Football is the most followed sport across the world, and gives a lot of joy to players and fans alike. The sport has been used as a medium to help individuals living in difficult circumstances make the most of their lives, giving them another chance.
The same is true of the Yuwa foundation, an organisation that helps combat social issues for girls through football. Focused on social development, Yuwa is one of India’s largest girls football programs, with more than 250 players involved on an almost day-to-day basis.
Founded by Franz Gastler in 2009, the organisation’s prime role is to prevent child marriage, illiteracy and human trafficking, especially involving young girls from rural areas in India.
Through their efforts, Yuwa have helped girls in Hutup, outside of Ranchi, the state capital of Jharkhand, get educated, learn practical skills, teamwork and play football.
Their heartwarming journey is now being captured as part of an episodic series titled #GirlsWithGoals, which takes a look at their journey from Hutup to Spain, where they are currently taking part in the Donosti Cup.
Their performances at the tournament are typical of the values that are integral to Yuwa as they are battling against all odds to ensure they do their best. Having lost their first group match 6-0, they made a rousing comeback in their second match, winning it 1-0 but lost the third game 3-0. Despite the setbacks these girls are raring to go ahead with vigour and passion, battling all odds, with a smile on their face.
Through the combination of hard work and teamwork, the girls are sending a message to the rest of society that they will do whatever it takes to achieve their goal.
Bollywood superstar Ranbir Kapoor and Superbrand Lenovo, are doing their bit to help raise funds for the Yuwa girls, who are now striving to have their own school built in Hutup, to help give more force to the cause and mission.
Through the #GirlsWithGoals campaign, Lenovo has also kickstarted a UGC activity called #KickForABrick, which is intended to help raise money that can be used to construct the school for the girls, showing the progress they have made, and how they struggled in the initial days to reach where they are currently.
As part of the #KickForABrick campaign, people can share videos of themselves playing with a football which will then be posted on social media. These videos, along with the funding campaign, will help raise awareness about the cause on hand, and help the movement gather more support.
The Yuwa girls and Lenovo are both not afraid of failures, drawing strength and determination from every failure of theirs to keep moving forward and never stand still. The Yuwa girls are educated in a manner that encourages them to learn from failure and helps them improve, rather than dwell on it.
The focus is always on bettering oneself and understanding where they went wrong so that the same mistakes aren’t repeated in the future, keeping their constant evolution going.
The emphasis is on not only helping the girls to get the money necessary to build their school, but to give more and more girls a shot at realising their dreams through the medium of football.
Support the Lenovo-YUWA campaign, which attempts to help build a new school for the YUWA girls, who have shown how good they are at football and how they have used the sport to better their lives.
Log on to #GirlsWithGoals follow their journey and contribute in whatever way you can. You can also help them by donating money for their school here.
