ANGOLA - May '07

 

"Replacing bombs with balls" - to read a report from the team that were out in Angola, click here

Why Angola? Angola has suffered from almost 30years of civil war. But now there is peace and they have the chance to re-build. 

As great parts of the country become cleared of the debris of war such as landmines, there is now a real chance for the kids to be kids again. To run around and play. Football can not just serve as a symbolic gesture of a return to normality, but through the schools it can be used to encourage children back into education.
The truth is that there is still great inequality in the distribution of wealth in Angola, and despite its large reserves of natural resources such as oil, the kids in the rural parts are some of the most disadvantaged in the world. It’s not their fault that civil war gripped the country for almost all their lives. 

The facts make pretty harsh reading:

  • 4 million people displaced from their homes
  • 100,000 children separated from families
  • 750,000 children lost one/both parents

  • 60% of the population are children

But children are children irrespective of the circumstances in which they find themselves. Like most kids they're mad about football and love nothing more than a kick about with their mates – only they have to use homemade balls made from bits of plastic bags tied together with string. 

By giving away as many footballs as we did (over 3,000) to so many schools, many of which were newly established, we can do our bit to help them increase attendance and performance. At the moment over 50% of Angola’s children don’t go to school.

We know we can make a real difference to the kids of Angola, by providing them with some much needed fun as well as a strong incentive to go to school. So simple yet so effective.

We have now delivered  our container for Angola, but don't let that stop you from giving balls for our next projects, which we hope to take place in Zambia, Nicaragua and more countries across the world.

So join in and click here to give a ball.