Humanitarian log diary: Rossella Ferrara

Journey log from Rossella Ferrara

S.O.Solidarietà Volounteer

Several times I have been asked, why bring sport to places where basic needs, such as eating, drinking, dressing, taking care of oneself, are not satisfied, at least not for many and not always.

I've often wondered about this too.

Why teach them the technique of running, jumping, flipping, throwing or grabbing or the importance of rules in games?

Why let children experience the difference between handball and basketball if they may have just have a ragball to kick and play with?

Why show videos of the Olympics or athletes from different sports acclaimed by a passionate audience to young people who do not work, nor have effective prospects in their future? Why push them to dream and desire a world where play, competition, victories, defeats, teamwork, willpower, sacrifice, commitment, emotions are its daily bread, despite the fact that it is often difficult for them to have something to eat?

I asked myself this question, and I found my answers in the eyes of the hundreds of children without shoes that I saw running, in the small hands that they squeezed, greedy for joy, coloured balls never seen before, in the enthusiastic words of the young people who discovered themselves as possible educators for the little ones, in the smiles of those who played but also of those who simply observed hundreds of children and young people having fun but also committing themselves seriously.

Many young people in Nigeria and many parts of Africa are unable to finish their education or get a job. They return to their communities often deprived of their freedom, hungry and bored, situations that can lead them to slip into a life of crime or push them to embark on the so-called "journeys of hope" or even worse lead them to succumb.

What is missing, in so much of Africa, are not only basic necessities but also the possibility of dreaming and imagining a different future.

I have always believed in the high educational value of sport, in its ability to promote goodwill, build relationships, overcome divisions and exploit the natural competitive spirit of youth, but here on these dusty or muddy fields I have seen another of its characteristics materialise, the ability to make people dream.

Entertainment, group activities, the chance for young people to show their physical aptitude, the idea that this can one day become a source of income, lays the foundations for a more child-friendly world and provides a new perspective for young people.

For all these reasons, we carry on our sporting project with enthusiasm and conviction, despite the numerous difficulties and the long road ahead of us to achieve the goals we have set ourselves.

So, for the second year, in July, Ngugo, a village in the vast rural area of Imo-State in Nigeria, came alive with laughter, sweat, games, competitions and more than 250 children and young people.

About 30 volunteers made it possible to create a training course for young sports educators, a sports camp for more than 200 children and young people aged 5 to 16, and three days of Mini-Olympics.

The activities took place at the sports facilities built by S.O.Solidarietà inside the Convent of the Sisters of the Precious Blood, with whom the association has always collaborated, and were managed by our Italian volunteers, supported by the volunteers of FLEP CLUB, a Nigerian Association that assists and supports us in numerous projects.

The strength and at the same time the challenge of this project is the possibility of practising sport all year round, training local educators who take care of young athletes, also creating a job prospect and beginning, in small steps, to build a better future in their land.

Rossella Ferrara