Valeriu Nicolae grew up in poverty and was discriminated against because he was Roma. Now he fights for the equal rights of all poor children who suffer discrimination.

The Roma people have lived in Europe for almost a thousand years, but have always been the continent’s most discriminated minority. Valeriu was awarded the World's Children's Prize Honorary Award because of his tireless struggle for the poorest and most vulnerable children in Romania and throughout Europe.

More video
Spès and children posing for the camera.
Video: Spès Nihangaza, Burundi
When Spès Nihangaza and her sister Caritas were growing up they were taught to help the sick and the weak.
Man and young inmate sitting talking on plastic chairs under fluorescent lights.
Video: Javier Stauring, USA
Javier Stauring works with children in prison and victims of violent crime to bring justice for children and families through reconciliation and dialogue, instead of through punishment and revenge.
Dunga mothers
Video: Dunga Mothers, Kenya
The Dunga Mothers fight for the rights of children with HIV/Aids and supports children who have lost their parents to AIDS in villages in the Kisumu area in Kenya .
Valeriu playing football with children
Video: Valeriu Nicolae, Romania
Valeriu Nicolae grew up in poverty and was discriminated against because he was Roma.
Molly with a big crowd
Video: Molly Melching, Senegal
Molly Melching and her organization Tostan fight for the rights of all children, especially girls, in West Africa.
Sompop with children
Video: Sompop Jantraka, Thailand
Sompop Jantraka grew up in poverty and started working at the age of six.
Sakena Yacoobi with girls in the classroom, Afghanistan.
Video: Sakena Yacoobi, Afghanistan
Sakena Yacoobi has fought her whole life to fulfil Afghan children‘s and women’s right to education, healthcare and to learn about their rights.
Prateep
Video: Prateep Ungsongtham Hata, Thailand
Prateep Ungsongtham Hata started her own slum school at 16, and has spent her life fighting for children growing up in poverty in slums and rural areas in Thailand.
Phymean Noun
Video: Phymean Noun, Cambodia
Phymean Noun fights for children living in poverty, sometimes on rubbish tips, and those children’s right to an education.
Graca
Video: Nelson Mandela & Graca Machel, South Africa and Mozambique
Watch Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel in their nomination video from 2009, for becoming WCP Decade Child Rights Heroes.
Nkosi
Video: Nkosi Johnson, South Africa
Nkosi Johnson from South Africa was only twelve years when he died.
Murabasi
Video: Murhabazi Namegabe, Democratic Republic of Congo
Murhabazi Namegabe fights for child soldiers, girls who’ve been abused and other vulnerable children who have grown up in one of the worst wars in human history.
Monira
Video: Monira Rahman, Bangladesh
Every year, girls and women in Bangladesh are violently attacked with acid and petrol in Bangladesh.
Manuel talks with a group of children
Video: Manuel Rodrigues, Guinea Bissau
Manuel Rodrigues fought for the rights of blind children and other children with disabilities in Guinea-Bissau.
Malala
Video: Malala Yousafzai, Pakistan
Malala Yousafzai fights for girls’ right to education and a life of freedom, in Pakistan and around the world.
Maite Nepal
Video: Maiti, Nepal
Maiti Nepal fights human trafficking and prevents young girls from being lured and forced into brothels by educating and informing them.
Maggie
Video: Maggy Barankitse, Burundi
Maggy Barankitse from Burundi has fought for decades to help children live a better life in war-torn Burundi, where armed conflict and poverty lead to many violations of children’s rights.
Kimmie
Video: Kimmie Weeks, Liberia
While fleeing as a child in wartime Liberia, Kimmie Weeks almost died of cholera.
Kailash
Video: Kailash Satyarthi, India
Kailash Sathyarti risked his life many times in his dangerous struggle against child labour and slavery and for all children’s right to education.
James Kofi anan
Video: James Kofi Annan, Ghana
As a child, James Kofi Annan was trafficked and worked as a slave for seven years with a fisherman.
James Aguer
Video: James Aguer Alic, South Sudan
James Aguer Alic has struggled for decades to free children suffering in slavery in South Sudan and neighbouring Sudan.
Former bonded slave boy Iqbal Masih in front of crowd.
Video: Iqbal Masih, Pakistan
Iqbal Masih became a debt slave in a carpet factory in Pakistan when he was a child.
John Wood with fully loaded yak in Nepal mountains
Video: John Wood, USA
John Wood quit his job as a manager at Microsoft to fulfil his dream: to fight poverty by giving children all over the world the chance to go to school.
Indira
Video: Indira Ranamagar, Nepal
Indira Ranamagar and her organisation Prisoners Assistance Nepal (PA) has rescued over a thousand children from cramped, dirty prisons.
Guylande getting a kiss on the cheek by a young girl
Video: Guylande Mésadieu, Haiti
When Guylande saw all the children who were forced to live on the street or work as domestic slaves in Haiti, she and her friends set up the organization Zanmi Timoun, Children’s Friend.
Gabriel with children
Video: Gabriel Mejia Montoya
Father Gabriel has dedicated his life to helping the poor.
Craig
Video: Craig Kileburger, Canada
Craig Kielburger from Canada began to fight for child rights when he was only a child himself.
ashok with a boy
Video: Ashok Dyalchand, India
Ashok Dyalchand fights against child marriage and for girls’ rights in rural India.
Asfaw
Video: Asfaw Yemiru, Ethiopia
Asfaw Yemiru from Ethiopia spent over 60 years, since he was 14, devoting all of his time and energy to fighting for the rights of the most deprived children.
aocm
Video: AOCM, Rwanda
AOCM (Association of Orphan Heads of Households) consisted of young people who lost their parents in the genocide, and came together to help each other create a better life.
Ann Skelton
Video: Ann Skelton, South Africa
Ann Skelton grew up under the violent Apartheid regime in South Africa.
Annandhi holds a baby, smiling
Video: Rosi Gollmann, Germany
Through Rosi Gollmann’s campaign ‘No girl is unwanted’, 12,000 Indian baby girls who would otherwise have been killed at birth have been saved.
Tattoo on arm reading Survivor
Video: Rachel Lloyd, USA
Rachel Lloyd and GEMS (Girls Educational and Mentoring Services) support hundreds of girls and young women in NYC, USA, every year.
Cecilia Flores-Oebanda
Video: Cecilia Flores-Oebanda, The Philippines
Cecilia Flores-Oebanda was five years old when she started working, and has made it her life's mission to fight for the rights of the poorest and most vulnerable children.
Anna Molell
Video: Anna Mollell, Tanzania
Watch a video with Maasai child advocate Anna Mollel, fighting for children with disabilities and poor children in rural Tanzania.
Videos
Watch videos and be inspired by young changemakers from around the world.
WORLD'S CHILDRENS PRIZE FOUNDATION

Långgatan 13, 647 30, Mariefred, Sweden
Phone: +46-159-129 00 • info@worldschildrensprize.org

© 2020 World’s Children’s Prize Foundation. All rights reserved. WORLD'S CHILDREN'S PRIZE®, the Foundation's logo, WORLD'S CHILDREN'S PRIZE FOR THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD®, WORLD'S CHILDREN'S PARLIAMENT®, WORLD'S CHILDREN'S OMBUDSMAN®, WORLD'S CHILDREN'S PRESS CONFERENCE® and YOU ME EQUAL RIGHTS are service marks of the Foundation.

 
x
x
x