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.
Filed Under: Justice Issues Feed
