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Big City Sleep 2012

Millions of children live on the streets. Can you handle one night?

“Sometimes it is hell on the streets but when I play football I feel as if I am in heaven.” Thamires, Brazil

Street children like Thamires are often ignored and forgotten, millions sleep on the streets worldwide every night. We are asking you to take the Big City Sleep Challenge and spend just one night sleeping rough in Spitalfields Market to raise money for the Street Child World Cup (we ask that you commit to raising a minimum of £150).

There will be live Brazilian entertainment, a meal voucher for all sleepers and a chance to find out more about the Street Child World Cup.

The Big City Sleep will take place on March 23rd 2012 and we hope you and your friends will join us. This is more than a game, no child should live on the streets. For more information or to register email: katie@streetchildworldcup.org

Further resources:

To register and for further information, please download this form BigCitySleepOutForm

Virgin Giving Option

Big City Sleep SponsorshipForm

Top 10 tips for fundraising

Published on: 15. 12. 2011 | Read more »

Beckham meets star of Street Child World Cup

One of the stars of the Street Child World Cup 2010 has had the unique opportunity to meet David Beckham as the LA Galaxy player visited a shelter for street children in the Philippine capital Manila. Beckham said: “Every child I spoke to today — they all have dreams, they all have inspirations. [It is] heartbreaking to think majority of these children haven’t got parents, or haven’t got parents to care for them and love them.”

According to the Washington Post:

“Conan, a 17-year-old who was abandoned by his parents when he was 7, told Beckham that he dreams of joining the Philippine team and later becoming a coach. He played in the Street Children’s Football World Cup last year in South Africa, where the Philippines beat South Africa 2-1.”

Published on: 2. 12. 2011 | Read more »

Today marks World AIDS Day

What is World AIDS Day?

World AIDS Day is held on 1 December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day and the first one was held in 1988. To find out more, you can visit World Aids Day

According to World AIDS Day an estimated 33.3 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

Published on: 1. 12. 2011 | Read more »

Award-winning director premieres Street Kids United

Award-winning director Tim Pritchard will co-host London’s premier screening of STREET KIDS UNITED  at the Lexi Cinema on Tuesday 29th November. Vuyani Madolo coach of the South African street child team will accompany Tim.

Street Kids United is a documentary feature about a team of homeless children, chosen to represent South Africa in the first ever Street Child World Cup. These children from the host Umthombo project see football as a way to a better and brighter future.

Andile, from the Umthombo organisation said:

“When people see us by the streets, they say that we are the street boys. But when they see us playing soccer, they say that we are people like them. They are people like us”.

The film reflects the power of football to give those most marginalised and vulnerable children a voice to tell their stories and to share their hopes and dreams for a better life.

According to John Wroe, a founder of Street Child World Cup: “So many films are about celebrities; this was about people without power. There is no Hollywood twist in Street Kids United. All the kids at Umthombo are full of life and have stories which should be heard”.

The screening will be followed by an introduction and Q&A session with award-winning filmmaker and Street Kids United Director Tim Pritchard and Vuyani “Biza” Madolo from Umthombo Street Children. The film which premiered at the Berlin Film festival has received wide spread acclaim.

“No game lays claim to being a ‘world game’ more than football.” says F&ME ‘s Mike Downey, “It is truly a globalised phenomenon from the glitter and riches of the European leagues to the dreams of children growing up in third world poverty. Football’s appeal extends across nations, cultures, religion and class. We hope this film will do the same. And in doing so, give a voice to street children all over the world. ”

Director: Tim Pritchard

Producers: Sandy Markwick, Mike Downey, Sam Taylor

Production Companies: Film and Music Entertainment, Ten10, Elfin Production

-       Editors notes –

Street Child World Cup

The UN estimates that there are 100 million children worldwide living and working on the streets. Each child has a story, each child has a goal and each child deserves a home away from abuse. Across five continents, through the power of football the Street Child World Cup unites their voices, shares their stories and demands their rights. No longer will these children be seen and not heard.

In 2014 the beautiful game returns to its spiritual home: Brazil. This time street children from up to 20 countries will be united. The teams will be drawn from a network of outstanding street child projects from around the world.

The participating children will be aged 14 to 16 and will all have lived on the streets. Boys and girls will take part in separate football tournaments. The event will involve teams from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America.

