Can 13-year-olds do something to change the world? Cris Kesz Valdez, 13, from the Philippines believes so. At the age of 7, Valdez set up an organization to give homeless kids things like slippers and toothbrushes. So far he has helped more than 10,000 children improve their lives in his hometown. Valdez won the 2012 International Children’s Peace Prize on September 19, 2012. “My motto is ‘we can change the world one heart at a time,’ ” Valdez said at the award ceremony. In fact, Valdez is a homeless kid himself. He looked for food from trash, lived on the streets and slept in a public cemetery for most of his childhood. His parents didn’t care about him and often beat him. Valdez said he felt he was living in “darkness” at that time. But this “darkness” didn’t turn him into a dark person. Valdez got help from community workers. On his first birthday party, at the age of 7, Valdez decided what he wanted most was to help other children who were still living on the streets. “I didn’t have a lot of money, but I had a lot of love to give,” Valdez explained. That day was the birth of the organization, Championing Community Children. Since then, Valdez and his friends visit homeless children and hand out bags with slippers, toys and even candy. They nurse their wounds, teach them about their rights and offer them hope. “I want children on the streets to get the same chance as I have,” he said. 小题1:Cris Kesz Valdez helped homeless kids in .
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