The value of people

The chain of people, the value of favours, the mixture of phrases that help us move forward.

"I surprised everyone with my speciality,
pasta salad, for Christmas dinner" 

Today, I want to talk about the people, people that are vital to me in India. New friends who make me laugh, friends that explain ancient Punjabi traditions or translate interesting conversations. They are my “Pajis”, a term meaning “big brothers”.

I’ll be honest, during the Christmas season, I missed family, friends, the turrones, the roscones, and of course, thought lots about Ti… However, I took refuge in the smile of the residents of the academy. Like me, they were far from their loved ones but did not understand the reason for my sadness.

Sunny Paji, is the president of Rurka Kalan, but also a great friend who wishes me a good morning everyday. He greets me with a genuine smile and asks me if I need anything. He is a friend who in the evening joins me for a stroll around the football field, talking and dreaming of great projects. He is the friend who invites me for dinner and speaks to me with trust.

Gurinder Sir, is the operations manager, but also the friend who makes me laugh in the office and patiently translates and explains anything I do not understand.

Prateek Chawla is the project and development manager. He is young and passionate about football. He is a friend who stays up late with me to watch live games. He’s always willing to learn and develop.

Gary Paji, is the star man, not because he has over 1 million followers on facebook, but because he is a friend that talks to me about the needs of his village.

Badhu Paji, speaks Spanish and teaches me Punjabi. He is a person that you could spend hours listening to his stories. Budhu, lived in Boliva for two years, and travelled around South and Central America for 18 months.

I would also like to mention, Biri Paji, my Punjabi teacher…Raju Paji our driver… Shandip Paji, secretary and friend who is always full of optimisum…. and more, many more.

The rest is fine. A lot of children, a lot of football, courses with coaches that are willing to learn, celebrations for the “happy Lorhi” or “Maghi Festival”, and the start of the EFL, a football tournament for kids.

From somewhere within the Punjab valleys, where crops grow and sugar canes are cut, the Spanish coach that rides a bicycle is always passionate about telling his story.

Keep smiling!!!

Written by Xabi Martin Nebreda, Sport Network's volunteer

Behind the mist the Sun is waiting for us…

At 9:30 am local time in Delhi, on Saturday 30 November, the dream became reality. After landing in India, in the arrival’s zone at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Suki is waiting for me. A young Indian, who as a good host shows me the bus I have to take and gives me the final instructions on how to get to Rurka Kalan.

I really enjoy my journey, on both sides of the highway there’s a different world: colorful turbans, endless beards, cows crossing the highway, but I always receive a smile and friendly greeting from everybody with whom I make eye contact. Ten hours later, here I am in the rural Rurka Kalan, greeted by Suny, the architect of my trip and a man full of energy whose effort and enthusiasm is contagious to all who participate in the project of the YFC academy. 

This project aims to create a center for youngsters of the region, hard working people, passionate about football and sports. I believe my role can support the organization and sports development, by contributing what I can in the training of physical education monitors, who one day may become great football coaches.

These two weeks in the Punjab valley have allowed me to experience a different society, a rural environment where one can easily miss aspects of a Western lifestyle, but where you can find tranquility and peace to continue to create a working model based on personal growth.  

Every day I hear a new language, Punjabi, which is like Euskera (the Basque language) for an elderly man from Seville. The children and the adult population do not really understand English, and although the trainers help with translations, I would really like to engage in conversations with people, learn about their worries or simply chat during mealtime with the academy’s residents.

"The day starts misty but all of us know that behind the mist,
the sun is waiting for us"

I wake up at six in the morning and take the first training session until eight, after having a nice Indian tea, thanks to my friend and great chef Sunu. After having breakfast with my colleagues, the children go to school and I stay in the office, to get a better understanding of the infrastructure and needs of this project. After enjoying a really spicy lunch, at 16:30 I complete the second training session of the day, every day with a different group, every day a different experience.   

At the moment, everything is going well. The community is starting to accept me as one of them, the Spanish coach that cycles a bike. I have discovered Kabbadi, a traditional wrestling sport played in Punjab that just celebrated its fourth World Cup.

