Ghanaian to receive 2013 World Children’s Prize

This year’s World’s Children Prize for the Rights of the Child has been awarded to 39-year-old Mr James Kofi Annan, a former Ghanaian child slave.

Miss Yaa Yeboah, a pupil of Desk Educational Institute in Tema, announced this at World Children’s Prize (WCP) press conference at the Parliamentary Resource Centre at Sekondi on Monday.

She said Mr. Annan was honoured for his 10-year effort to liberate child fishing slaves in Ghana and help them towards a better life and that over two million children worldwide selected Mr. Annan as their child hero in a Global vote adding 224,000 children in Ghana took part in the voting.

The World’s Children’s honorary award went to Sompop Jantraka of Thailand for his 25-year struggle against child sex and for vulnerable children in the Mekong Region and Kimmie Weeks of Liberia for his 20-year battle for the rights of children affected by war, she said.

Miss Yeboah said Her Royal Highness Crown Prince Victoria of Sweden would present the prizes to the recipients at the Gripsholm Castle in Manefred, Sweden, on October 17.

She said the WCP is an educational programme for children below 18 years designed to educate children about their rights and the democratic process and the prize is awarded to outstanding advocates of the rights of the child.

Miss Yeboah said prize winners use the award money to help some of the world’s most vulnerable children towards a better life.

Source: GNA