Street Child World Cup is a joint venture of the following not for profit organisations: The ABC Trust, The Amos Trust & Momentum Arts

www.streetchildworldcup.org

FAME

Film and Music Entertainment is one of the UK’s most successful and prolific independent production companies. It was formed by Mike Downey and Sam Taylor in January 2000 with the aim of financing and producing feature films. Stephen Daldry (three-time Oscar-nominated, director of Billy Elliott, The Hours and The Reader) acts as Chairman of the Board and as executive producer.
With over 30 films under it’s belt, including a winner of the Golden Lion in Venice, an Academy Award Nominee and multiple official entries in the Sundance, Berlin, Montreal, Toronto, San Sebastian and Locarno film festivals, the Film and Music Entertainment brand has over the last decade become synonymous with the production of quality feature films.

http://www.fame.uk.com

Umthombo

Umthombo empowers street children and aims to change the realities that they  face and make an impact on policy. It began as an outreach and aftercare organisation and has since grown to accommodate many of the children, giving them counselling and support. Umthombo’s Durban model is pioneering the idea of providing alternatives to street life through engagement and therapeutic interventions and focuses on addressing the traumas associated with the children’s experiences. Umthombo’s team is a fusion of social working professionals and trained former street children who have a unique understanding of the realities of the street child experience

www.umthombo.org

Published on: 28. 11. 2011 | Read more »

For children on the streets there are no soft pillows

The Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights held an event earlier this month to debate how best to achieve progress in caring for children who live on the streets. The event, held in Geneva, was organised by the UN Human Rights office and supported by Aviva, the Consortium for Street Children and Unicef and was attended by an audience of researchers and experts in the field of child development and protection.

Among other experts addressing the audience was Mandi Hewitt of Umthombo Street Children, hosts of the 2010 Street Child World Cup, who told of her experiences living on the streets of Durban and appealed for any global strategy to empower street children to create a “path towards emotional healing”.

Stating that “all street children are to varying degrees traumatized” she asked that the response to the trauma be a central part of strategies to help street children. “I have witnessed children who are considered the most affected addicts turn their lives around through a fusion of high-intensity engagement programmes and therapeutic social working programmes” she said.

Secondly, Hewitt said, the children of Durban had urged her to highlight their forced removal from areas ahead of international conferences and events. “I have watched children being removed from the city in the months before the FIFA World Cup…   These children would return, sometimes days later, saying that they had been dumped, hours outside of the city, and told never to come back,” she said.

“Street children are not rubbish to be cleaned up but traumatized children who have been failed by society,” Hewitt told the delegates.

The expert workshop was convened as part of a study commissioned by the Human Rights Council at its March meeting.  The Council expressed great concern that the situation of children in many part of the world remains critical and has been negatively affected by the world financial and economic crisis.  It requested the UN Human Rights office to examine a holistic, child rights and gender-based approach to protecting and promoting the rights of children working and or living on the streets.

Another former street child speaking at the event was Vartan Melkonian who grew up on the streets of Beirut, Lebanon and went on to become a renowned conductor and musician.

“I want to tell you something about the sunset,“ Melkonian said. “Normal people take moments of pleasure from looking at the sun setting in the sea, whereas for me and street children one of the cruellest, cruellest times of the day is the time of sunset.  When I finished my survival day on the streets of the city… we had no home to go to.  We had no soft pillow to rest our little heads upon”.

You can read the full report here.

Published on: 18. 11. 2011 | Read more »

Street Kids United comes to London

This November, the Street Kids United film will be shown in London for the first time.

Street Kids United follows the Umthombo Young Stars football team as they train and compete in the 2010 Street Child World Cup and will be shown at the Lexi Cinema, London.  The screening onWednesday 30th November will follow an introduction and Q&A session with award-winning filmmaker and Street Kids United Director Tim Pritchard and Vuyani “Biza” Madolo from Umthombo Street Children. Come along on Wednesday the 30th at 5:30 for the Q&A session before the film starts at 6:15.

The film has received great reviews and has been a real success at screenings at the Berlin and Cambridge Film Festivals. After the film’s premiere in Berlin John Wroe, Director of Momentum Arts and Executive Director of Street Child World Cup said: “So many films are about celebrities; this was about people without power. There is no Hollywood twist in Street Kids United. All the kids at Umthombo are full of life and have stories which should be heard”.

Tickets are available to buy from the Lexi Cinema website here.

