The Home Team
by rick olivares
by rick olivares
It is said that a ball – a soccer ball – can change the world and that the pitch in which people play in are its field of dreams.
It may be verily so but if you ask Russel Jacinto, an 18-year old lass from Mindanao, football is all about finding herself as a person, knowing she is a human being, and that there is some goodness left in this world.
You see, after her father passed away several years ago, at the tender age of 14, she was brought to Manila by a relative to take on the new mantle of bread winner for her family. The five-foot-three girl with long black hair was sad to leave her old life behind but was excited about coming to Manila, that shining beacon of hope and opportunity for many a probinsyano. Prior to that, she had never even set foot outside her hometown of Gacub, La Purisima, Prosperidad, Agusan Del Sur so Manila was a whole new world for her. Within a day of her arrival in the nation’s capital, the wonder had turned into a nightmare.
Russel, along with 25 other minors worked in a garment factory in San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City. They worked long hours under inhumane conditions – all bunched up in a room that would normally only be good for less than 10 people. They had as little as five hours of sleep and were tasked to do domestic chores that were clearly outside their job description. Their employers subjected them to so much verbal abuse and difficulty that Russel would cry herself to sleep night after night. She stifled her sobs only to realize that everyone else was doing the same. They were fed – scraps of food with the rice sometimes borderline spoiled – once or twice a day depending on how the owner felt. And when they were given meals, they were not even issued any eating utensils. By contrast, the pet dogs of the factory owner were fed even better. To cap off the cruelty, they were paid far less than minimum wage.
That all changed when one of her colleagues escaped and reported the slavery to the police. The factory was raided and the kids liberated to various orphanages or child centers where they met more children like them. “Tanong ko nga, ‘bakit kami dinala sa mundo tapos ganito lang ang mangyayari sa amin,'” recalled Jacinto with a mixture of anger and sadness.
It was while at the Nayon ng Kabataan in Mandaluyong City where Russel first watched members of the National Team to the Homeless World Cup (HWC) practice. “Nagustuhan ko yung football at na inspire ako kaya nagpumilit ako sumali,” she said unable to hide her newfound excitement and second chance to life.
It is in essence the point and story of the HWC. It’s an annual celebration of lost souls looking for a shot at redemption and to find their place in the world. The competition is also used to draw attention to the issues of poverty in society.
The first tournament took place in Graz, Austria with 17 nations taking part. In the five editions of the
HWC, the organization has reported a 73% success rate of its participants bettering their positions in life after this unique experience.
The sixth tournament that will be held in Melbourne, Australia, from December 1-7, 2008, will find 54 teams including first-time participant, the Philippines, in the four-a-side mixed competition of players at least 16 years of age. In the HWC, teams (with a roster of eight players) compete in two seven-minute halves in a small-sized court of 22x16 meters. It’s like futsal only in a faster and more exciting setting.
Bill Shaw is from East Jordan, Michigan, but he found his calling in the Philippines as the Executive Director for Urban Opportunities for Change Foundation Inc. and the organizer for the local HWC. It’s a massive and difficult undertaking but Shaw believes that, “It’s all about getting kids off the streets, getting them an education, and looking for opportunities. It’s not just for the homeless but also those recovering from substance and alcohol abuse and the poor. The HWC is a home for the homeless and the disenfranchised.”
Ed Formoso, most recently the Media Relations Officer of the Philippine Football Federation, has been a long time champion of football as an agent of change. He pushed for the Gawad Kalinga football program and now has joined forces with Shaw in helping the HWC Philippine team. “Sports they say is like education – a great equalizer. But in our case, it’s about finding people’s dignity and self-worth.”
Coaching the team is the former Women’s National Team Head Coach Marlon Maro who knows what it’s like to grow up poor. “Huwag na natin isipin kung maganda yung sweldo dahil wala naman pera sa football dito sa atin. Konting sakripisyo at tulong na lang 'to para sa mga batang ‘to, sa bayan, at sa growth ng sport.”
Maro’s assistant is Jeff Landagan, head gaffer for the Rizal Technological University football varsity, who grew up in an orphanage and this is his way of giving back. Also helping out are two Cameroonians -- Paul Kiyek and Alex Obiang. The two were “recruited” to play in a pro football league in the Philippines and when they arrived they found out they were not only duped out of their money but there was nothing for them here. Strangers in a strange land and armed with only basic conversational English, they looked for a way to connect with the local football community and found themselves drawn to HWC where they help train the team every weekend.
