As a child living in the Philippines, Kesz Valdez was beaten by his father, forced to make money to buy him drugs and alcohol.

At 4, Kesz ran away to a dump site, struggling to stay alive. After he was gravely wounded from falling in a pile of burning tires, a man named Harnin Manalaysay cared for him and eventually became his guardian.

On his seventh birthday, Kesz told Manalaysay that he didn’t want birthday presents. Rather, he wanted to give gifts to street kids. Now Kesz is 13, and his charity, Championing Community Children, has given gifts to 5,000 street kids in Cavite City, an act of selflessness that has earned Kesz the 2012 International Children’s Peace Prize, an honor that comes with $130,000.

Today, Kesz educates children living on the streets about personal hygiene and he takes care of their wounds, according to a video made about his story.

"I teach the children how to wash hands properly, brush their teeth daily and bathe regularly. I believe that some of these street children we save will pay the act forward to help champion their own communities," he told GMA News Online.

Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu, a retired Anglican bishop from South Africa who opposed Apartheid, presented the award on Sept. 19.

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“These young people show the incredible resilience in the human spirit,” Tutu said of the three children before him. “I congratulate this year’s winner.”

Said Kesz, according to the prize website: “My message to all children around the globe is; our health is our wealth! Being healthy will enable you to play, to think clearly, to get up and go to school and love the people around you in so many ways. To everyone in the world, please remember that every day, 6,000 children die from diseases associated with poor sanitation, poor hygiene, and we can do something about it! Please join me in helping street children achieve better health and better lives.”

He dedicated his award to his guardian, Manalaysay, GMA News Online reported.

"I look up to him as a father. He is the first person who made me feel loved so it is only fitting to dedicate this award to him," Kesz said.

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Ivica Dacic's election as Serbia's prime minister has triggered fears of resurgent nationalism in the Balkan country.

BELGRADE, Serbia -- Slobodan Milosevic's former spokesman became Serbia's new prime minister on Friday, promising to promote reconciliation in the Balkans after his nomination triggered fears of resurgent nationalism in the volatile region.

The election marks the first time Milosevic's former party and their allies will dominate the government since they ruled Serbia for a decade in the 1990s — an era marked with wars, international sanctions and economic downturn.

The West is watching Ivica Dacic nervously as the 46-year-old takes the reins of a country bidding to join the European Union little more than a decade since it was bombed by NATO.

'There has been enough blood'
Dacic was Milosevic's wartime spokesman, nick-named "Little Sloba" for his admiration of the former party chief. Dacic's nomination to the post of the prime minister triggered fears of resurgent nationalism in the Balkan country.

In the speech to the parliament on Thursday, Dacic tried to dispel those concerns, promising to advance Serbia's EU bid, press on with reform and promote reconciliation in the region.

He told lawmakers that "there has been enough blood in the Balkans."

"Let us turn to the future and not deal with the past," he said.

Milosevic was ousted from power in 2000 following a popular revolt. He was widely blamed for instigating the bloody Balkan wars that followed the breakup of the former Yugoslavia. The wars claimed more than 100,000 lives and left millions homeless.

"Dacic is one of the most intelligent and cunning politicians in Serbia," said Nenad Sebek, executive director of the Center for Reconciliation and Democracy in Southeast Europe think-tank.

"Without ever saying sorry for what his party did during the 1990s under Milosevic, Dacic single-handedly returned the Socialists to the political mainstream in Serbia," Sebek told Reuters.

Slideshow: The charges against Ratko Mladic

Serge Ligtenberg / Getty Images

A career soldier, Mladic stands accused of orchestrating the siege of Sarajevo and the slaughter of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica.

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The Dacic’s Cabinet was approved with 142 votes for and 72 against in a 250-member assembly, ending nearly three months of political uncertainty that followed an inconclusive election on May 6.

Dacic's coalition government includes ministers from his own Socialist Party, from a nationalist Progressive Party of President Tomislav Nikolic as well as several smaller groups.

