“Could You Please Not Forget About Us?”

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S u d a n 160km160km STRAIGHT ACROSS Escaping from drugs and alcohol abuse EEtt h h iioo p p iiëë U g a n d a

NAIROBI - A nasty smell comes into our noses when we children’s population here have a dose of lead in their Grote Rift-Vallei

blood which is too high, many others suffer from l l

drive into Dandora, a suburb of Nairobi. And soon it l

m m becomes clear where it originates from. We look up at breathing problems. In the middle of all this rubble, m

K E N I A o o

K E N I A o

S S a huge garbage dump that meets us upto the streets. you can find Dandora Youth Football Club, run by Eldoret S Some people are looking in this heap for valuable local idealists. All children can come here to play E v e n a a r

things, and plastic bottles they can sell later on. Over football and escape for a few hours from the brutal Victoriameer

here, every day trucks dump two thousand tons of new realities of the slums, where drugs and alcohol abuse Nairrobi waste. According to a specialized institute Dandora are proliferating. In this cosy place, it’s not the money belongs to one of the thirty most polluted places on which is the most important goal, but the well-being Ta n z a n iia From our reporter our planet and joins the company of Chernobyl. Yet, of the children. Football, A Beautiful Game: after a PART 6 R w a n d a IndischeIndische on the spot as many as 800,000 people are living in this place. A long search we finally found a place where this slogan OceaanOceaan has become reality. B u r u n d i Hope in the middle of rubble Dimitri THIJSKENS study by the United Nations shows that half of the Mombasa “Could you please not forget about us?” youngsters, dreams NAIROBI - “This place gives us the opportunity to escape the reality of the favelas.” These words come from the seventeen-year-old Brian Chege. It is clear that the children of Dandora are forced to grow up rapidly. The Youth Football Club helps them to feel like a little child and to keep dreaming of a better future. Dandora Youth Football Club: much more than an academy

