Child of the Czech Republic: I want to figure out how to cure diseases that cannot be cured yet
The project aims to find ideal children and young people who are interested in their surroundings, do something beneficial for others and inspire their peers. “In the survey, we emphasized the long-term activity and specific results of the nominees. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of very good candidates. The jury thus had the difficult task of comparing and evaluating the talents, impact and benefits of the activities of the children and young people involved, “said Pavel Gomba, Executive Director of UNICEF CR.
Two winners were chosen from the finalists – a girl and a boy, who received the most points in total from the jurors. These were Daniela Eva Rybková from Prague and Jan Žák from Starý Sedlo near Sokolov.
The winner from Prague wanted to be a doctor from an early age
Sixteen-year-old Daniela addressed the jury with her wide range of activities and unusual focus. He is already profiling himself in neurology at school.
She is a successful graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, where she studied clinical trials. As part of the program, she achieved results that she rated as excellent at the university. He is currently studying at the University of Edinburgh’s program, which deals with preventive senile dementia.
“I already wanted to become a doctor and figure out how to cure neurological diagnoses that cannot be treated today,” he comments on his motivation to participate in the programs. Despite her demanding studies, she does not forget the second month – in her internship she worked with clients with Alzheimer’s disease and as a volunteer provides children with neurological diseases.
“We danced with the seniors at Alzheimer’s Home every day, various games, and most importantly we tried to make them a little better every day,” explains Daniela, who is also a racing swimmer, musician and dancer.
A modest schoolboy helps zoos
The second laureate, Jan Žák, is 14 years old. The jury was most impressed by his passion for biology. During the coronavirus pandemic, Jan came up with the idea of helping zoos in the Czech Republic in the difficult situation in which they found themselves. He created two computer escape games, when completed, players could send any amount to a transparent account set up for this purpose. The games quickly spread throughout the Czech Republic and inspired others to support zoos in the Czech Republic. “I was very surprised by the response and success of my escape game,” Jan comments on his success. Thanks to Jan, a total of 125,000 crowns was collected in less than a month.
Despite his great success, however, he remains a modest schoolboy. “She likes to study and watch undisturbed. He will not tolerate unnecessary speech, “describes his mother Lenka.
The winner of the survey was decided by a jury consisting of, for example, the chairwoman of the ASCR Eva Zažímalová, the rector of Charles University Tomáš Zima, the school ombudsman Ladislav Hrzal, the director of the ČT Déčko station Petr Koliha or hockey legend Patrik Eliáš. Vít Nantl, a general director of the Vltava Labe Media publishing house, was also a member of the jury.
In addition to the title Child of the Czech Republic, the winner will have space for his own blog on the UNICEF CR profile and connections within the UNICEF international network.