During one practice, Paul wore an Inter Milan jersey while Alex sported the black and white stripes of Juventus. The HWC team was in their national kits while a few others in the training pool bore the red jerseys of the RP Men’s National Team. “We’re all homeless,” beamed Obiang. “But through the game and this team, we found a home for now. It makes life worth living.”
“Part of the task is helping them after the HWC,” said a concerned Shaw. “It’s the start of the long road to recovery. But at least we’re on the road and off the streets.”
Jeff Solis knows the streets of Manila so well. Abandoned by his mother years ago, he had to fend for himself by begging, working as a jeepney barker, and sniffing rugby when he wanted all his problems to go away. Picked up in the stratosphere half naked by the Manila Police, he was brought to the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Street Children Village in Muntinlupa where half the HWC team comes from (the other half hails from the Nayon ng Kabataan of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Mandaluyong City). There he found a home, religion, an education, and football.
Excited about the prospect of going to Australia and representing the country, he was informed that he needed his parents’ signature for him to get his passport to Australia. After much looking, his mother surfaced one day. She said “hi” to her long-lost son, signed the papers, and disappeared again. Just when Jeff is on the rebound, his old life sneaks in a sucker punch to the gut that leaves him in tears.
Maricel Quitoy not only is from Agusan like Jacinto but she was also in that sweatshop. Since her rescue, she has written several letters to her mother telling her about her travails in Manila. To date, she has not received any reply at all. “Dito ang tahanan ko. Heto na ang pamilya ko,” she pointed to her teammates. “Football… ang pagasa namin lahat.”
It may be verily so but if you ask Russel Jacinto, an 18-year old lass from Mindanao, football is all about finding herself as a person, knowing she is a human being, and that there is some goodness left in this world.
You see, after her father passed away several years ago, at the tender age of 14, she was brought to Manila by a relative to take on the new mantle of bread winner for her family. The five-foot-three girl with long black hair was sad to leave her old life behind but was excited about coming to Manila, that shining beacon of hope and opportunity for many a probinsyano. Prior to that, she had never even set foot outside her hometown of Gacub, La Purisima, Prosperidad, Agusan Del Sur so Manila was a whole new world for her. Within a day of her arrival in the nation’s capital, the wonder had turned into a nightmare.
Russel, along with 25 other minors worked in a garment factory in San Francisco Del Monte, Quezon City. They worked long hours under inhumane conditions – all bunched up in a room that would normally only be good for less than 10 people. They had as little as five hours of sleep and were tasked to do domestic chores that were clearly outside their job description. Their employers subjected them to so much verbal abuse and difficulty that Russel would cry herself to sleep night after night. She stifled her sobs only to realize that everyone else was doing the same. They were fed – scraps of food with the rice sometimes borderline spoiled – once or twice a day depending on how the owner felt. And when they were given meals, they were not even issued any eating utensils. By contrast, the pet dogs of the factory owner were fed even better. To cap off the cruelty, they were paid far less than minimum wage.
That all changed when one of her colleagues escaped and reported the slavery to the police. The factory was raided and the kids liberated to various orphanages or child centers where they met more children like them. “Tanong ko nga, ‘bakit kami dinala sa mundo tapos ganito lang ang mangyayari sa amin,'” recalled Jacinto with a mixture of anger and sadness.
It was while at the Nayon ng Kabataan in Mandaluyong City where Russel first watched members of the National Team to the Homeless World Cup (HWC) practice. “Nagustuhan ko yung football at na inspire ako kaya nagpumilit ako sumali,” she said unable to hide her newfound excitement and second chance to life.
It is in essence the point and story of the HWC. It’s an annual celebration of lost souls looking for a shot at redemption and to find their place in the world. The competition is also used to draw attention to the issues of poverty in society.
The first tournament took place in Graz, Austria with 17 nations taking part. In the five editions of the
HWC, the organization has reported a 73% success rate of its participants bettering their positions in life after this unique experience.The sixth tournament that will be held in Melbourne, Australia, from December 1-7, 2008, will find 54 teams including first-time participant, the Philippines, in the four-a-side mixed competition of players at least 16 years of age. In the HWC, teams (with a roster of eight players) compete in two seven-minute halves in a small-sized court of 22x16 meters. It’s like futsal only in a faster and more exciting setting.
