what if? soccer could change a slum
Below is a message from one of our Partners for Care staff in Kenya, John Wang' Ombe. PFC is using GoFundMe to help our team in Kenya raise funds for their life-saving programs on the ground. I hope you'll choose to partner with John in transforming the lives of kids in slums through soccer!
My name is John Wang'
Ombe. I live in Marurui, Kenya and work
in Marurui Slum. I am trying to help 20 young boys who live in the slum to transform their lives through soccer.
I've organized a soccer team --- the team's name is "what if?" I use
the slogan "what if?" to ask the question: what if kids who grow up in a slum really could fulfill their
hopes and dreams? What if they could
transform their lives, their families, their communities?
Living in a slum is very
difficult. Most the team members live in
shanties that are little more than shacks with no running water. There are no streets in the slum, only dirt footpaths. Disease is very prevalent; waterborne
illnesses, malaria, etc. Life is hard
for these boys. Most of them come from
families who can't afford the school fees necessary to attend high school
and with unemployment so high, life often seems hopeless.
But soccer changes
things! Playing on a team gives the boys
a sense of purpose. And even though we
don't have real soccer fields to play on (our fields are mostly dirt and rocks,
no grass), that doesn't stop these kids from playing with great enthusiasm. Soccer represents the opportunity to be an
important part of a team, a chance to forget for a while the hardships of life.
These boys play hard and practice twice a day. They attend a free
school called 2nd Chance where they hope to someday pass the
national exams required to received their high school certificate. They are role models for other young people
in the slum.
Would you help me help
them? They need soccer cleats and
balls; theirs are ragged and worn out!
Thank you for helping me to
help them.
John Wang' Ombe
Partners for Care, Kenya