Polycarp Onyango is a leggy fel- Trainer Ernest Essau started here low of 21 and a very sociable type. right from the beginning. “I already When we get to the clubhouse of had experience as a youth coach”, Dandora Youth Football Club, Essau says. “It was nice for me he quickly takes the lead and to use this experience in my own EVERY MORNING, A shows us around. “Welcome to neighbourhood. Soon, dozens of DENSE FOGGY CLOUD Dandora”, he smiles. “Look, this children joined us. Currently, I train is our football pitch”, pointing 105 children in six different groups. IS HANGING OVER to a gravel field on which there And yes, I know them all by name. THE WHOLE AREA clearly hasn’t grown any grass for We are also in close contact with CAUSING A TERRIBLE a long time. The stands can also the parents. That way, we can also SMELL use a facelift. make sure that the children go to MAVINGI THIJI (10) JOSPEH MWANGI (12) JOHN KINYUA (13) “I have been playing here for eight school every day.” Polycarp Onyango years and I live just around the Nickname: Nani Nickname: Gaucho Nickname: Brown Position: Midfielder Position: Midfielder Position: Defender InfograﬁekInfograﬁek Bert Bert Dillen/Graphic Dillen/Graphic News/Rtr News/Rtr corner”, Onyango says. “I stop- SamenstellingSamenstelling: :Robert Robert Capiot Capiot EVERY MORNING, Favourite Player: Nani Favourite Player: Ronaldinho Favourite Player: Kaka FFotooto Rt Rtr,r ,AP AP ped studying because I could not A DENSE FOGGY Favourite Team: Chelsea Favourite Team: Manchester United Favourite Team: Manchester United BronnenBronnen: :International International Red Red Cross Cross afford to pay the school fee. At this moment, my only hope is CLOUD IS HANGING “At the football school they call me “I am an attacking midfielder, who is “At the age of ten, I started playing football. I hope I will soon find OVER THE WHOLE Nani, because he’s my favourite player. very disciplined. In fact I don’t miss a football. I live nearby, at my aunt’s a club.” In the small secretary’s AREA CAUSING A He always plays good football. I hope I single training session, because playing place. From 6 am until 5 pm I have to office there’s a cosy atmosphere. TERRIBLE SMELL will be as good as him. It is my ambition football is my life. I especially like to go to school, then we come here to Onyango tells us about living The whole group, gathered for the photo. Second from the right is secretary Godfrey Okoti. Pictures Dimitri THIJSKENS/Belga to be the best player in the world. To dribble a lot. Like the others, it is also kick a ball. It’s my dream to become near a huge garbage dump. “Of Polycarp Onyango make my dreams come true, I will work my dream to play on the European a professional football player in course, we also know that these to get a decent job.” Jerrison Mu- Football Club. While other football If they aren’t in the right mood, arrived and we had to play immedi- successful. One of our guys has as hard as I can. With our team, we have continent. I hope one day I can realize England and one day I hope to play living concitions aren’t ideal”, “Because that is our absolute pri- lamba is one of these educated and schools in Kenya are often founded they stay at home. That’s fine The ately. But what do you think about even played in Belgium: Johanna already won a lot.“ that dream. “ for the national team.“ he says sensibly. “Many children ority”, Okoti stresses. “Therefore unemployed youngsters. “I have a by Western adventurers who smell motivation has to come from within our result? We won 2-1. (Laughs) Omollo. He played with Visé are sick. I’m happy, so far I’ve we are only organising training degree in marketing and business”, money, Dandora is entirely run themselves.” Immediately after the match, we for several seasons and then he been saved from being ill. If you sessions during the weekend. Du- the 23-year-old Mulamba explains. by local people. Gaining money If players get the opportunity to returned home, again seven hours moved to a first division team in want to see how bad it really is ring the week, they go to school. “Moreover, I have a serious knee from transfers is the least of their improve their situation, Dandora in a small bus.” Luxembourg, where he is now in here, you need to come early in Many of them also come to us after injury, so I had to stop playing concerns. Their most important doesn’t block their way. “We give In sporting prowess, Dandora is the first team of Fola Esch.” YOUR SUPPORT the morning. Then, there is a school on their own initiative. And football. Now, as a volunteer I help goal is to offer their own children our players a free exit without any also a great example. “We keep The living conditions are hard. IS WELCOME dense cloud of fog and it smells some others are already present in with the administration of the club. a better future. “We try to coach problem”, Okoti explains. “The up a kind of hall of fame of the “When there wasn’t a football terrible.” the morning because they don’t Every day you find me at the of- them to become real professionals”, only thing we ask in return from players who were successful in our school yet, we made a ball of rags Do you still have The discussion to move the rub- have a job. Many youngsters here fice. Because I want to support our Okoti explains. “But without any those clubs are a few match balls local first class or abroad. At the and paper”, recalls seventeen- football shirts, shorts, bish dump to a less densely po- have good qualifications, but at the young people here.” pressure. If they want to come to and some sweaters. We don’t have moment, there are already over year-old Brian Chege. “And we pulated area outside Nairobi has moment in Kenya, it’s very difficult That’s the power of Dandora Youth the training sessions, that’s all right. to earn any money from these fifty players who have been very played in the street, on bare feet. shoes or balls in your been going on for several years. transfers. Everything we get, flows Of course it hurt at first, but after closet you don’t use But there is opposition. Even in back to our club for one hundred a while you get used to it. Football any longer and that the old location. “Here, there are percent.” Unfortunately, unscrupu- has changed the lives of many aren’t worn out, feel people against the disappearance lous managers sometimes abuse the children. Nowadays, we have a of the rubbish dump. You have to situation. “They come here to re- place we can come and forget all free to bring them to know, for many people this waste move our players and take them to our problems for a few hours. Het Belang van Limburg, is a source of income, because in Europe, but we don’t get anything in Well, just have a closer look, Herkenrodesingel 10, that waste they can find lots of return. There are many examples.” then you will see that everyone Hasselt. Or notice it at things they can sell on the street. has his own worries. Some do not [email protected] Like that, many parents are able to Cybercafé have enough money to eat, others pay the tuition fee for their child- The financial means Dandora grow up in a family with alcohol so that we can pick up ren”, Onyango - or Zambrotta as has to work with on this project and drug abuse, yet others cannot these things at your his nickname is - says. “Everyone are scarce. “Our only source of go to school because there is not place. You can make gets a nickname here. I don’t know income are our cybercafé and our enough money. But here on the Brian, Joseph and others where mine comes from.” little library”, Okoti explains. “We football field, all these worries in Dandora happy Dandora is also one of the most ask a small fee to join our club. But don’t count. Here you see only ADRIAN PHILIP (14) BRIAN CHEGE (17) if parents cannot afford to pay this smiling faces. Here everybody is fellows. Also companies troubled suburbs of Nairobi. Nickname: Adire Nickname: Shey After the elections in 2007 some fee, we don’t exclude those boys. We equal.” Position: Midfielder that are interested in Position: Midfielder people even died in bloody riots. also provide equipment and play Well, there’s nothing to add to Favourite Player: Ronaldinho our project can contact Favourite Player: Paul Scholes “It was worse in 2003”, Godfrey small tournaments across the whole this. What people of Dandora Favourite Team: Chelsea us. We will make sure all Favourite Team: Manchester United Okoti, secretary of Dandora country.” Youth Football Club have built Youth Football Club, says. “It “That’s always an infernal adven- in this desolate and godforsa- “I have been playing football for five these things get to the “Football is my life. Most of all, I like was then that we had a few ture”, Onyango says smilingly. “I ken place deserves our respect. years now. It’s really nice to get together right place, in the hands dribbling. I have already had the op- locals who decided to focus on remember a few years ago that we “Please, don’t forget about us in with others and to learn how to play of these children. Thank portunity to go to Norway and to play our football team. Like this, we had to play in Mombasa. We left Belgium?” Onyango says when football. I’m now at college, where I you in advance in the over there in a few tournaments. And wanted to keep the children off on Friday night with a minivan we shake hands and say goodbye. study biology and chemistry. Occasi- yes, I have to say that it was pretty the streets as much as possible, so because we didn’t have enough With a lump in our throats, we onally I score a goal. Four times I’ve name of the children of cool. I hope to get another chance in they wouldn’t choose the wrong money to stay overnight. A journey leave Dandora. It is silent on the already found the way to the net. One Dandora. the near future. I still live in Dandora path.” Some young players in action on the field. In the background you can see a number of slums. of seven hours. In the morning, we Polycarp Onyango. trip back to Nairobi. day, I want to play in Europe.“ at the moment.“