Street children acquire life skills at close of educational tournament

Islamabad
Kinza Kausar, aged 13 years, was very excited to be on the winning team in ‘Right to Peace,’ a four-day football tournament and educational event for street children.
“We had a lot of fun and made friends. What we learnt were life skills, fair play, respecting ourselves and others, football rules and teamwork. All this was made possible through play and games; and above all, we learnt importance of human dignity,” Kinza confidently stated at the final day’s event. She now hopes to bring positive change in the lives of other street children.
German Ambassador Dr. Cyrill Nunn was the chief guest at the event, which was organised by Right To Play Pakistan in collaboration with United Nations, embassy of Germany, and Mashal Model School. “For us, supporting this event means supporting children,” Dr. Cyrill said in his address to the participants.
“We recognise the importance of sports in children’s development and as a tool to advocate for their right to peace,” said Iqbal Jatoi, country manager of Right To Play. “Every child has leadership skills, it’s just how you polish them to be a leader. Right To Play believes in human dignity and considers sport and play can be the best tool to deliver the message of peace and tolerance,” he remarked.
The spectators included diplomats, government and UN officials, civil society members, and media representatives who were treated to an exciting match between children.
The event also gave the children opportunities to learn about child labour, early marriage, gender equity, nutrition, child protection, education, peace and tolerance. The learning sessions were conducted on the sidelines of football matches by professional trainers from Right to Play and officials from the UN, including ILO and UNFPA.
Encouraging girls to participate equally, 30 underprivileged 10-14-year-olds played in the tournament with each team getting an equal opportunity to play. The final match took place Thursday at the Mashal Model School, followed by the awarding of the “Right to Peace” cup and a jumbo version of the Brazuka, the official football of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, donated by the Embassy of Brazil.
Dr. Cyrill congratulated the winning team and took note of their spirit of friendship and fairplay in the matches. “We shall continue to promote sports in fostering development and peace, and respect for diversity he stated. Germany made a valuable contribution by donating Rs. 460,000 for this project.
Vittorio Cammarota, director of the United Nations Information Centre said, “It was amazing to see the excellent play and eagerness to learn that these children demonstrated throughout the tournament. It is unacceptable that children should have to live or work on the streets anywhere in the world.”