Blog from Rwanda - Kazo Futbol

Blog from Natalia Pena—

On Monday, May 19 we had our second soccer clinic with nearly 150 children from Kazo and surrounding areas. After our morning session we were able to present them with the soccer gear that was so generously donated to Humanity for Children. The  representatives from HFC's partnering host organization in Rwanda also came by and we were introduced to the Kazo soccer academy's coaches and captains. Everyone was so excited to see the amount of shoes, uniforms and soccer balls laid out on the field that they could soon use to develop their soccer skills and play the game we all love so much. It was an incredible experience getting to work with these enthusiastic soccer players and getting to know their culture. Something that really touched my heart, especially as a defender, was when Taylor and I had to assign positions to our team before a scrimmage and we asked who wanted to play what. Usually when I ask the kids I coach back home "who wants to play defense?" nobody raises their hands. It's hard to get players to play defense because everyone just wants to play forward and score goals. Today, when we asked "so who wants to play defense?" to my surprise, everyone was eager to raise their hands. Everyone was so eager to play any position and it really showed how grateful they were for any opportunity to play this beautiful game.