Street kids stage their own W. Cup in Durban
Mar 21, 2010
DURBAN - Wearing jerseys in national colours, football teams from eight countries face off on a South African pitch, in full World Cup fervour. But in this tournament, the players are all street kids.
DURBAN - Wearing jerseys in national colours, football teams from eight countries face off on a South African pitch, in full World Cup fervour. But in this tournament, the players are all street kids.
Child welfare groups from across the globe brought to Durban teams from Brazil, England, India, Nicaragua, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and Ukraine.
It’s the first event of its kind, aiming to grab the football spotlight to give the children a platform to speak about the poverty and violence they face on the streets.
“I represent most of the kids who are on the streets. Because, us street kids, our voice is not heard amongst the people so, we are trying to do that,†said Ashley Vincent, on the South African team.
He ran away from his family in Johannesburg and made his way to Durban’s warm coast, where he begs on the sidewalks to survive.
In Durban, street kids complain that police regularly round them up and take them to a poorly equipped centre outside the city.
“They’re rounding up kids every single day because of 2010,†said Tom Hewitt, founder of Umthombo, a group that works with street kids in Durban.
Police deny that they’re targetting the estimated 400 street kids in Durban to clean up the city for the World Cup, but say they do intervene when they receive complaints.
The teams are competing on a school campus in downtown Durban, with vuvuzela trumpets blowing in stands filled with wigs and faces painted in national colours. The tournament wraps up Sunday with a final and trophy for the winner.
During the FIFA World Cup, organisers of the children’s event will set up a surveillance system to reduce the risk of street kids facing abuse.
Child welfare groups from across the globe brought to Durban teams from Brazil, England, India, Nicaragua, Philippines, South Africa, Tanzania and Ukraine.
It’s the first event of its kind, aiming to grab the football spotlight to give the children a platform to speak about the poverty and violence they face on the streets.
“I represent most of the kids who are on the streets. Because, us street kids, our voice is not heard amongst the people so, we are trying to do that,†said Ashley Vincent, on the South African team.
He ran away from his family in Johannesburg and made his way to Durban’s warm coast, where he begs on the sidewalks to survive.
In Durban, street kids complain that police regularly round them up and take them to a poorly equipped centre outside the city.
“They’re rounding up kids every single day because of 2010,†said Tom Hewitt, founder of Umthombo, a group that works with street kids in Durban.
Police deny that they’re targetting the estimated 400 street kids in Durban to clean up the city for the World Cup, but say they do intervene when they receive complaints.
The teams are competing on a school campus in downtown Durban, with vuvuzela trumpets blowing in stands filled with wigs and faces painted in national colours. The tournament wraps up Sunday with a final and trophy for the winner.
During the FIFA World Cup, organisers of the children’s event will set up a surveillance system to reduce the risk of street kids facing abuse.