Sometimes, being on top of the world is just a dream away. Last January, we showed you how this fantastic group of Egyptian kids were striving to qualify for the Street Child World Cup and head to Brazil. 5 months later, with gigantic smiles and endless memories, they’re back.
Representing the only Arab nation to make it to the cup, these 11 Egyptian children got to travel to the capital of Samba and compete against 19 other countries including US, Brazil, Nicaragua, Argentina and Indonesia, who took the cup back home. Karim Hosny, coach and organizer of the team, shared their journey with the BarakaBits team.
How did the kids experience the trip?
The experience was super, the children were in such a state of ecstasy for the first days that we had to get more strict because they were out of control. Getting on a plane, going to a new country, meeting all this people, it all transformed their lives. There was a lovely vibe surrounded by football
Coming back to the harsh realities of Cairo streets, how does this experience impact their lives?
It’s a real transformation because it gave them hope by seeing that there is something to work and try for. It was also important because it helps erasing their bad memories. Now when they look back, they have this journey to remember and feel better.
Tell me about a moment you will always remember with a smile.
Each moment was more beautiful than the other, but there are particularly 30 seconds I will never forget: Our last match was with Indonesia, a very strong team. It was our last game, everyone was there, all the supporters, all the volunteers, the three NGOs, and Brazilians who had been in Egypt. It was an atmosphere I will never forget: everyone was supporting and cheering in harmony, singing in Arabic and Brazilian portuguese.
And after coming back?
The children are still living on the momentum. We started training again two weeks ago and yesterday new children came to training inspired by them, as they became an example of hope to the other children in the shelters. Going forward, we have different plans: we will keep training the team that went to Brazil to turn them into role models and direct them towards positive objectives in their lives. The second objective is to prepare a team for Moscow 2018 through a league including some of the 23 NGOS dealing with street children in Egypt.
For more information — Street Child World Cup Egypt‘s Facebook Page