HELLO EVERYONE!
Kjetil here, the Norwegian volunteer.
In almost 5 months I have had the privilege to be the football coordinator of the Yo Voy a Ti in Cochabamba. Apart from being in charge of the football trainings I have also been helping with the main project of the mobile school. Since January I have worked with kids in Takoloma and Mercado Campesino. Now I have recently started with the new opened football school in Quillacollo.
There are few things in life I love more than football. It is a game I have played since I could walk, and I still remember kicking the ball into the wall of my house, dribbling in the primary school corridors and pissing my neighbor off for kicking my ball in his car several times by accident. Upon the years I have had so many great memories with football, the feeling of teamwork, sharing ups and downs, and all the tears and cheers we have had. As it all have gotten more serious now I have started to enjoy other sides of the game, such as watching games, experience football culture and most of all the coaching part. I have had some very good trainers over the years, and I have also learned to take out the best from every one of them. But to take it out on the boys and girls down here is something different.
Takoloma, Mercado Campesino and Quillacollo are all neighborhoods filled with potential and coming youth, and I feel lucky to spend some time with them during the week. Here is a little explanation of what’s going on.
Takoloma is a place where the kids are in the risk of ending up on the street due to their conditions at home. Because the differences among the kids are so big and because there is no obligation for the kids to come it is pretty difficult to do coaching or train them to be better footballers. So therefore the focus is as simple as having fun and just plays with them.
Mercado Campesino is suffering high poverty, and it is a slummy area seen from my point of view. It is a marked place where the kids don’t have the resources to have a very good education and where the parents work as fruit sellers. Here the focus is the same as it is in Takoloma. But here there are mostly boys playing. And it is all about having fun.
Quillacollo is one of the suburb towns to Cochabamba and it is a good 30 minute ride out there. Out here Bolivia is getting real. Everything is more crazy, louder and more out of control, except from the football school. This is a football school that was developed together by the local church and religion has got an obvious influence on the work that is done over there. David is the leader of the school, and he is doing such a great job. He’s getting help from some mums, and me and some other volunteers from YVAT. It is just getting better to work with these kids. That’s it because the level are higher, and I am able to do more of a training session and improve their football abilities and make them smarter soccer players by teaching them how to play. And after just a couple of session I can already see progression in terms of keeping possession and talking to their teammates.
In Quillacollo there is another mayor differences that does not exist in the other places. The Christian influence. Carl Marx once said: “Religion is opium for the people,” and here you can see what he means of it. From Norway where I am from, we live good lives, live in safety and an overflowing wealth. In Norway, the religion is not as important as it is here. In this area they really respect God. I personally believe that this is helping them to get a better life, in terms of hoping for something better or that they one day will meet Jesus.
In 3 weeks I will take off to the World-cup in Brazil. It is a very bittersweet feeling that in 3 weeks my Bolivian adventure will be over, but at the same time, it would be a massive lie to say that I am not excited about going to the World Cup in Brazil. My time here has been an unforgettable experience but as it all comes to an end, I’m also excited about seeing my friends and family again. It is an adventure I will never forget, to see a kid learn from you, and take advantage from your teaching or your actions are indescribable. The rewarding smiles, honest questions, their innocence, or simply just watching a kid growing up is moving. It has only been 5 months, but for sure I’ll be back one day.
Kjetil
Yo Voy a Ti 