Satsriakal friends!!!

Keep smiling!!!

Written by Xabi Martin Nebreda, Sport Network's volunteer

A tribute to our volunteers

The work of volunteers can often go unnoticed. However, the past month has seen people and organisations around the world celebrating the 'international volunteer day'. As a tribute for their support, we would like to acknowledge our volunteers, both past and present, and say thank you for being part of this successful team.

As a non-profit organisation, during the past years we have benefitted from the passion and dedication of numerous volunteers. We recognise that without their support, we would not have been able to make such a positive contribution to societies around the world. Volunteers have provided invaluable support both locally, at our headquarters in Madrid, and internationally, in the communities that we work.

“At Sport Network I was given the freedom to be creative and design my own project but also given the support and resources I needed for implementation. It was a successful project!” Laura, Sport and Cooperation Network volunteer in Madrid. 

“I hope this trip will be magical, will continue to give me the opportunity to learn new ways of life…I have high expectations to continue training as a person and as a coach, to meet people that will share their life experiences with me and I am sure we will become friends for the rest of our lives, and I will be proud every time I tell a story of my time with them.” Xabi, Sport and Cooperation Network volunteer in India.

“I participated in different activities, such as administrative tasks, collaborated in different cooperation projects that the Foundation is implementing in Africa, Central-America and in Madrid. Thanks to this I could learn more about the work of NGOs in this field... [My time at Sport Network] was a great personal and professional experience…” Alonso, Sport and Cooperation Network volunteer in Madrid. 

“Volunteer collaboration has been crucial in Sport Network's history. I would like to acknowledge the work they have done for the organization, especially during the challenging times we are facing.” Carlos de Cárcer, Director of Sport and Cooperation Network.

Do you have any free time? Have you ever wanted to get socially engaged? Do you share our passion for a better world? Do you believe your skills could make a difference? 

If you answered yes to the above questions, then why not send us an email about how you could support our work: rdc@redeporte.org

Pre-departure: Xabi's expectations

I will begin with a short introduction, my name is Xabi Martin, I am from Bilbao, Spain, and I am starting an exciting project with Sport and Cooperation Network (SCN) in the distant and colorful India.  I hope this trip will be magical, will continue to give me the opportunity to learn new ways of life, and to see if it is always as valid and correct as others think.

I have high expectations to continue training as a person and as a coach, to meet people that will share their life experiences with me and I am sure we will become friends for the rest of our lives, and I will be proud every time I tell a story of my time with them.

I have known the impact of cooperation for several years after taking the specific course in INEF in Madrid, together with the group DIM, a new field where licensed Physical Education teachers and coaches are continuing our variety of work.  The level of the cooperation that fills a person, makes one feel valuable and useful.  The long projects through SCN are a challenge for me, I hope being with the kids in India is a good experience for everyone, and we can open many doors for future collaborations.

Now to discuss the project in India, YFC Rurka Kalan, I hope the people are passionate for football; therefore we will already have something in common.  I hope to learn their football, their sports, and their organization, to be able to see spectacular sports together with them, something that I am passionate about.  If everything goes well, we will watch the Athletic Bilbao matches and I can recruit new supporters!

In 2008, I had a very rewarding experience when I worked on a cooperation project in Peru together with the people of ADDVES, their president, and my friend Juan Abanto, at the head.  We worked on the Villagol Project, where they created sports schools in the human settlement Villa el Salvador, where they performed instructional training course for sports educators and encouraged female football with the participation of a girls team in various tournaments.

Sports are my life and I have made my passion my profession. I always see the good side of education through sports and the positive values generated by of team sports, such as football.  Values like the sense of belonging in a group, team values, being together with a friend, and being able to do something for him, which in turn is good for you; there is no better sensation than that, being together in victory and defeat.

