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Six weeks ago I was staring at my laptop’s screen. The listing for World Cup volunteers seemed to reach out and grab me, pulling me toward an impossible dream. But I couldn’t go. Could I? Family. Money. Time. Work. Initially, all seemed like impassable obstacles. But with some personal persistence, creativity and A LOT of generosity from friends and family, today I find myself sitting in San Francisco’s international terminal. I am awaiting a flight to Dubai, the first leg of my 39-hour airport endurance test. The final destination: Cape Town, the World Cup and the experience of a lifetime.
For the next two months my friend Nick Barisone and I will be writing stories that document our travels across South Africa and our work with Grassroot Soccer (GRS), an organization dedicated to “using the power of soccer in the fight against HIV and AIDS.” GRS manages the new Football for Hope Center in Khayelitsha Township and will also be running a number of holiday programs that offer youth across South Africa the opportunity to engage in positive, healthy activities during the World Cup. Our role will be to support their programs whenever possible and to share pictures, videos, and narratives of the inspiring moments we encounter along the way…I don’t think we will have any trouble finding material to write about.
We’d like this blog to be about much more than our limited perspective though. We’ll be doing our best to collect stories from other organizations, events and people showcasing the creative ways that soccer is being used to promote positive social change. We’ll be focusing on the World Cup but we are open to anything. Please send us your thoughts and stories! Post to the comments section or email us at soccereffect@gmail.com with anything you’d like to share.
We hope you will join us for this amazing journey!