Published on: 10. 11. 2011 | Read more »

Food 4 Thought

Umthombo Street Children‘s new initiative, Food 4 Thought, is taking off in Durban. An article in Durban’s Going Places online review site explains how the project works:
‘Introduced at Market (Gladys Mazibuko Rd formerly Marriott Road, Essenwood) as a trial project last month (September 2011), the initiative automatically adds a 1% charge to the bill, after the total and before the tip. There is a discreet method of opting out – merely draw a line through the amount and the bill will ‘void’ the donation- there will be no fuss or pressure. Those who ‘opt in’ have the option of receiving a range of benefits such as a monthly newsletter and access to a range of ‘foodie-related’ topics and special offers.’
The idea is being run for the first time in KZN with 18 restaurants now participating and more adding to the list monthly. “All monies raised go directly to Umthombo rehabilitation initiatives and through this project we expect to raise approximately R 1,000,000 (around £80,000) per year. The whole point of Food 4 Thought is to ensure sustainment and development of Umthombo’s projects” explains Jess Meredith-Watts who founded the project.
So if you’re in Durban, make sure to check the list of participating restaurants on the Food 4 Thought site before eating out!

Published on: 11. 10. 2011 | Read more »

Work for Street Child World Cup

We are looking to appoint a new Communications Manager and a Corporate Fundraising Account Manager to join the team in preparation for the Brazil 2014 Street Child World Cup.

Communications Manager

The first Street Child World Cup garnered substantial global media interest and proved highly effective in addressing specific campaign issues. The Communications Manager will look to build upon this success and maximise the impact of events scheduled in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

The Communications Manager will be employed by Street Child United (charity number pending). Street Child United has been established as a Joint Venture by Amos Trust, Action for Brazil’s Children’s Trust and Momentum Arts to deliver the 2014 Street Child World Cup and to ensure that this event is as effective as possible in transforming the lives of street children around the world.

Deadline for receipt of applications is 5pm on Monday 22nd August 2011. First interviews will be held in London on Tuesday 6th Sept and second interviews on Wednesday 28th Sept.

Corporate Fundraising Account Manager

We have got off to a great start in our initial efforts to secure corporate partners for the SCWC 2014 but there is much more we can achieve. We are currently looking for a Corporate Fundraising Account Manager to build on this success and maximise the fundraising opportunities we have in order to deliver our ambitious campaign objectives.

The Corporate Fundraising Account Manager will be employed by Street Child United (charity number pending). Street Child United has been established as a Joint Venture by Amos Trust, Action for Brazil’s Children’s Trust and Momentum Arts to deliver the 2014 Street Child World Cup and to ensure that this event is as effective as possible in transforming the lives of street Children around the world.

Deadline for receipt of applications is 5pm on Monday 22nd August 2011. First interviews will be held in London on Wednesday 7th Sept and second interviews on Thursday 29th Sept.

If you are interested in applying for either of these posts, please contact recruitment@streetchildworldcup.org for more information and an application form.

Published on: 27. 07. 2011 | Read more »

Painting of SCWC participant selected for portrait prize

An image of one of the participants in the 2010 Street Child World Cup has been selected for the Threadneedle Art Prize exhibition. The image of one of the boys from the victorious Indian team, titled ‘Gurpreet – Team India, Street Child World Cup 2010′ was painted by Meg Wroe, who also completed portraits of participants from other SCWC teams. You can take a look at her other portraits here.
The 52 selected works for this prize for painting and sculpture will be on display at the Mall Gallery in London on Wednesday the 28th of September from 6-7pm. The event will include contributions from four critics and TV personalities who will select one work from The Threadneedle Prize exhibition and explain their choice to the audience. This years exhibition will include Gyles Brandreth, Author, Actor & Broadcaster, Rachel Campbell-Johnston, Chief Art Critic, The Times, David Starkey, Historian & TV Presenter and, as chair of the judges, Jeremy Paxman.
You can find out more about the exhibition here.

Published on: 27. 07. 2011 | Read more »

Update from the Philippine team

Several of the kids from the Philippine team are now benefitting from being part of the Pinoy Futbol Scholar Programme. This programme, part of the team organiser’s foundation, gives the kids great opportunities in education and sport. Children who become a scholar receive transportation and snack allowances to go to school as well as transportation and meal allowances to train with FIFA License A coaches. If the children really hone their skills in Football this could even open the doors to University for some of them in a year or two. You can find out more about the team on the facebook fanpage: Football For Good.
The team also report that, thanks to the rise in popularity in football in the Philippines, the work with the street children’s teams is really benefitting. The team were even able to purchase 94 tickets to take all the children and staff to see the Philippines win its first ever World Cup qualifier against Sri Lanka. Through working with the national team, the Philippine team organisers are able to really promote the work they do, the mother of one of the 1st IX is even starting a foundation in the States to raise money for them!
The photos below demonstrate the passion that is developing for football in the Philippines.

Published on: 19. 07. 2011 | Read more »