Excerpt from the Ground #2: Showing Love with a 13 Dollar Soccer Ball

I never knew that a soccer ball could change a child’s life, but over spring break ’09 nineteen other Canadians and I got to see 52 fair trade soccer balls change hundreds of children’s lives. Working alongside Younglife and Love Tijuana our group of twenty got the amazing opportunity to spread God’s love to the people of Tijuana, Mexico. During our six day trip we built a house in Terrazas, gave food and milk to families living at “the river” (poorest part of Tijuana), gave out 76 school bags, and 52 soccer balls.

Something I will never forget was an amazing experience where our group got to give twenty soccer balls to a school. Once the young students of the school saw what we had brought it was nothing short of a mob, who knew that twenty fair trade soccer balls could make over three hundred kids jump and scream to the point where we were all overwhelmed and even a little scared. What was so amazing was knowing that the balls we were giving to these kids were fair trade- no child labour, and the company’s factory is in Pakistan and pays all their employees fair wages. It was great to give a gift that you knew in no way had been part of exploiting someone by not treating them fairly.

There is no feeling like giving a soccer ball to a child who dreams and talks about being a soccer player, but doesn’t have the money to buy a one. To them, every gift we gave was so much more than it appeared to us, it wasn’t just a ball, it was hope that someone cares about what they go through every day and is willing to do something about it. To see the kid’s faces light up when they got a soccer ball and to see the tears of joy in their parent’s eyes brought the trip in to perspective. What does twenty Canadian teens and leaders travelling thousand of miles to come to a place where hope is strong but means are not look like to a family who received a house, to the families that were given food, to the kids who got school bags and to the neighbourhoods of kids that now have soccer balls to share and enjoy together?

The gift we all got from giving joy to those families and children far out- weighs the true fact that our group couldn’t help everyone and that we couldn’t give to everyone we saw, because we just didn’t have enough, but that feeling swells up in you and makes you want to go back and have twice as much to give. So maybe one day everyone will know that they are worth so much more than the property the government won’t let them own, or the food they can’t always give to their children. They need to know and be shown how precious they are, and we need to show them.

- submitted by Cordell W.