A PROPOSED SOCCER TOUR TO THE UNITED KINGDOM - CAN YOU HELP?
Many of the boys are absolutely passionate about soccer.
It is the one thing they are willing to leave the street
for! Our Street Worker, Gerald Jacobs, has long had the
dream of taking a team to the U.K. The objectives of the
tour are:
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To promote leadership potential and standards
of excellence for the children, using soccer as a tool. |
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To expose children to other cultures,
and enable children from different cultures to participate
in exchanging information and learning from each other. |
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To showcase South Africa ahead of the
2010 World Cup by highlighting the country's cultural
and sporting wealth. |
Street Children have low self-esteem as a result of their
negative life experiences. However, they are resilient children
with a strong desire to survive and become somebody. In
order to harness their talents and self-worth, their positive
behaviour must be rewarded with praise. There is a group
of boys currently in the Shelter who are passionate about
soccer. This passion is keeping them off the streets and
in our projects.
With the 2010 World Cup in South Africa fast approaching
and the spotlight being on Africa, this initiative was born
to embrace our shortcomings as a nation by highlighting
our strengths through one of the most marginalised groups
in our society. Using the universal language of soccer,
it is our intention to visit schools and clubs in the U.K.
to share in the benefits of cultural exchange. This will
include an exchange of artwork, gumboot dancing, interactive
workshops and a video depicting life in the communities
of Cape Town.
The boys will be proud ambassadors representing their country
and communities, as well as role models to those children
still on the streets in South Africa. Children in the U.K.
can learn about the very different lives of boys in our
new democracy where poverty remains a huge obstacle.
We aim to empower the boys to become soccer coaches in the
future and give back to their communities. They will also
have exposure to Life Skills coaching at a later date. The
experience over the next year hopes to develop self worth
and make headway for personal growth in every area of their
lives.
We are very lucky to have a volunteer in the U.K., Michelle
Potter, who is just as passionate about this dream as Gerald!
She has secured the support of Harrodian School to host
the boys for a few days, and Manchester United have agreed
to have a charity match with the boys - the proceeds of
which will be donated to UNICEF. Michelle is working hard
on raising funds to provide for the boys needs whilst in
the U.K.
We still need to secure the airfares before this dream can
become a reality. If anyone is able to sponsor one airfare
at about R5,000 we can begin to develop the dream into a
reality for the middle of 2006.
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