Adi Roche | |
|---|---|
 Roche in 2024 | |
| Born | (1955-07-11)11 July 1955 (age 70) Clonmel,County Tipperary, Ireland |
| Occupation | CEO of Chernobyl Children International |
| Organisation | Chernobyl Children International |
| Political party | Independent of all political parties. |
| Spouse | Seán Dunne(m. 1977) |
| Website | Official website |
Adi Marie Roche (born 11 July 1955) is an Irish activist,anti-nuclear advocate, and campaigner for peace,humanitarian aid and education. She founded and is CEO ofChernobyl Children's Project International. She has focused on the relief of suffering experienced by children in the wake of the 1986Chernobyl nuclear disaster. She was an unsuccessful candidate in the1997 Irish presidential election.
Adi Roche was born inClonmel,County Tipperary in 1955. After finishing secondary school, she went to work forAer Lingus.[1] She left in 1984 to work full-time as a volunteer for theIrish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. She devised a Peace Education Programme and delivered it in over fifty schools throughout Ireland. In 1990, she became the first Irish woman elected to the board of directors of theInternational Peace Bureau at theUnited Nations inGeneva.[2]
In 1991, Roche founded theChernobyl Children International, to provide aid to the children ofBelarus, Western Russia andUkraine following theChernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986.[1] The organisation works in the areas of international development as well as medical and humanitarian aid. It works with children and families who continue to be affected by the disaster.[3]
Under Roche's leadership, Chernobyl Children International (CCI) claims to have delivered over €105 million to the areas most affected by the Chernobyl disaster and has also claimed that it had enabled over 25,500 children affected by the disaster to come toIreland for vital medical treatment and recuperation.[4][better source needed] CCI has expanded its scope to a variety of healthcare-focused missions in Belarus, including building independent living homes for mentally disabled children, founding the country's first baby hospice, and pioneering an adoption agreement between Ireland and Belarus.
Roche launched an exhibition of the Chernobyl disaster for the 15th Anniversary of the nuclear accident in theUN Headquarters in New York in 2001. The Chernobyl legacy was demonstrated through digital imagery, photographs and sculpture. EntitledBlack Wind, White Land, the exhibition was a month-long, cross-cultural event featuring the works of artists who depicted the suffering caused by the disaster. It was deemed an outstanding success by the UN and had its European Premiere in Dublin in 2002.[5]
She continues to work with the United Nations to highlight the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. Over the last decade she has contributed to UN-sponsored conferences and symposia on the fallout of Chernobyl. She has addressed Ambassadors to the UN General Assembly, theUNESCO conference on Chernobyl, and theManchester International Peace Festival. Roche has provided advice and suggestions to the UN Needs Assessment Mission and has made several submissions on how NGOs could best be helped in their attempts to deliver humanitarian aid to the most affected areas inBelarus,Ukraine and westernRussia.
In July 2003, she was the keynote speaker at the launch of the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN) inGeneva,Switzerland. The ICRIN is am initiative joint-sponsored by the UN and the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation. Roche was appointed to represent NGOs on the Steering Committee of the ICRIN.
To mark the 18th Anniversary of the tragedy in April 2004, Roche was invited to speak at theUN General Assembly at their headquarters in New York and to screen the Oscar award-winning documentaryChernobyl Heart. In 2004, Chernobyl Children International received official NGO status by the U.N.[6] She was also invited by the UNDP to sit on their organising committee, and act as the keynote speaker at the International Chernobyl Conference which was held inMinsk in April 2006 (to mark the 20th Anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster).
On 26 April 2016, the 30th anniversary of theChernobyl disaster, Roche made a landmark address to theUnited Nations General Assembly inNew York. In an unprecedented move, the Belarusian UN delegation provided her with their speaking time at the General Assembly discussion on Chernobyl in recognition of the international role Ireland and Chernobyl Children International has played in helping the victims of the Chernobyl catastrophe. It was the first time an ordinary person (non-diplomat/non-political figure) was extended the honour of speaking at the UN General Assembly during a country's allocated time.
Roche was awarded the European Woman Laureate Award following the release of the documentary filmBlack Wind, White Land (1993) which highlighted the Chernobyl children's suffering. In the same year she received the title of Ireland's Person of the Year.[2]
In 1997, Roche receivedTipperary International Peace Award,[7] described as "Ireland's outstanding award for humanitarian work".[8]
In 2007, Roche won theRobert Burns Humanitarian Award.
In 2010, Roche received the World of Children Health Award. Since then, Chernobyl Children International has saved the lives of thousands of children born withcongenital heart defects.
In 2015, Roche was named a World of Children Alumni Award Honoree, for the "incredible impact she continues to have in the lives of the children of the Chernobyl region".
Also in 2015, Roche won the Princess Grace Humanitarian Award.[9][6]
In 2020, Roche was awarded theAhmadiyya Muslim Peace Prize "for her tireless efforts in advocating for nuclear disarmament and supporting victims of the Chernobyl disaster". The award was only presented to Roche in 2024, due to complications arising from theCOVID-19 pandemic and theRussian invasion of Ukraine.[10]
Roche stood for the office ofPresident of Ireland at the1997 presidential election nominated byLabour Party,Democratic Left and theGreen Party.[15]
Roche came fourth out of five candidates with almost 7% of the vote.[16]
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