Letters from Africa: Hope Through Soccer
On Saturday the final game of a 13 team, 52 game, soccer tournament was held in the midst of a grand ceremony. This tournament was a dream of our partner in Northern Uganda who saw young men being idle in their villages unsure of how to fill their time and lacking hope after 10 plus years in IDP camps (internally displaced people camps). Yes, stability is returning to the region, safety is the norm rather than the sacred, and villages are being rebuilt. But the rebuilding of a village is easier done on paper than in reality, and hope is a magical tool. And so our partner dreamt up and created a soccer tournament where they fund uniforms and soccer balls, and there were prizes of bulls and goats to eat, and a beautiful trophy for the winner to display. Participation required the building of latrines and hand washing locations, and soccer scores included community transformation in terms of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and half-times are filled with song and dance about WASH created and performed by the players. I could never come up with a plan so brilliant--not in my most wild imagination.
The day of ceremonies included a parade of the players through town, demonstrations of latrines, washing stations, and hand pumps. Officials present included not only local and regional officials, but also the Minster of Water and Environment of Uganda; she was impressed by what she saw. The final soccer game was exciting and demonstrated the impressive skills of the players. The song and dance were both beautiful and inspiring.
As we visited communities in the two days following the ceremony, we saw transformation beginning in communities. We saw biosand filters and hand pumps and hand washing stations and dish racks. We saw hope and we saw soccer players filled with ownership of their program. One year. This program has only been running for one year and already the impact is tangible. In the coming years the program will grow--the hope is 60 teams within three years.
I wish I could capture these events for you. Smiling women. Laughing children. Welcoming men. Stories of triumph and a sense of pride. Over it all, hope. I wish you could have joined me on a soccer field in Northern Uganda for a day of celebration.
-Pamela Crane
Pamela serves as Blood:Water's Water Project Manger and recently returned from visiting our partners and communities in Uganda, Rwanda, and Kenya.
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