Bill Shaw is from East Jordan, Michigan, but he found his calling in the Philippines as the Executive Director for Urban Opportunities for Change Foundation Inc. and the organizer for the local HWC. It’s a massive and difficult undertaking but Shaw believes that, “It’s all about getting kids off the streets, getting them an education, and looking for opportunities. It’s not just for the homeless but also those recovering from substance and alcohol abuse and the poor. The HWC is a home for the homeless and the disenfranchised.”
Ed Formoso, most recently the Media Relations Officer of the Philippine Football Federation, has been a long time champion of football as an agent of change. He pushed for the Gawad Kalinga football program and now has joined forces with Shaw in helping the HWC Philippine team. “Sports they say is like education – a great equalizer. But in our case, it’s about finding people’s dignity and self-worth.”
Coaching the team is the former Women’s National Team Head Coach Marlon Maro who knows what it’s like to grow up poor. “Huwag na natin isipin kung maganda yung sweldo dahil wala naman pera sa football dito sa atin. Konting sakripisyo at tulong na lang 'to para sa mga batang ‘to, sa bayan, at sa growth ng sport.”
Maro’s assistant is Jeff Landagan, head gaffer for the Rizal Technological University football varsity, who grew up in an orphanage and this is his way of giving back. Also helping out are two Cameroonians -- Paul Kiyek and Alex Obiang. The two were “recruited” to play in a pro football league in the Philippines and when they arrived they found out they were not only duped out of their money but there was nothing for them here. Strangers in a strange land and armed with only basic conversational English, they looked for a way to connect with the local football community and found themselves drawn to HWC where they help train the team every weekend.
During one practice, Paul wore an Inter Milan jersey while Alex sported the black and white stripes of Juventus. The HWC team was in their national kits while a few others in the training pool bore the red jerseys of the RP Men’s National Team. “We’re all homeless,” beamed Obiang. “But through the game and this team, we found a home for now. It makes life worth living.”
“Part of the task is helping them after the HWC,” said a concerned Shaw. “It’s the start of the long road to recovery. But at least we’re on the road and off the streets.”
Jeff Solis knows the streets of Manila so well. Abandoned by his mother years ago, he had to fend for himself by begging, working as a jeepney barker, and sniffing rugby when he wanted all his problems to go away. Picked up in the stratosphere half naked by the Manila Police, he was brought to the Tuloy sa Don Bosco Street Children Village in Muntinlupa where half the HWC team comes from (the other half hails from the Nayon ng Kabataan of the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Mandaluyong City). There he found a home, religion, an education, and football.Excited about the prospect of going to Australia and representing the country, he was informed that he needed his parents’ signature for him to get his passport to Australia. After much looking, his mother surfaced one day. She said “hi” to her long-lost son, signed the papers, and disappeared again. Just when Jeff is on the rebound, his old life sneaks in a sucker punch to the gut that leaves him in tears.
Maricel Quitoy not only is from Agusan like Jacinto but she was also in that sweatshop. Since her rescue, she has written several letters to her mother telling her about her travails in Manila. To date, she has not received any reply at all. “Dito ang tahanan ko. Heto na ang pamilya ko,” she pointed to her teammates. “Football… ang pagasa namin lahat.”
Author’s Notes:
How you can help: Email theformosoway@yahoo.com and bill@thejeepney.com. Read The Jeepney and help street people earn a proper living.
The sweat shop where Russel and Maricel were freed from incidentally is still operating. Those f****** have obviously paid some cops to keep their illegal factory open. If I had a nuke....
The HWC Philippine Team: Christian Yves Caroro, Jay-R De Jesus, Ricky Elequio, Russel Jacinto, Marlon Lagundino, Rondolf Loggakit, Kevin Prix Logioy, Maricel Quitoy, Nomer Olivarez, Jeffrey Solis, Nina Versoza, and Arnold Villanueva.
Thanks to my old friend Ed Formoso, Bill Shaw (long time coming, sir and it was fun talking about the HWC and Ateneo basketball), and to Coaches Marlon and Jess.
Thanks to my old friend Ed Formoso, Bill Shaw (long time coming, sir and it was fun talking about the HWC and Ateneo basketball), and to Coaches Marlon and Jess.
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