DPA/Stockholm


World’s Children’s Prize Foundation winners Congolese Murhabazi Namegabe is flanked by honorary winners Cecilia Flores-Oebanda (left) of the Philippines, and Monira Rahman (right) of Bangladesh at the Eric Ericssonhallen in Stockholm yesterday
A Congolese activist who has helped free thousands of child soldiers and child sex slaves in the conflict-ridden Central African country was named yesterday winner of the 2011 World’s Children’s Prize. The prize was announced after a vote among 3.2mn children worldwide.
Murhabazi Namegabe of the Democratic Republic of Congo was cited for his “dangerous struggle to free children forced to be child soldiers or sex slaves.” Namegabe has since 1989 been involved in this work and has received numerous death threats, organisers said.
With the organization BVES he runs homes and schools that help rehabilitate and care for former child soldiers and sex slaves. Some 60,000 children have been assisted. Most of the children are later reunited with their families.
The prize, worth $100,000, is to be handed over tomorrow by Queen Silvia of Sweden, one of the patrons of the prize.
Honorary awards were given to Cecilia Flores-Oebanda of the Philippines and Monira Rahman of Bangladesh.
Flores-Oebanda was cited for her 20-year struggle against child labour and trafficking, while Rahman has tried to end so-called acid attacks including as director of the Acid Survivors Foundation.
The group assists victims of acid attacks where mainly girls but also women, boys and men are attacked with acid or set alight with petrol over disputes including rejected marriage proposals.
The award was established in 2000 by the Swedish non-governmental organisation, Children’s World.