Photo taken at Amici Missouri cor. Connecticut in Greenhills Saturday, Feb 20. With the team and Congressman Miles Roces, a friend of my pops and someone I used to lengthily interview on sports and boxing when I was with Solar Sports. This column also appears in the February 22 edition of the Business Mirror.
From the streets with no names
by rick olivares
A football with a circumference of 68-70 centimeters weighs anywhere from 410-450 grams. The inflated ball, machine-stitched and bound using leather, plastic and synthetic material, is kicked around a field for at least 90 minutes.
Incredible as it may sound, that ball, of which the world sport takes its name from, is also known for its miraculous and healing powers. It inflames passions, inspires visions of glory, and interestingly enough, plays Make A Wish to street children.
There are currently 11 street children named to the Philippine National Team to the 1st Deloitte Street Child World Cup in Dunbar, South Africa from March 14-23, 2010 in Durban, South Africa. Before they all cracked the lineup, their collective journeys were on the highway to neverwhere or sometimes the streets of Manila.
Ladylyn Ampe hails from Davao. After her parents separated, her father relocated along with her to his hometown of Quezon while the mother moved to Manila. She couldn’t quite take the separation and she ran away one day to be with her mother. Aided by a Davaoeño, Ladylyn found her mother but the euphoria of the reunion soon died down. Her mother was now with another man and when she wasn’t around, he would routinely beat her up. It continued until she could no longer take it and had to run away once more. But the mean streets of Manila aren’t without its share of urban predators. Mercifully, a social worker found her and took her to the Nayon ng Kabataan where she found refuge and respite from a world that continued to crumble around her. Ladylyn watched the older kids play football everyday and one day tried it out and became good at it. So good that on the Street Child team, she plays striker. But that’s not the only thing she’s good at. Through schooling at the center, she enjoys the baking and cooking classes. She’d one day like to become a chef. As much as she’d want to cook for others, her dream too as well, is to prepare a fine dining meal for her parents, whom she prays for everyday and that they’d all be reunited.
Names are powerful stuff. They let you in on who a person is and can be. He goes by the name of Blue Shark; wholly different from the one-named Brazilian wunderkinds. It sounds more like a gang moniker. If you hear that his mother team is Muntinlupa United FC, a team composed of the children of convicts and jail guards of New Bilibid Prison; one can assume that. It’s far from that. “Blue” is because he always wear shirts of that color and “shark” because he is blindingly fast. He used to sleep in a nipa hut with six other persons, rise before the crack of dawn to sell pandesal from a local bakery, and then play football in the afternoon. Once he was done playing with boots that are heavily taped up to keep them together, he would use his earnings to pay for a bath at PhP 15 a pail. His daily meals were provided by the bakery.
John Robert Gaerlan, previously known as Blue Shark, with his team from Muntinglupa.
During the formation of the Street Child team, he tried out and made it. He was moved to Tuloy sa Don Bosco where he not only found a new home, but new friends, and a chance at education. Even better, his MUFC coaches have located his mother and sister and have brought about a happy reunion.
While receiving a back massage Anton Cancio, a licensed chiropractor, and one of the team’s benefactors, he is beginning to feel like a real person with a real shot at better life. After his five-minute session is done, he plops down in the waiting room as his teammates have their own and browses through some magazines. He is learning to speak in English and that is good. “My name is John Robert Gaerlan,” he says. “It’s not Blue Shark.”
Jayson Simangan is a 16-year old lad from Mandaluyong City. He left home with his older brother Joey to beg in the streets. They were so poor that they most often had nothing to eat at home. They left whatever small comforts they had to take a chance on the streets and busy highways just for a morsel of food. The brothers would rummage through garbage bins for things that could also be sold in junk shops. A social worker found them and took them to Nayon. Jayson has thrived in the new surroundings, sleeping in a real bed, eating’s meals three times a day, and finding a place on the SCWC Team. His older brother seemed to prefer the freedom of the streets and returned to it, leaving a hole in Jayson’s heart. Joey just wishes him good luck when the team leaves for South Africa. It pains Jayson and he steels himself, refusing to let strangers see what eats him up inside. But he will not let go of the opportunity to make something for himself and now, for his country. He feels a pride that never before burned inside him.
The stories of the team all run along parallel lines. They rend your heart and leave you thinking of what you can do. Life may have been difficult for these kids but who would have figured that a ball, a football, would give them a renewed sense of hope to take on its challenges?
The Street Child World Cup, is a seven-a-side tournament with six boys and one girl on the pitch at all times. The age category is 14-16 years old. The team is composed of 11 players from acknowledged centers and clubs like---Tuloy sa Don Bosco Street Children Village, Nayon ng Kabataan, Manila Boys Town Complex, Philippine Christian Foundation, Gawad Kalinga, The Tondo Futkaleros, Football Club of Leveriza and Muntinlupa United FC. Two of them might not be able to make the trip to South Africa in time because of problems with their papers. The team’s original team captain was crushed when it was discovered that he was overage when his NSO papers arrived. The upside is during the search for his papers, it led to a happy reunion with his family that is an even bigger blessing.
The Philippine Team, as coached by Jess Landagan and leaves on March 12, 2010, is composed of team captain Erica Mae Inocencio, John Robert Gaerlan (defender), Ladylyn Ampe (striker), Noriel Pineones (midfield), Mario Titoy (midfield), Raymond Ilona (right wing), Jayson Simangan (defender), Roberto Orlandez, Jr. (goalkeeper) and Lorelyn Cabanayan (striker) along with reserves Jonah Garrido and Gerry Boy Joaquino.
Team sponsors: Freddy Gonzalez, Damian & Laura Dunn, Sandy Moran, Monchu Garcia, Miles Roces, Iñaki Alvarez, Manuel de Jesus, Mike Camahort, Robs Delfino, Carla Ramsey, Fernando Pena, The Football Alliance Group, Dicky & Cathy Rivilla, Sarah McLeod, Stephen Davis, Dolores Cheng, Stone Baptist Church and Danny Moran. The team’s major sponsors: Deloitte, Angus Lawson Memorial Trust, Deutsche Bank, Mitre, Whitehouse Scientific, Amos Trust, Bayanihan National Dance Co., Tesoro's and Amici pizza pasta.
The Philippine Street Children team is organized and co-managed by Craig Burrows and Ed Formoso under the auspices of The Henry V. Moran Foundation.
Muchos gracias to my good buddy Ed Formoso. It's okay, Ed. Nobody's perfect.
You also might want to read this on the Muntinglupa United Football Club that i wrote last year.
To know more about the Street Child World Cup, click on this.
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