Children in Malawi love soccer. Across the south African country, kids compete on school teams and play pick-up games at any opportunity. But few children get to play with real soccer balls. In communities where water is scarce and meals are infrequent, owning a soccer ball is a luxury. Determined to play, kids make their own balls from plastic and other materials often scavenged from the trash. Paper or plastic is wadded up, packed tightly, covered with more plastic, and secured with an intricate grid of knotted string.
When MLS champs and CARE’s hometown team Atlanta United FC heard about the passion kids in Malawi have for the beautiful game, they helped us deliver new soccer balls to a few schools where CARE works in Malawi.