March 7, 2017 (Los Angeles, CA) – World of Children®, a global recognition and funding organization for individuals exclusively serving the needs of vulnerable children, today announced the full slate of extraordinary individuals to be honored at the 2017 World of Children Hero Awards on Wednesday, April 19 at Montage Beverly Hills. One of those individuals is Dr. Jumana Odeh, founder of the Palestinian Happy Child Centre in Ramallah.
Dr. Odeh has spent a lifetime advocating for the most vulnerable members of her native Palestinian society: children with disabilities. In Palestine, talking about a person’s disability is taboo, making it difficult for parents to find support, treatment and care. Dr. Odeh has been instrumental in breaking down cultural stigmas and providing treatment for children with disabilities.
In 1994, Dr. Odeh founded the Palestinian Happy Child Centre (PHCC) in Ramallah to treat children with neurological disorders and learning and developmental disabilities. Today, the center promotes early screenings, diagnoses, specialized care, therapy, and support for parents and caregivers. Children are cared for by a team of specialists, including physicians, special educators, speech therapists, social workers, art and music teachers, and community leaders.
“The approach of PHCC is simple,” Dr. Odeh said, “involve the community so that they come to love and accept this group of children.”
In 2008, Dr. Odeh received the World of Children Health Award to honor her groundbreaking work. Since then, she has made tremendous progress in transforming the lives of children with special needs. Not only has she provided much-needed services for over 39,000 children, but she has also played an instrumental role in breaking down cultural stigmas. For more information, please visit www.phcc-pal.org.
On April 19, Dr. Odeh will receive the 2017 World of Children Alumni Award for expanding her impact and continuing to unlock the future for even more children with disabilities.
Three other individuals will be honored for their work with vulnerable children in various parts of the world. Each individual honored at the event will receive a cash grant to continue their outstanding work.
About World Of Children
World of Children is led by Founders Harry Leibowitz and Kay Isaacson-Leibowitz, retired senior executives from Procter & Gamble and Victoria’s Secret respectively. Since they founded the organization in 1998, with the goal of setting the gold standard in child advocacy award programs, World of Children has granted more than $9 million in cash grants and program support to more than 100 Honorees who are the driving force behind programs that have served tens of millions of children worldwide. For more information, please visit
www.worldofchildren.org.
Media Contact:
Alison Kjeldgaard, alison@worldofchildren.org