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The difficult fun of the young players of Malindi

Tourism crisis a threat even for football academies

13-10-2021 by Freddie del Curatolo

Judging by the jumping smiles, the energy lavished, the fun transmitted from the heart to the feet and not always sublimated by the government of the ball, the kids of Real Malindi suffer much less than the surrounding nature, in the small field of the Furunzi plain, in the less noble suburbs of the town, a few steps from the airport.
Here the few rains of the wet season and those still far from swelling the clouds of the "call" before summer, have left a panorama of scorched earth, subdued plants, centuries-old trees suffering and flowers already withered. The heat is already felt at 9 am and what the climate does not do, hunger has imposed, which makes people return to cut the few desirable logs to make charcoal and cook at least one meal a day based on polenta and herbs, those that still manage to grow, the least nutritious.
Today we bring the boys beans, a little protein, what they call here "ngombe ya maskini", the meat of the poor. We see them training stubbornly in the heatwave.
Coach Badili has set up the cones for dribbling and veterans Simon, Leviticus and Hassan, class of 2007, lead the group.
Today we get to know Abu, thirteen years old, his physique beginning to structure and natural movements as a midfielder. He has a serious look. Badili says that he needs to refine his technique, but he has a great sense of position and a powerful and precise shot. The "grandparents" and even the grumpy Joseph, a former leader who now "pulls it out" a bit too much and often arrives late, already let him beat the penalties.
The boys are happy, also because they can train and play in the morning, the school reopens on October 24.
Because of the pandemic, the school system in Kenya is still a few months behind and to make up for it, the August vacations have been skipped.
This is the cheer, because the rest is hard, so hard to bear.
Malindi lives 70 percent on tourism and for two years there hasn't been a European in sight here. A few Russians, Ukrainians who rarely come out of the villages and even if they did come out they wouldn't know what to say or do except go in search of something resembling vodka or an adventure.
But above all, hundreds of mothers and fathers have lost their jobs, with which they maintained children like our champions at school and guaranteed them something to eat.
At the same time donations have collapsed and the Badili academy supported by Malindikenya.net is having a really hard time.
The work of the soccer school is critical in keeping these kids away from the temptations and pitfalls of underprivileged neighborhoods. While they are at Furunzi practicing, how many peers are learning how to pack joints, how many are tasting their first palm liquor? And how many girls who aren't on Furunzi's soccer and volleyball teams are already thinking about prostituting themselves so they can buy tampons?
In these days a young forward from Muyeye who has been training with us to get a technical-tactical background, has been taken by a soccer school affiliated to Juventus, in Italy. He will be leaving soon but everything is a bit easier for him, his father already works there.
Those like Abu have to hope that their parents will start working again, that Real Malindi will recover some funds to move forward and that someone will really start thinking about the future of these youngsters and of the land where they are trying to grow up.

 

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TAGS: calcio kenyaaccademia kenyafurunzireal malindisociale kenyaaiuti kenyasolidarietà malindi

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