THE

PELEPEACEMEDALInspired by the 1000th goal scored bythe greatest ever football player: Pelé.A goal he dedicated to the children of

Brazil and the world.

Success is no accident.It is hard work,

perseverance, learning,studying, sacrifice and,most of all, love of what

you are doingor learning to do.

Pelé

© Mullan Creative Concepts, 11 Hillsbrook Crescent, Perrystown, Dublin 12, IrelandTel: (01) 455 5453 • Mobile: 087 238 9341 • Email: dbmullan@eircom.net

Partners:

PELE1000th

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THE

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Pelé was born in Três Corações(Three Hearts), Minas Gerais, Brazil on23 October 1940. He was christenedEdson Arantes do Nascimento. It is not known where the nicknamePelé came from. The nearest word inany language is the Irish peile, whichmeans football. It is possible that anIrish person working or travelling inBrazil saw Edson play football and,recognising his talent, called him‘Pelé’. No one knows for sure.

Pelé’s family moved to the town of Bauru, SaoPaulo, when he was a young boy. Pelé and hisfriends could not afford a proper football andsometimes played with a sock stuffed withnewspaper and tied with string, or a grapefruit.

In 1954, aged 14, Pelé joined Bauru Athletic Clubjuniors. From there, his rise to fame wasmeteoric. By 1958 he had won the World Cupwith Brazil. A feat he repeated in 1962 and in1970, making him the only footballer to win threeWorld Cup medals.

In the 1960s and 70s Pele travelled the worldwith his club and country, entertaining hugecrowds with his magical talent. His reputationwas so great that combatants in the NigerianCivil War declared a two-day truce in 1967 sothat both sides could enter the city of Lagos towatch him play in the national stadium!

The International Olympics Committee namedPelé ‘Athlete of the 20th Century’ and theInternational Federation of Football History andStatistics named him ‘Footballer of the 20thCentury’.

“Every child around the world who plays soccer wants tobe Pelé. I have a great responsibilityto show them not just how to be likea soccer player, but how to be like aman.”

“All of a sudden I was surrounded by a huge crowd of journalists andreporters. They put their microphones in myface and I dedicated the goal to the children...I said we needed to look after the criancinhas,the little children. Then I cried. I was put onsomeone’s shoulders and I held the ball uphigh. Play stopped for twenty minutes as Idid a lap of the pitch.”

Success brings responsibility and Pelé knew hehad to strive to be a good role model:

Pelé decided to use his status to bring attentionto the plight of poor children. He knew fromexperience their vulnerability to hunger, sicknessand the allure of crime, and he wanted to helpimprove their lives.

As the likelihood of Pelé scoring his 1000th goalapproached, excitement spread across theBrazilian nation and beyond. Pelé recognisedthat this event would be an ideal opportunity tomake a statement that would focus attention onchild poverty and health.

On 19 November 1969 the Maracanã Stadiumin Rio de Janeiro was packed to capacity for agame between Santos F.C. and Vasco daGama F.C. Both sets of supporters eagerlyanticipated ‘O Milésimo’ – The Thousandth.When the referee awarded Santos a penalty,Pelé stepped forward. Brazilian televisionstations interrupted transmissions to go live tothe match. The ball hit the back of the net,firecrackers exploded around the stadium anda fiesta erupted across the nation.

Decades later Pelé recalled:

Pelé’s 1000th goal was by no means his mostspectacular, but it has become, without doubt,his most influential.

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The largest children’s hospital in Latin America isthe Hospital Pequeno Príncipe (the Little PrinceHospital) in the Brazilian city of Curitiba. TheLittle Prince Complex is a non-profit medicalinstitution comprising the Little Prince Hospital,the Little Prince Institute of Graduate Studies andthe Pelé Little Prince Research Institute.

The hospital assists children from all over Braziland neighbouring countries in more than 30medical specialities. Annually, the hospitaldeals with 260,000 outpatients, 24,000admissions and 16,000 surgeries. 70% of thehospital capacity is devoted to patients comingfrom poor families.

To improve diagnostic care, the hospital neededto establish a dedicated on-site medical researchcentre. Pelé agreed to assist and, in September2005, the Pelé Little Prince Research Institute(Instituto de Pesquisa Pelé) was established. “It is,” Pelé declared at its opening, “theaccomplishment of a dream that started in 1969.”

With Pelé’s name and prestige behind it, theinstitute aims to become one of the world’sleading research centres in combatingchildren’s diseases. This goal requires it toraise one million euro every year. This is justone of the Goals for Life that Pelé wants toshare with the world. Through the Pelé PeaceMedal, he invites young people to join him insupporting the important work of the Little Prince Hospital and other children’s hospitalsacross the globe.

www.hpp.org.br

The first hospital in the world to twin with theLittle Prince Hospital is Ireland’s NationalChildren’s Hospital (NCH) at Tallaght Hospital,Dublin. Established in 1821 the NationalChildren’s Hospital is the second oldestchildren’s hospital in Europe. One of its earlystudents, Dr. Charles West (1816-1898) wasinspired to found in 1852, the world renownedGreat Ormond Street Hospital for Children,London.

