Now that’s a soccer game!

10/06/2010 in TOTO Bangladesh by Mark Chenery | 15 comments

Joel Katz
Outreach Blogger
9 June 2010

Okay. Sorry guys, this is tricky. Another blackout has darkened Dhaka, so my shiny screen’s the only light I have.

One of the Canadian t-shirt wearing hotel brigade just knocked on my door with my clothes in vacuum-sealed bags, cardboard inserts and even little plastic clips. That’s awesome – thought they were still balled up in my backpack.

Today we were lucky to catch a 1Goal event hosted by ActionAid Bangladesh in one of the poorer districts in Dhaka’s east. AA’s dynamic duo, Hasan and Amir, set up a soccer match for some of the boys and girls from the one of Dhaka’s poorer suburbs as part of the 1Goal Campaign.

Tying in nicely with the 2010 World Cup, 1Goal raises awareness about education and aims at getting kids back into school.

Soccer pitch is in a muddy field, surrounded by apartments and shacks – Brazilian and Argentine flags flying proudly from windows. Here, every local is die-hard fan of either country during the World Cup – pretty sure Bangladesh doesn’t have a national team.

Looking at the skyline it’s like we’re in some odd city that straddles the border of the two Latin American football giants.

But as the game begins, it’s clear we’re not. Sharna’s more popular here than Justin Beiber ever will be, and scores of local girls swamp her trying to catch a glimpse of her blue eyes.

Two matches are played. One’s boys, the other girls. They have loads of fun as they scramble after the ball and get muddy. Local kids go crazy as we snap photos, and Sharna’s getting a little uncomfortable with her ever-growing legend status.

Cows moo at the far end of the field.

Really great thing about this initiative is Bangladesh can be a conservative country where girls aren’t given the same chances as boys. It’s unusual for girls to even play sports, but today, as the dust and mud soak our 1Goal t-shirts and line my mucous membranes, the girls get the biggest cheers by far – apart from Sharna, of course.

Check out what AA’s Amir says about this event:

Learn more about ActionAid and Project TOTO:

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15 comments

  1. Steph’s avatar

    Steph on 10/06/2010 at 9:53 am

    Great pictures Joel! I’m a volunteer at the Sydney office. Will be following both your blogs. Keep up the good work, so enjoyable to read!

  2. ActionAid’s avatar

    ActionAid on 10/06/2010 at 3:08 pm

    Cheers, Steph! So much here to write about and snap, don’t know where to start. Eye-popping sights and lip-smacking tasty treats a-plenty.

  3. AMiR’s avatar

    AMiR on 10/06/2010 at 3:19 pm

    i look awful! thanks a bunch joel. the event was awfully great! what a day! look at sharna! what great load she can carry!

  4. Mia’s avatar

    Mia on 10/06/2010 at 7:19 pm

    Education is definitely number one!

    Thanks for the video. It makes things real and gives us an insight into the great work that’s going on over there.

    Go 1Goal!

  5. Sharna’s avatar

    Sharna on 11/06/2010 at 5:49 pm

    Amir, you look great! The photo of me on the other hand, is not so flattering. I guess there’s no way to look good when you’re getting crushed by kids!

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