Glasgow Lord provost, Mrs Sadie Docherty, presented our chairman John with the Lord provost award on the 7th of April 2017. Sportler 4 a childrens world and John would like to thank Children 1st for the nomination. Here are his speech and a few photos.

Dear Right Honourable Lord Provost,
firstly I would like to thank Children 1st s4acw, icmi, and our families for their support.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
tonight, is without doubt more than an honour for me to stand here and accept, the Lord provost charity award. Glasgow is a special and very proud city filled with good hearted people like everyone here tonight. I was prouder than ever last year when we ran from Germany, via Holland, England, stopped at Lockerbie and together with an action group from Children 1st laid a wreath to honour the victims and families from the 1988 air disaster then ran the final lap to Glasgow Green where we presented Children 1st with a kind donation to help them with their fantastic work with vulnerable children in Scotland, and in all honesty to which I so dearly, and proudly identify myself with. Because I was born and brought up in very sad circumcises, poverty, domestic violence, even dysentery was my way of life, a daily meal was seldom and many a day I couldn’t go to school because of the lack of cloths and footwear, but I was happy, unfortunately things remained hard and society said it would be better for me to go into care, I would get everything a 9-year-old boy needs, protection, love, and a dignified childhood. But sadly, I have to tell you my childhood died at the children’s home from the very hands of the man who was looking after me. I don’t remember how long I was in the home before that fatal evening 46 years ago, but it still feels like yesterday as he dragged me to my bedroom and threw me against the wall and kicked and punched me so many times until my childhood died.
He realized what he had done and shouted to me that I was to stop falling down the stairs and clean myself up, he slammed the door behind him and as I was lying on the floor I felt so ashamed, worthless and the never-ending humiliation almost destroyed all my belief in the goodness of mankind. No child whatever should go through this.

Helplessness and a life without prospects is the most dangerous state of life one can live in. I decided and swore 28 years ago, for as long as I live to invest every free minute to help the needy and abused children and show them that they are something wonderful and are the true angels on earth.
A child without a childhood is like a rainbow without colour, you feel something beautiful and wonderful is missing and it hurts the whole of a lifetime.

Right honourable Lord Provost, ladies and gentlemen,
that is the reason why the Lord Provost Charity Award means so much to me and I devote it from the very bottom of my heart to all the true angels on earth, the children.