Friday, September 23, 2011
Anna Bachand: Soccer in Kibera
Soccer in Kibera by Anna K. Bachand
When we think of Africa, we do not usually picture slums and children playing soccer in the streets. What if I was to tell you that when the children play soccer, they are actually getting the opportunity to learn valuable life skills, help out their communities, and get an education? Would you believe me? How is one sport, soccer, helping to shape the youth of Kibera, to try and change the future for the better?
In Kibera, a slum in Kenya, once a month there is a slum wide clean up thanks to the local soccer league started by CFK. One of the co-founders of CFK, Rye Barcott, later writes a book entitled It happened on the way to war, and in the memoir he talks about the children of Kibera playing soccer. It meant so much to him that he helped Salim start a new soccer league where anyone can join. This particular soccer (futbol) league has some rules that the youth must play by if they want to compete in the monthly soccer tournament. “The soccer players, who range in age from 10 to 17, must perform the trash pickup before playing in the month’s tournament” (Pick up Games 1). By making the children in Kibera complete “Pick-Up Games”, cleaning up garbage before tournaments, then they are taught to work for something they love.
Another way that soccer is helping to shape the youth of Kibera is by giving them a goal to look forward to in the future. When the children look to see the pro soccer players that come out of Kibera, they are given something to strive for. “When you’re playing futbol, there’s this confidence that comes from deep inside you” (Kutchma). Playing soccer gives these children something to be proud about and to help them make better choices to lead them towards a better life. Soccer is a group sport, meaning that they get to interact with many different types of people. Also, most of the leagues are led by role models that will lead these children onto the path of greatness. Looking up to the role models makes the kids want to play better and do better. Soccer gives them an internal power that makes them want to get better at soccer and play harder and study harder.
Soccer is also important for learning valuable life lessons such as: teamwork, hard work and perseverance. When playing soccer, teamwork is important. You have to be able to trust your teammates and, then again, earn their trust in return. Trust is not easy to come by when living in a slum, but when you spend every day with the same group of people and play eat live with them, trust becomes something easier to come by (“Chasing the Mad Lion”). Hard work is also important because when you work for something, victory is that much sweeter. Victory can make the kids try harder to achieve their goals. Perseverance is also a good trait for the children of Kibera to learn early on, because when they learn to stop at nothing short of reaching their goals, then their future looks bright.
Soccer is working well for the youth of Kibera. Who would have thought that this one sport could change the course of a child’s life? By giving children a safe environment where they can be well cared for, learn to achieve their goals and learn valuable life lessons, soccer has given new hope to Kibera (CFK). Soccer is just one sport…think about if we incorporated other sports into Kibera, we could get more children off the street and into the hands of trustworthy people.
Bibliography
Works Cited
Barcott, Rye, and Salim Mohamed, comps. "Pick-Up Games." The Face of Philanthropy. 08 Aug. 2002. Web. 07 Sept. 2011.
Barcott, Rye. It Happened on the Way to War: a Marine's Path to Peace. New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2011. Print.
Barcott, Rye, Tabitha Festo, and Salim Mohamed. CFK | Talent Is Universal, Opportunity Is Not. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
Kassim/ KGSA Founder & Executive Director, Abdul, and Ryan Sarafolean/KGSA U.S. Development Director. Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, Nairobi, Kenya. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011..
Kutchma, Beth-Ann. "Chasing the Mad Lion." Chasing the Mad Lion | Talent Is Universal; Opportunity Is Not. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
When we think of Africa, we do not usually picture slums and children playing soccer in the streets. What if I was to tell you that when the children play soccer, they are actually getting the opportunity to learn valuable life skills, help out their communities, and get an education? Would you believe me? How is one sport, soccer, helping to shape the youth of Kibera, to try and change the future for the better?
In Kibera, a slum in Kenya, once a month there is a slum wide clean up thanks to the local soccer league started by CFK. One of the co-founders of CFK, Rye Barcott, later writes a book entitled It happened on the way to war, and in the memoir he talks about the children of Kibera playing soccer. It meant so much to him that he helped Salim start a new soccer league where anyone can join. This particular soccer (futbol) league has some rules that the youth must play by if they want to compete in the monthly soccer tournament. “The soccer players, who range in age from 10 to 17, must perform the trash pickup before playing in the month’s tournament” (Pick up Games 1). By making the children in Kibera complete “Pick-Up Games”, cleaning up garbage before tournaments, then they are taught to work for something they love.
Another way that soccer is helping to shape the youth of Kibera is by giving them a goal to look forward to in the future. When the children look to see the pro soccer players that come out of Kibera, they are given something to strive for. “When you’re playing futbol, there’s this confidence that comes from deep inside you” (Kutchma). Playing soccer gives these children something to be proud about and to help them make better choices to lead them towards a better life. Soccer is a group sport, meaning that they get to interact with many different types of people. Also, most of the leagues are led by role models that will lead these children onto the path of greatness. Looking up to the role models makes the kids want to play better and do better. Soccer gives them an internal power that makes them want to get better at soccer and play harder and study harder.
Soccer is also important for learning valuable life lessons such as: teamwork, hard work and perseverance. When playing soccer, teamwork is important. You have to be able to trust your teammates and, then again, earn their trust in return. Trust is not easy to come by when living in a slum, but when you spend every day with the same group of people and play eat live with them, trust becomes something easier to come by (“Chasing the Mad Lion”). Hard work is also important because when you work for something, victory is that much sweeter. Victory can make the kids try harder to achieve their goals. Perseverance is also a good trait for the children of Kibera to learn early on, because when they learn to stop at nothing short of reaching their goals, then their future looks bright.
Soccer is working well for the youth of Kibera. Who would have thought that this one sport could change the course of a child’s life? By giving children a safe environment where they can be well cared for, learn to achieve their goals and learn valuable life lessons, soccer has given new hope to Kibera (CFK). Soccer is just one sport…think about if we incorporated other sports into Kibera, we could get more children off the street and into the hands of trustworthy people.
Bibliography
Works Cited
Barcott, Rye, and Salim Mohamed, comps. "Pick-Up Games." The Face of Philanthropy. 08 Aug. 2002. Web. 07 Sept. 2011.
Barcott, Rye. It Happened on the Way to War: a Marine's Path to Peace. New York: Bloomsbury USA, 2011. Print.
Barcott, Rye, Tabitha Festo, and Salim Mohamed. CFK | Talent Is Universal, Opportunity Is Not. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
Kassim/ KGSA Founder & Executive Director, Abdul, and Ryan Sarafolean/KGSA U.S. Development Director. Kibera Girls Soccer Academy, Nairobi, Kenya. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
Kutchma, Beth-Ann. "Chasing the Mad Lion." Chasing the Mad Lion | Talent Is Universal; Opportunity Is Not. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011.
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