Exemplary teenager rewarded for showing kindness at school

Dylan Caruana, 14, sat beside his proud parents and beaming best friend as the President described him as "an example for today's and tomorrow's teens".

Swallowed up by the grandeur of the President's Palace, in Valletta, Dylan shyly looks down. His best friend, Saviour Pace, has Down's syndrome and there is no hiding that the friendship between them is a special one from the boy's genuine smile. So special, it won Dylan the Peace Lab's 2010 Pope John XXIII Award for Kindness.

The boys' friendship kicked off in Form 3, when they were in class together at St Michael's School. Throughout the years, Dylan helped Saviour, 15, during lessons and even defended him from bullying.

In his speech, President George Abela said Dylan's good deeds should serve as an example to all. "A man is whole when he not only thinks of those who are close to him but also those who are an integral part of the community," he said.

Malta should be proud that its families were capable of producing children with values such as Dylan's, Dr Abela said, noting also that it was refreshing to see a boy winning the prize after many years of the winners being girls.

Dylan stood out from the rest of the boys because of his extraordinary kindness, St Michael's headmaster Raymond D'Amato said. "He is not only kind to Saviour but to everyone in the school and none of this gets in the way of his studies. He's an all-rounder, fantastic at school and good at sports, especially football," he said.

The secondary school, run by the Christian doctrine society MUSEUM, has 25 students with special needs and Mr D'Amato proudly noted that many students like Dylan showed remarkable kindness when helping these boys.

Peace Lab founder Fr Dionysius Mintoff urged educators to reintroduce books in schools based on role models such as Mahatma Ghandi and Nelson Mandela, and appealed to lawmakers to ensure separation cases in court did not go on forever at the child's expense.

This is the 47th year running that the Peace Lab has awarded an adolescent for kindness.