A red chair for every victim: Siege of Sarajevo marked

Milosevic died in 2006 in custody of the U.N. war crimes tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, while on a genocide trial.  

Among the challenges facing the new government are widespread joblessness and a cash-strapped budget amid deepening economic crisis. The average monthly salary in Serbia is around €350 ($429), while poverty is widespread.

Working his way back to power
After Milosevic was ousted in 2000, Dacic assembled a team of young moderates to help overhaul the party, while retaining some of the old faces to appease the elderly ex-communist electorate.

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In 2006 he became party president, and two years later took the Socialists back to power as junior partner to the Democrats, the main party that had helped topple Milosevic. The ultimate pragmatist, he threw his support behind the country's EU ambitions.

"He has an almost computer-like precision when deciding when to forget or remember something," the Serbian daily Blic said.

Within the coalition, Dacic's party controlled state-run energy and gas monopoly Srbijagas and secured funds and close ties with Russia through a partnership with oil and gas giant Gazprom. Western diplomats admit his apparent affinity with Moscow makes them nervous.

Srebrenica: The story that will never end

When voters turned against the Democrats and their leader, two-time President Boris Tadic, in elections in May, Dacic saw his chance.

After weeks of negotiating to revive their alliance, Dacic said he was abandoning the Democrats in favor of the nationalist Serbian Progressive Party, whose leader Nikolic had just defeated Tadic in a presidential election.

Nikolic offered Dacic the post of prime minister. He took it, telling a reception last week:

"In this chamber there are many who toppled us in 2000, and I thank them, for if they hadn't toppled us we wouldn't have changed, realized our mistakes and we wouldn't be standing here today."

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Now he must prove he has changed, according to analysts.

"He is extremely smart and likely to be very cooperative when negotiating with the international community," said Sebek of the Center for Reconciliation and Democracy, "but he's still an eyesore for anyone who doesn't have the memory of a goldfish."

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

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Peter De Jong / Pool via EPA

Laurent Gbagbo, center, is accused of crimes against humanity in the aftermath of Ivory Coast's disputed presidential elections in November 2010.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands -- Ivory Coast's ex-president appeared at the International Criminal Court Monday, becoming the first former head of state to face judges at the world's first permanent war crimes court. Laurent Gbagbo vowed to fight the charges against him.

Gbagbo, 66, was calm and smiled at supporters in the public gallery as the 25-minute hearing opened. He told judges he did not need them to read the charges.

Gbagbo was extradited to the Netherlands last week to face charges including murder and rape committed by supporters as he attempted to cling to power.

Prosecutors say about 3,000 people died in violence by both sides after Gbagbo refused to concede electoral defeat.

A four-month war that displaced more than a million people erupted when when he refused to accept the results of the November 2010 election.

President Alassane Ouattara took power in April with the help of French and U.N. forces.

The former president, speaking in French, said he wanted to see the evidence against him.

"I will challenge that evidence and then you hand down your judgment," he told the three-judge panel.

Gbagbo also complained about his arrest by opposition forces backed by French troops in April, saying he saw his son beaten and his interior minister killed in the fighting.

"I was the president of the republic and the residence of the president of the republic was shelled," he said.

'Deceived'
He also complained about his transfer to The Hague last week from the north of Ivory Coast where he was under house arrest.

"We were deceived," he said. "Things could have been done in a more regular manner."

Monday's brief hearing was scheduled to confirm Gbagbo's identity and ensure he understood his rights and the charges.

Presiding judge Silvia Fernandez de Gurmendi of Argentina scheduled a hearing for June 18 next year at which prosecutors will have to present a summary of their evidence and judges will decide whether it is strong enough to merit committing Gbagbo for trial.

Hundreds of people were kidnapped and killed in a crackdown by Gbagbo's forces following last year's contested election, sparking a war that only ended when Ouattara's French-backed rebel forces captured Gbagbo in April.

But Ouattara's forces were also behind some of the atrocities, including rapes and executions, as they swept toward the coast from their northern stronghold.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.