The objective of the Football for Peace program has remained the same over the past 3 years – opening the children’s minds to a life where violence is not the answer
HOPEFUL. Sameer Adam sees football as a way for him to achieve his dreams. Photo by Bjorn Landas/ Rappler
It’s a game
that’s changing lives.
For 13-year-old
Sameer Adam, football is not just a sport – it’s a way for him to achieve his
dreams of a better life. Growing up in a conflict area in Sultan Kudarat, Adam
would have been part of an armed struggle at a young age. But instead, he is
playing football under the Philippine Marine Corps’ (PMC) Football for Peace
program.
Adam said he
works hard to excel in the sport because he wants to help his family.
“Gusto kong
makaahon sa buhay ko para ‘di mahirapan ‘yung mga parents ko sa mga gastusin,”
he said. (I want to do better in life so that my parents won’t have a hard
time paying our expenses.)
The young boy
sees the program as a stepping stone to reaching his goals – to finish his
education through scholarship programs that he can be given.
“Naniniwala
ako na itong programa ng mga Marines makakatulong ito sa’kin lalung-lalo na
kapag maging scholar ako,” he added. (I believe that this program will
help me, especially when I become a scholar.)
On April 22 to
29, for the first time in his life, Adam visited Manila
“Noong nakita
ko yung Maynila, parang maganda dito kaysa doon (sa amin). Parang nakapag-isip
ako na gusto ko rito,” he said. (When I saw the city of Manila
Wider
perspectives
The educational
tour gives aspiring football players from conflict areas across the country the
opportunity to be exposed to developed communities in the capital region. It
also gives them fresh experiences of interacting with other people, helping
them develop their own self-confidence.
Out of the
hundreds of kids they teach in different provinces, the marines pick 10 who
will participate in the educational tour every year. According to Major Stephen
L. Cabanlet, the program’s founder, they do this every year to show the
children the opportunities that await them in the cities.
“The lifestyle in
Sulu is paired with guns. What the Marines want is to change the perspective of
the children,” Cabanlet said.
“We want them to
realize and say, ‘Why do I need to hold a gun, when I can just hold a book?’
When they grow up, we want the things that they see here in Manila
This year’s
educational tour included visits to the AFP Theater, the Mind
Museum , Luneta Park Rio 2” and explore the different malls around Metro
Manila.
NEW LEARNINGS.
Football for Peace delegates listen to their tour guide in the Mind Museum
The children had
the chance to interact and play with the popular Azkal brothers, Phil and James
Younghusband. A football clinic with the Meralco Sparks was also done at the
Emperador Stadium.
The delegates
also competed with teams from the Ateneo, La Salle, Don Bosco, and other
football clubs in the National Capital Region (NCR), Batangas, and Cavite
Books
over guns, balls over bullets
Sulu-based
Philippine Marines started the Football for Peace program because they
wanted to teach good values to the disaffected youth of Sulu through sports.
What started as their pastime eventually became their advocacy.
Playing football
became an avenue for them to connect with the local communities.The Marines
slowly changed their image from “war-fighters” to being well-loved coaches.
From having only
one football for 100 kids in Sulu, the program has expanded to the provinces of
Palawan , Tawi-Tawi, Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat,
and Zambonga. With the help of various groups, the Marines were able to collect
footballs for the children. Rappler, through a crowd sourced campaign, donated 1,200 footballs to the program. Recently,
Chevrolet Philippines
Cabanlet said the
program is not only changing the children’s lives but also the impression that
the military has in the communities.
“When they talk
about the military, they immediately think that we’re present to devastate
them. We are warriors, so the connotation is danger, but we also want them to
see the other side of the Marines,” Cabanlet said.
“We want to
establish a good relationship in the community. We want to help build the
community.”
Better
future through football
The PMC uses
football to instill moral values that the children can carry with them for the
rest of their lives. The objective has remained the same over the past 3 years
– opening the children’s minds to a life where violence is not the answer.
The coaches
assigned to the various age brackets said that it is not hard to teach the
children because they treat them like their real parents.
FRIENDLY
COMPETITION. The delegates compete with teams from the National Capital Region.
Photo from the Philippine Marines
“We don’t just
train these kids to play football. We teach them discipline too. It’s part of
the game to respect people, so we also teach them that. I’m not just their
coach, but I can also be their parent,” Rodelyn Amigos, a coach assigned at
Jolo, Sulu, said in Filipino.
The program
contributes to the individual growth of the chosen students. Corporal Arnel
Soriano, head coach of the First Marine Brigade of the football club, said the
kids learn to become more responsible for their actions.
“By simply teaching
them to sweep the floor or fix their beds, we’ve helped them develop their
sense of responsibility to one another. They get to practice this at home,
too,” Soriano added.
The project has
evolved to serve as an encouragement and a source of inspiration to the
children. What used to be only a call for peace has given hope to the hundreds
of kids like Adam who struggle because of violence. For the Marines, football
has been a great aid to peace, and a way for the children to dream of a better
future.
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