Kenya child organisation nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

STOCKHOLM (AFP) Aug 15, 2003
Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), an organisation helping children in the slums of Nairobi, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, daily Svenska Dagbladet reported on Friday.

A Norwegian government official put MYSA forward in recognition of the organisation's success in combating juvenile delinquency with sports and education programmes.

Unexpectedly, the nomination is Sweden's best chance of sharing in the prestigious peace prize, Svenska Dagbladet said.

An 11-year-old boy from Stockholm, John Guidetti, whose father works at the Swedish school in Nairobi, plays in one of MYSA's football teams.

"Now an 11-year-old Swede might get a little part of the Peace Prize," together with 100,000 Kenyan kids who are also enrolled in MYSA, the paper said.

Last year's peace prize, which is awarded by the Nobel committee in Oslo, last went to Sweden 82 years ago.

WAR.WIRE