Congratulations to the 2016 World of Children Alumni Honorees
Three amazing individuals working in communities around world received 2016 World of Children Alumni Awards on the evening of April 12th at Alumni Honors. This year’s event gathered over 200 guests from Los Angeles’s top industries at the Montage Beverly Hills to celebrate these real life heroes. Thanks to the evening’s generous supporters, we granted a total of over $100,000 to the three programs run by this year’s Honorees.
Denisse Pichardo
World of Children first honored Denisse Pichardo in 2011 for her work with Caminante Proyecto Educativo. We honored her again this year for her continued dedication to the children of Boca Chica in the Dominican Republic. Caminante Proyecto Educativo provides care to the vulnerable children of Boca Chica, Dominican Republic. Denisse and the organization ensure these children and teenagers have the opportunity to live up to their full potential. This includes rescuing and sheltering youth victims of the sex tourism industry and preventative programs to ensure vulnerable youth are not forced into the industry. Services include educational support, technical training, therapy, health care, legal guidance, and extracurricular activities.
Caminante Proyecto Educativo will use World of Children funding to provide education to children at risk of exploitation in the Dominican Republic and rehabilitative services for children rescued from commercial sexual exploitation. This funding will directly impact the lives of 80 children and adolescents.
Ryan Hreljac
World of Children honored Ryan Hreljac with a Youth Award in 2003 for his work to bring clean water to children in the world’s poorest communities. We honored him again this year for the incredible impact he continues to have through The Ryan’s Well Foundation. The Foundation brings clean water and sanitation to vulnerable youth and their families in order to help them lead healthier lives. The foundation grew out of an idea Ryan had when he was just 6 years old to help children have access to clean water. By providing communities and schools with access to potable water and sanitation, Ryan’s Well has successfully empowered a million people in 1,000 communities across 16 countries. Clean water allows children to attend school and their entire families to lead happier, healthier, more productive lives.
The Ryan’s Well Foundation will use World of Children funding to construct wells that will provide water for three primary schools in Togo. The wells will provide water to approximately 1,000 students.
Dr. Ashok Banskota
Dr. Ashok Banskota received a 2011 World of Children for his work bringing orthopedic care to children living with disabilities in Nepal. We presented Dr. Banskota with an Alumni Award for his continuing extraordinary work with the organization he founded – the Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC). HRDC focuses on treating underprivileged children with orthopedic disabilities. Dr. Banskota’s holistic approach to helping physically disabled children starts with identification, includes treatment and rehabilitation, and follows through to social re-integration for patients. Each year, HRDC provides almost 20,000 consultations and performs between 1,500 and 2,000 major surgical interventions.
HRDC will use World of Children funding to provide medical consultation to 300 children in remote districts of Nepal. They will also perform 75 surgeries and provide 125 orthopedic assistant devices to children in need.