I pray this is the beginning of a good life for him. The path won’t be easy but it can be done.
RP Futkaleros join Street Child World Cup
PIER DOS, Tondo — He grew up inside a truck yard–a little boy dwarfed by 18-wheelers maneuvering non-stop to and from the gates. An almost-permanent cloud of dust is kicked about by the many turning wheels, or the occasional breeze wafting from the sea. There is nothing in this place but rubber, steel, grease, and dirt. But to 15-year-old Roberto Orlandez, this is home.
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Street child World Cup
And with the heart of a Tondo kid, and a desire to get his family out of their container van life, Roberto then left the truck yard and tried out for the Street Child World Cup, an international competition of children from poor backgrounds coming from all over the world.
Street Child World Cup aims to give street children a voice, and a chance to rise from the conditions they were born into.
“When you live in a place like this, you should really have the courage to dream. It’s important to aim for something, because if you don’t, you’ll never leave this place. You’ll be stuck here for the rest of your life. You will amount to nothing,” he says.
For months, Roberto trained and tried out with boys and girls from orphanages, from the streets, or from informal homes like his own. Those who will be picked in the 10-member football team will compete in South Africa against street children from eight other nations, namely Brazil, Tanzania, United Kingdom, South Africa, Ukraine, Nicaragua, India, and Vietnam.
And when the final roster was announced, there was his name, next to a position so befitting of his mission in life – ROBERTO ORLANDEZ: GOALIE.
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via Poor Pinoy kids off to ‘World Cup’ | ABS-CBN News Online Beta.