–›Š‹Ž†”‡Šƒ’‹‘‹‰‘—‹–›Š‹Ž†”‡
Kesz’s exposure to the outcomes of the dumpsites has brought him forward into guiding the children who live in the dumpsites. He’s instructed them into a healthier lifestyle and given them hope. As he continues to do that today, he represents an honorable 13 year old boy, deserving the prize he received. He’s even taken it further by getting children to teach other children about hygiene. With his help he has succeeded in having 10,000 children aware of the importance of hygiene, just in his area. Kesz has the qualities of an inspiration to children all over the world. He has achieved so much at an early age and has given hope to people around the world that it’s not too late to start making a change now.
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