Anjana is 23 years old and she is a coach involved in the Peacemakers Project at Naandi Foundation. « What I love about my job is that I can bring a smile to the faces of so many Nanhi Kalis (Nanhi Kali is a Hindi language term which means Little Bud/Flower and it refers to the underprivileged girls of the Nanhi Kali programme). When I see them playing with passion, I feel very happy. I met so many professional athletes through this programme, which I couldn’t even have imagined otherwise. The athletes I have met have inspired me a lot.I was always been interested in sports, but through this programme I was able to discover it in a new way. I want to learn a lot about football and other sports and I want to achieve a lot in the field. In the future, I want to become a very good coach so that I can teach to a maximum number of girls. »
Bhavika is 32 years old and she is a coach involved in the Peacemakers Project at Naandi Foundation. “When women and other girls see me play, they have so much respect and admiration in their eyes, and the fact that I inspire them in some way is what motivates me the most. I hadn’t played much sports before joining the programme. I played a little bit in school, but now I cannot imagine my life without sports. My favourite sport is badminton but I enjoy football greatly as well. I would like to learn more sports and become an excellent football coach. My dream is to teach as many girls as I can, to inspire as many women as I can so that a maximum women and girls can discover the joy of sports. In our social context, empowering girls through sports is very important because girls and women living in rural areas lack access to education and sport facilities.”
Tabassum is 21 years old and she is a coach involved in the Peacemakers Project at Naandi Foundation. « What I like about my job is that I get an opportunity to teach young girls and help develop their personality. When I see how my senior players or other team members are balancing their family and professional life, it motivates me to pursue a career in sports. I was not very passionate about sports before joining the programme, but now it feels like a part of me and it gives me so much happiness. My favourite sports are cricket and football. My dream is to learn everything there is to know about football and to give my 100% in becoming – if not the best – a very good coach. In the future, I want to learn more and develop myself to become an excellent football coach so I can achieve new heights in the field. Transmitting values through sport is important because it helps bring out the true potential of girls and women – they are seen as something more than just daughters, wives and sisters. Giving opportunities to girls to play is essential in India. Currently, men’s sport pratice is more valued than women’s sport practice, but now we see so many girls winning Olympic medals for the country. When we let our girls play, they can do amazing things. »
H.E. Mrs. Marie-Louise Coleiro is convinced that sport is one of the most important tool in order to sustain development, and bring peace between communities.
Many years ago, I was part of a magical moment that I will never forget and that is still giving me hope for the future. The Israeli-Palestinian football team was competing with a very popular italian team in a big stadium in Rome. Yasser Arafat was on one side and Shimon Peres was sitting on the other side. I was supporting the Israeli-Palestinian team, while representing the UN.
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