Period 7/8
S. Peters
17/10/2012
A Struggle For Hope
One billion children in the world live in poverty. Unicef #reported that just in the Philippines alone, there are thousands of children who live in poverty. Those children who lives under poverty have hardly any education, and most do not even have shelter, food or safe drinking water. People should help these children. Kesz, a thirteen year old boy, managed to achieve help the street children who live in poverty after spending his early life in a dumpsite. He has helped lots of children in his hometown by providing hygiene education and giving them hope.
Kesz doesn’t want more street children to have poor health and live in a dumpsite like what he is used to. By teaching them basic hygiene, he helped those street children. In order to stay alive before he was rescued, Kesz had to look for food and water in dumpsites. “I used to drink the water from a pothole in the street and even from sewage canals when I was little, because I did not know it was harmful to me. Brushing teeth was nothing I knew of, until I was rescued from the streets. Allowing the flies to feast on my open wounds and pus was normal to me and my friends.” From this, we can see that Kesz’s lived in a dirty place before he was rescued and while he’s there, he had no idea about hygiene and eat from dumpsites when he wants to and drinks from dirty sewages. However, Kesz’s luck hadn’t left him. After a terrible accident, he was rescued by Mr. Harnin, his adoptive father. When Kesz learnt what’s good and bad, he started to help other street children. “Today, many of the children still suffer poor health and because of lack of sanitation, they are close to danger and death. This is why I started and continue to lead street children to better health by teaching, demonstrating and spreading basic hygiene practice.” Kesz didn’t like the life he used to. After he was rescued, Kesz started to help the street children by teaching them basic hygiene and eventually, he started an organization. Because Kesz has learnt the basic hygienes and knows what’s bad or good, he teaches the other street children and therefore, making other’s lives better and making a change.
After he was rescued, Kesz now lives in a nice home where the conditions are good. However, Kesz wants more street children to feel what it would be like when they’re loved like him and he tells them to hope for a better life. When Kesz was about to give up from the fire which nearly killed him, he was rescued by Mr Harnin. After that, Kesz feels like he wants all the street children to feel how it feels to be loved. For his birthday, Kesz send lots of gifts to the other street children instead of asking one for himself, thus giving the street children hope. “For his seventh birthday, Kesz didn’t want any presents for himself. Instead, he wanted to give something to other street children: Gifts of Hope.” To give the other street children hope after he was rescued, Kesz decided not to ask for a gift on his seventh birthday, but to give gifts to the other street children who are suffering because he want to give him hope and not to despair. Kesz had always wanted to help the other street children to a better life after he was rescued. To this, Kesz described how he felt when he was rescued from the terrible fire. “Looking back, the fire that started a flame in my soul. A flame that would warm cold hearts, a flame that would shed light to the path of the lost, a flame that would spark hope, lighting an entire sea of darkness and desperation.” Because of the fire, Kesz felt different after he was rescued from that fire. He wants to help the other street children who are still suffering and make a difference. The fire was, in other words, that very thing that changed his life. Since Kesz was rescued from a terrible fire, he wants all the other street children to feel what it’s like to feel love and have hope and by giving gifts to other porr street children, he has made a difference.
By continuing to help street children, Kesz gives them hope for a better future and precious knowledge of basic hygiene and also to go live a life with hygiene. Because of this, Kesz was awarded the Children’s International Peace Prize# in 2012. Kesz has inspired many children and adults to make this world a better place. Kesz has fought for his and all the others’ rights, therefore, he has made a change to this world.
