MARGAO
Goan football club Compassion FC has launched the Afro Asia Compassion Girls Football Community, an initiative aimed at empowering underprivileged girls through football in East Africa.
The programme was launched in Nairobi, Kenya recently by Kennedy D’Silva, the director of the Goa-based NGO Karuna Football Foundation, which supports talented young footballers from the underprivileged and marginalised communities to develop into professional footballers through its team Compassion FC.
The programme, which has already made a significant impact in some Asian countries over the past five years, has expanded its reach to Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda, marking a crucial milestone in its mission to uplift girls from marginalised communities across the Afro-Asian region.
The Afro Asia Compassion Girls Football Community seeks to address the socio-economic challenges faced by underprivileged girls by providing them with opportunities for personal growth, education, and skill development through the medium of football. By leveraging the power of sports, the initiative aims to foster empowerment, gender equality, and holistic well-being among the participants.
"Football has the power to break barriers, inspire confidence, and promote social inclusion," said John Piedade Gomes, a native of Navelim, Goa and now the patron of Afro Asia Compassion Girls Football Community. The winner of the Order of the Grand Warrior of Kenya (OGW) by the Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta for his yeoman service to Kenya’s education system, Gomes said, "We are thrilled to extend the programme started in Goa, from where I hail and slowly spreading in South Asia now to East Africa, our partnering with many local communities, schools and organisations in Kenya will help to create opportunities for girls who face numerous challenges due to their socio-economic circumstances."
The first partners to the Compassion programme in East Africa are with the Earth Angels team (Kenya) of Paloma Fernandes, Marion D'Costa D’Souza and Renee Rodrigue, women based in Nairobi, working to help abandoned, physically and mentally disabled, orphaned and the poorest of poor children, living in orphanages, especially the 16 Mother Teresa homes and also by non-governmental agencies by assisting them with educational and nutritional needs for these children.
D'Silva on his launch visit to Africa was supported by many well-known Goan football clubs with handing over footballs to the partners who earlier used balls made of paper and plastic.
As part of its long-term vision, the Afro Asia Compassion Girls Football Community plans to expand its reach to more African and Asian countries, partnering with local communities, organisations, and governments to create lasting change and transform the lives of millions of underprivileged girls with the help of like-minded individuals and corporate donors.
