Adi Roche Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Adi Roche
Roche in 2024
Born	(1955-07-11) 11 July 1955 (age 70) Clonmel, County Tipperary, Ireland
Nationality	Irish
Occupation	CEO of Chernobyl Children International
Organisation	Chernobyl Children International
Political party	Labour Party
Spouse(s)	Seán Dunne (m. 1977)

Adi Marie Roche, born on July 11, 1955, is an amazing Irish activist. She works hard for peace, helps people in need, and supports education. Adi is also against nuclear weapons. She is best known for starting and leading Chernobyl Children International. This group helps children who were affected by the terrible Chernobyl nuclear disaster that happened in 1986. She also ran for president of Ireland in 1997.

Adi Roche's Early Life and Work
Helping Children After Chernobyl
Adi Roche's Work with the United Nations
Awards and Honors for Adi Roche
- Other Awards and Degrees
Adi Roche's Political Campaign
See also

Adi Roche's Early Life and Work

Adi Roche was born in Clonmel, a town in County Tipperary, Ireland, in 1955. After finishing high school, she worked for an airline called Aer Lingus. In 1984, she decided to leave her job. She wanted to spend all her time volunteering for the Irish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Adi created a special Peace Education Programme. She taught this program in more than fifty schools across Ireland. Her goal was to teach young people about peace. In 1990, she made history. She became the first Irish woman to be chosen for the board of directors of the International Peace Bureau. This important group works for peace at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.

Helping Children After Chernobyl

In 1991, Adi Roche started a charity called Chernobyl Children International (CCI). This organization was created to help children in Belarus, Western Russia, and Ukraine. These areas were badly affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986.

CCI focuses on international development, medical help, and humanitarian aid. They work with children and families who are still dealing with the effects of the disaster.

Under Adi's leadership, Chernobyl Children International has done incredible work. They have sent over €105 million (that's a lot of money!) to the areas most affected by the Chernobyl accident. They have also helped more than 25,500 children affected by the disaster. These children were able to come to Ireland for important medical care and a chance to get better.

CCI has also started many healthcare projects in Belarus. For example, they built homes where mentally disabled children can live independently. They also started the first baby hospice in the country. A hospice is a special place that cares for people who are very sick. CCI also helped create an agreement for adoptions between Ireland and Belarus.

Adi Roche's Work with the United Nations

Adi Roche has worked closely with the United Nations to show the world the lasting problems caused by the Chernobyl disaster.

In 2001, she launched an exhibition at the UN Headquarters in New York. This was for the 15th anniversary of the nuclear accident. The exhibition showed the impact of Chernobyl through photos and art. It was called Black Wind, White Land. This event featured artists who showed the suffering caused by the disaster. The UN thought it was a huge success. It later opened in Dublin, Ireland, in 2002.

Adi continues to work with the United Nations. She speaks at UN conferences and meetings about Chernobyl. She has talked to ambassadors at the UN General Assembly. She also spoke at a UNESCO conference on Chernobyl. Adi has given advice on how aid groups can best help the affected areas in Belarus, Ukraine, and western Russia.

In July 2003, she was a main speaker at the launch of the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN) in Geneva, Switzerland. This group was started by the UN and a Swiss agency. Adi was chosen to represent aid organizations on the ICRIN's steering committee.

To mark the 18th anniversary of the tragedy in April 2004, Adi was invited to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. She also helped screen the Oscar-winning documentary Chernobyl Heart. In 2004, Chernobyl Children International was officially recognized by the UN as an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization). She was also invited to speak at the International Chernobyl Conference in Minsk in April 2006. This conference marked the 20th anniversary of the disaster.

On April 26, 2016, which was the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster, Adi Roche gave a very important speech. She spoke to the United Nations General Assembly in New York. This was a special moment because the Belarusian UN team gave her their speaking time. They did this to recognize how much Ireland and Chernobyl Children International have helped Chernobyl victims. It was the first time an ordinary person, not a diplomat or politician, was given the honor of speaking at the UN General Assembly during a country's special time.

Awards and Honors for Adi Roche

Adi Roche has received many awards for her amazing humanitarian work.

In 1993, she won the European Woman Laureate Award. This was after the documentary film 'Black Wind, White Land' came out. The film showed the suffering of the Chernobyl children. In the same year, she was named the Republic's Person of the Year.
In 1997, she received the Tipperary International Peace Award. This is known as "Ireland's outstanding award for humanitarian work."
In 2001, the University of Alberta in Canada gave her an honorary doctor of law degree.
In 2007, Adi won the Robert Burns Humanitarian Award.
In 2010, she received the World of Children Health Award. Since then, Chernobyl Children International has saved the lives of thousands of children born with heart problems.
In 2015, she was honored again with the World of Children Alumni Award. This was for the "incredible impact she continues to have in the lives of the children of the Chernobyl region."
Also in 2015, Adi won the Princess Grace Humanitarian Award.
In 2020, she was given the Ahmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize. This was for her hard work in supporting nuclear disarmament and helping victims of the Chernobyl disaster. The award was presented to her in 2024. This was because of delays from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Other Awards and Degrees

President's Award Tipperary Chamber of Commerce 2019
Freedom of the City of Cork 2016
Pride of Ireland Lifetime Achievement Award 2016
Princess Grace Humanitarian Award 2015
Named one of Ireland's Top 20 Greatest Women of All Time in 2014
Keynote speaker at the first anniversary events of the Japanese earthquake in Fukushima 2012
David Chow Humanitarian Award 2008
Robert Burns Humanitarian Award 2007
European Person of the Year 1996
European Woman Laureate Award 1996
Irish Person of the Year 1996
First Irish woman elected to the board of directors of the International Peace Bureau in Geneva
Government appointee on the board of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (RPII)

Adi Roche also holds several honorary doctorates:

An Honorary Doctorate of Laws from the University of Alberta, Canada.
In 2002, she and Ali Hewson were jointly awarded a Doctorate of Laws by the National University of Ireland, Galway.
In 2016, she and Ali Hewson were jointly awarded a Doctorate of Letters by the University of Limerick.

Adi Roche's Political Campaign

In 1997, Adi Roche decided to run for the office of President of Ireland. She was a candidate supported by a group of political parties. These included the Labour Party, Democratic Left, and the Green Party.

In the 1997 Irish presidential election, Adi came in fourth place out of five candidates. She received almost 7% of the total votes.

Adi Roche facts for kids

Contents