In conclusion, I would like to talk about the factor that I see as the most important and most popular these days, the role of the coaches, instructors, and trainers, with their performances, they represent a person very important in child’s education, not only in their sports education, but also personal growth.  The example will always be in a sporting group, knowing how to interpret the needs of each environment, each family, and each child.

That is all…LONG LIVE FOOTBALL!  LET’S GO YFC RURKA KALAN!

SMILE!

Written by Xabi Martin Nebreda, Sport Network's volunteer

My experience in Zambia

My work as a volunteer at City of Hope was focused in a center, within the same complex, called Auxilium Training Center. It’s a school where youngsters from the area can gain new skills, to enhance their future employment opportunities. In the course that I participated, subjects like Communication Skills, Catering, Tailoring and Information Technology were taught. In addition to the core subjects, First Aid and Physical Education were part of the school week.

My duties

I was in charge of the Information Technology class, which was offered to the Catering and Tailoring students and anyone else that showed special interest. The groups were divided as such:

• I.T. group: a group of 8 students (6 girls and 2 boys) aged between 17 and 20 years. Only a few of them have had previous computer experience and almost all of them have finished secondary school (12^th grade). 

• Tailoring Group: a group of 25 students (24 girls and a boy) whose ages were very varied.

I gave classes in the computer lab, which was equipped with 10 working computers. The computers were given to City of Hope by several donations. My first task was to setup the computers and erase previous data. Unfortunately, the computers do not currently have access to the Internet, but still provide a good basis for teaching basic computer skills.

The tailoring group was predominately formed of women of various ages. Many of the women in the tailoring group had little interest in learning computer skills, as they considered it a tool for men, and for many it was also the first time they had seen a computer.

My experience with the I.T. group was very different, as it’s a group that particularly wanted to participate in this class. Nevertheless, it is hard for the students to study after school, as many of the students don’t have any free time due to their family situation. For example, one of the pupils is living with her father, brothers and uncles, and being the only woman at home she has to take care of the whole household, as men don’t typically deal with domestic tasks.

However, it seems that sport and physical education provides a useful tool to transmit values and promote gender equality.

The other activity that the center organized was Physical Education. We dedicated one hour per week to formal PE lessons and I can tell they were greatly appreciated. The PE lessons, which included Volleyball, football and handball, were conducted at City of Hope’s sports facilities.

Each week we practiced a different sport, to avoid focusing solely on football, even though that’s the most popular sport in Zambia. Every class had two parts. During the first part we focused on the technical and tactical aspects of the sport, and then during the second part we played a game, putting into practice what they have learned during the first part of the class.

In volleyball and netball, sports that I have no experience in, some of the students helped me out, preparing activities for the first part. It was a big success given that girls - who were hesitating at the beginning – helped me voluntarily in the implementation of the activity.

On weekends we had different sporting competitions. On Saturdays 20 boys, aged between 13 and 20 years, from the area visit the City of Hope to play football or handball. City of Hope also participates, with great success in championships organized by other teams in the area. 

The football pitch, which has undoubtedly the most demand, is not in the best condition. The pitch has many stones, which can be quite dangerous, as many of its users play barefoot. Nonetheless, the atmosphere was nice and friendly, the boys spend Friday afternoon, Saturday and Sunday at City of Hope, getting to know each other and the girls from center. 

Miguel was a Sport and Cooperation Network volunteer in Zambia, sent by the Castilla y León “Youth Solidarity” program. 

How to help

You can help support the City of Hope project, by making financial or inkind donations. The money received will help supply, sports equipment, footwear etc… 

Landing in Zambia

We are in Lusaka (Zambia), for a 3-month volunteering experience with Sport and Cooperation Network through the Castilla y León “Youth Solidarity” program. 

We still can’t believe we are here, in Africa!

We arrived at Lusaka in the afternoon of the 31^st of December, and we are still getting used to the new habits, climate, language (here we speak English) and work methods.

Sport and Cooperation Network sent us here to impulse the project “Support for education, health, integration and gender equality of the young population of Zambia through sports”, whose main objective is the construction and setting up of sports facilities with a medical dispensary within an area run by the Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco, called City of Hope.

