Have some balls!

One year ago I travelled to Mozambique and met some amazing people in the town of Vilanculos. It is a small town of mostly fisherman and people who do arts and crafts besides trying anything to make some money. A lot of Europeans know it for it being a great diving and kiteboarding spot on the coast of the Indian Ocean. Overall it is probably one of the poorest places I have been to so far, with a lot of the locals living without running water and a really basic menu when it comes to food. Well, most of us should be quite aware, that conditions in a lot of African countries are beyond difficult and so I am not going into too much detail here about poverty and living conditions. Sadly this little fundraiser won't end this crisis either, I am afraid.

While I was in Vilanculos I met a guy called Helder and he and his friends invited me to come to the beach where they play football. Football is their form of entertainment and work out in the hours after work. Almost every day, in the late afternoon when the tide has gone out, some 30-40 boys and girls come together and draw one or two football fields into the sand, put up some wooden posts which they take from the fishing boats in order to have goals and so they start playing football for the rest of the day. When I was there I shot a photographic documentary about them which was published in Mundial Magazine last year.

A couple of days ago Helder with whom I had stayed in touch with, contacted me, telling me that they had run out of balls to play with. I was back here in Brazil, back to the daily life in São Paulo and so at first I did not understand the impact this had. I thought, it's just a football. I did not get at first. He told me they once joined their money and bought some balls in China but those did not last for long. A football, at least a good quality one which will last them some time actually is way to expensive for them. Playing there on the beach is how they come together to pass their time, spend time with their community and it is their workout. The sport brings together the people, takes the mind off certain problems for a while and makes life more livable.

So this is when I set out to help them with a small gesture. Sure, I could just buy two or three balls and send them over, which is what I will do anyhow, but I was wondering if we can do just a bit more. This small fundraiser I launched is for buying a couple of footballs for them, quality ones so that they might last. Also a couple of jerseys so they will be able to form teams, gloves and the postage which is quite hefty as well.

I am not looking for a huge amount of money and every dollar will help. I will definitely send them two or three balls but with your help we can make it worth while.

Cheers!