The National Children’s Hospital providesemergency and elective paediatric care for alocal population of 400,000 and specialityservices for the region. A total of 65,000children and young people are treated andcared for at the NCH.

Specialising in illnesses that are common inchildhood, such as, asthma, diabetes and –increasingly – obesity, an integrated teamapproach underpins clinical services, educationand research at NCH.

The Discipline of Paediatrics in the Hospital iscomprised of well established internationallyrecognised specialities in Endocrinology,Respiratory Medicine, Surgery, EmergencyMedicine, Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,General and Community Paediatrics andDisability, Cardiology and Neurology. There arealso active departments of Laboratory Medicineand Radiology.

www.thenationalchildrenshospital.ie

The National Children’s HospitalTallaght

The Little PrinceHospital

The Pelé Credo encourages young people to aspire:

To be Peacemakers at home and abroad;

To be proactive in protecting the Earth’s fragile Environment;

To make Love the most powerful and transformative force onEarth through the Children’s Hospitals we are supporting;

and

To strengthen these commitments by adopting a healthy andactive lifestyle, the fruit of which is Énergy – the Joy of Life.

To help Pelé accomplish the dream he expressed in 1969through the dedication of his 1000th goal to the children of Braziland the world, participating schools, clubs and groups,comprising a minimum of 20 pupils or members, are each askedto raise at least €1000.

RequirementsTo be awarded the medal and certificate, each young person must:

1. Take action to achieve at least one of the goals inPelé’s Credo.

2. Raise at least €50 for medical research at the PeléLittle Prince Research Institute, and for children’smedical care at the National Children’s Hospital,Tallaght.

3. Write a letter to Pelé about their involvement in the PeléPeace Medal project and what they have learned from it.

Each medal is numbered, and a list of all recipients will bekept as part of a Pelé legacy archive at the Little PrinceHospital, Curitiba, Brazil. The letters written to Pelé will alsoform part of the archive.

The Pelé Peace Medaland Certificate ofCommendation will beawarded to youngpeople who generouslysupport the work of theLittle Prince Hospitaland a partneringchildren’s hospital intheir own country, andwho commit to fourimportant goals for life:

The Pelé Peace Medal was launched in Dublin, Ireland, on 4 March 2013 at the National Children’s Hospital. Dr. JoséÁlvaro da Silva Carneiro, Chief Executive of the Little PrinceHospital Complex, travelled from Brazil for the occasion andsaid:

“It is a privilege to partner with the National Children’s Hospital of Irelandthrough the Pelé Peace Medal and we hope it will be a long association thatenables our combined intelligence and technical skills improve and developour delivery of world-class healthcare to the children of Ireland, Brazil andthe world. Our patron, Pelé, has asked me to thank the young people ofIreland for their wonderful generosity in pioneering this initiative.”

Welcoming the Tallaght Hospital partnership with the Pelé PeaceMedal, the Chief Executive of Tallaght Hospital, EilíshHardiman, said:

“We are delighted to be involved in such an inspirational initiative thatdraws on the innate generosity, goodwill and energy of young peoplethroughout Ireland and which channels this so positively to benefit theNational Children’s Hospital at Tallaght Hospital and the Little Prince’sHospital in Brazil. The PELÉ Peace Medal is a wonderful concept whichwe hope will grow awareness and enhance our young people’s sense ofconnection with the important paediatric care carried out at both hospitals.”

The European Ambassador of the Little Prince Hospital, andconcept developer of the Pelé Peace Medal, Don Mullan,said:

“The decision to dedicate his 1000th goal in 1969 to the “criancinhas”was a very deliberate and carefully thought-through decision by Pelé.It was not an on the spur of the moment idea, aimed at improving his image before the media. As a young footballer Pelé had travelled throughout Brazil and the world and recognised the vulnerability of children, especially in areas of poverty, hunger and conflict. The Pelé Peace Medal aims to immortalise Pelé’s dedication – now – and for generations to come – in support of nurses, doctors and hospital staff who dedicate their lives to the children of the world.”

Further Details:

Schools and groups interested in participating in the PelePeace Medal Project to benefit the Little Prince Hospital andthe National Children’s Hospital should contact the following:

Don Mullan: dbmullan@eircom.netMadeline O’ Neill: Madeline.oneill@amnch.ie

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PELE

: Peace

: Environment

: Love

: Energy

Pelé Peace Medal Launch