The idea is to have these facilities working as a Sports / Education Center, open to the whole community.

The project has been planned and polished, and while it is awaiting funding, we are here to try and improve it and gather information on how to carry out the activities.

We are already part of the group of volunteers who work here for the Salesian Sisters, and, like the others, we are working on whatever is needed in order to improve the functioning of the center.

City of Hope is a campus that belongs to the Salesian nuns of Don Bosco, in which they run a school for children from low-income families, a training center for adults and a residence for orphan girls, who also attend the school.

It is a beautiful place, very well taken care of by the nuns and other workers, and that, as the name suggests, inspires hope. A vast space full of opportunities. Within it, the nuns have reserved an area for Sport Network and its project.

We have been here just a few days, but they are enough to make us feel part of the City of Hope team (teachers, workers, caretakers, nuns, volunteers…). The reception has been great by both the adults and the girls who currently live here (about 40 girls in the center).

They have put all of their trust and affection without knowing us. The initial language barrier, or the fact that we are still learning how things work in the center, don’t matter at all. They trust us, and it shows.

We hope that we can return this trust and be able to really be helpful here. We will put all of our efforts into making this happen.

Our adventure begins…

Miguel and Lidia are Sport and Cooperation Network volunteers in Zambia, sent by the Castilla y León “Youth Solidarity” program. 

My experience at Sport Network

My name is Alonso Berrelleza; I am Mexican, and 26 years old. I completed a four months internship at the NGDO Sport and Cooperation Network, from 25th April until late August.

How did I get to Sport Network? To be honest, my main objective was to travel to a different country, immerse myself in the culture, meet new people from other parts of the world and enjoy the experience of living in a foreign country. But I also needed to do an internship in the frame of my master studies in International Economic Relations and Cooperation that I was studying in my city, Guadalajara, Mexico.

With these clear ideas, I started to seek an internship on the Internet. I wanted to engage in the field of sports, since my previous experience in the field was very satisfying. I couldn’t have made a better decision.

I found Sport Network when I Googled “sport and cooperation”, this NGDO was the first result found by Google. I have read a little bit about the organisation on their website and then sent an email expressing my interest. The positive response from Carlos de Cárcer, General Director, was almost immediate.

In the first email, I received all the information about how to get to the office. From my first day and throughout the four months at Sport Network, I participated in different activities, such as administrative tasks, collaborated in different cooperation projects that the Foundation is implementing in Africa, Central-America and in Madrid. Thanks to this I could learn more about the work of NGOs in this field, their administration and planning, the implementation and completion of projects, and their tough financial situation of these days.  

Gently I dig into the topic of sport s and development, its history and the different kind of projects that NGOs are carrying out currently.

One of the most enriching experiences was the opportunity to join Sport Network’s team to Rome (Italy) to participate in the final session of the MIMOSA (Migrants Inclusion Model through Sports for All) project. This event gave me the chance to meet new people, NGOs and projects from different European countries, all of them sport-related with the aim to help in human issues, such as migration, social inclusion and humanitarian aid. 

Finally I can say that, without any doubt, it was a great personal and professional experience, the fact that I have been an intern in a Foundation, surrounded by people who are as engaged in topics like sports and development as Carlos and María, helped me a lot in defining more clearly towards which field of profession I want to devote, which is no other than, continuing in the field of sports to help people.    

Moreover, no less important was the work together with Sport Network’s collaborators like Carlos, Esperanza, Marta, Oscar and María, as well as other interns, namely Maira, Laura, Makoto, Lena and the IT staff who provided me great support during my stay. This was essential for my integration and development at the Foundation.

I have beautiful memories about all of them, experiences, valuable friendships and one can never know, maybe the possibility of a future collaboration with them.

Thus, it remains to render thanks to Carlos and Sport Network for the opportunity they gave me to live this great experience. I take nice memories and unforgettable moments with me and I really hope that this friendship and collaboration doesn’t end here, but it can continue for a long time in the future.

Thanks a lot!