Global Fund for Children partner awarded coveted World's Children's Prize

WASHINGTON, Oct. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Global Fund for Children's grassroots partner Phymean Noun of the People Improvement Organization (PIO) in Cambodia took home the 2015 World's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child  for her courageous work educating and defending Cambodian children who live in Phnom Penh's garbage dumps. The award was given in a ceremony at Gripsholm Castle attended by Sweden's Queen Silvia.

"We could not be prouder of Phymean and her tireless work with PIO," said Susan Goodell, CEO of The Global Fund for Children. "Her inspirational work to educate children living under the worst conditions in Cambodia is evidence that the seemingly relentless cycle of poverty can be broken."

Often called the "Children's Nobel Prize," this annual award has been given since 2000 to advocates who help change the lives of the world's most poor and vulnerable children. Through a global vote, children determine the grand Prize recipient among three nominees. The recipient of the Prize receives US$50,000, and two honorary awardees receive US$25,000 each. Past Laureates include Malala Yousafzai (2014), Nelson Mandela (2005), and Anne Frank (posthumously in 2000).

Noun founded PIO in 2002 after meeting starving children near a garbage dump in Phnom Penh with the intent to educate children to help them understand their rights. The organization focuses its efforts on girls, orphans, and homeless children, particularly those children who sort through trash to support themselves and their families. She opened her first school in 2004 in Phnom Penh's largest municipal trash dump; today she helps nearly 1,200 daily through outreach centers and vocational training. Since 2010, The Global Fund for Children has provided support to PIO through annual grants, technical support, and networking opportunities, and by sharing PIO's work with the broader philanthropic world.

"The Global Fund for Children has been one of our major supporters," said Noun. "We are so thankful that they have believed in us and supported our mission to defend the rights of Cambodian children."

Since 2007, a total of eight Global Fund for Children partner leaders have been nominated for the award, with four taking home the highest honor: in addition to Noun, James Kofi Annan of Challenging Heights (2013), Sakena Yacoobi of the Afghan Institute of Learning (2012), and Murhabazi Namegabe of Bureau pour le Volontariat au Service de l'Enfance et de la Santé (2011). This year, Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Kailash Satyarthi was also nominated for the Prize for his work advocating against child slavery globally. The Global Fund for Children was an early funder of Satyarthi's work, supporting him with a grant in 2002.

To learn more about The Global Fund for Children and how the organization finds and supports community-based organizations working to empower children around the world, visit http://www.globalfundforchildren.org/.

About The Global Fund for Children
The Global Fund for Children works to advance the dignity of children worldwide. The Global Fund for Children believes that small amounts of capital given to innovative community-based organizations are key to making a lasting impact on the lives of the world's most vulnerable children.  We help donors who want to make a difference find and fund small, startup organizations working on the ground in more than 50 countries to improve the lives of children—and then work with those organizations to ensure they are set up to become sustainable community resources.

SOURCE The Global Fund for Children

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