We are building a soccer pitch in the middle of a moonscape field, in the middle of nowhere. Why? Because it will transform a community. Listen to this:
A few days ago, I was with Headmaster Norman, the guy who has started building this project. The ground is littered with sharp lava rock, it is uneven, it has potholes. We were just two guys scoping out the place but I had a soccer ball so we could take some “before” photos of the project. We were just going to take a few pix, that’s all. But within seconds of the soccer ball appearing, almost as though an invisible signal had been sent throughout the town, children appeared. Then a half dozen grownups. The photos were taken, Norman tossed the ball toward the onlookers and then magic happened.
People started to play.
Everyone.
Old, young, boys, girls, barefooted, sandaled, dress-shod, the ball darted right and left. Gaggles of kids 
chased it when it flew into the bush. More people joined the game, drawn by the squeals and laughter. Then spectators arrived. There were no teams, refs, rules or goals but on and on the ball flew, through skirmishes and headers and chases and passes. The best player was a little barefoot guy dressed in rags. At the end of an hour, the Headmaster called a truce. He was worn out and we needed to go.
In that one hour, we affirmed what we knew was there from the beginning: this field in the middle of a subsistence farmer community where people need to struggle just to have a liter of water in the house will be a place of joy and pleasure and a community coming together for generations. It will definitely be part of "saving life."
Want to help fund it? It will take several hundred truckloads of fill and loam. Want to come open it in July? Naming rights to the field are still available. ou can donate HERE. If you want to be part of the project, reply to this post. If you want to have your name on the field, comment here or send an email to info@amagara.org and I will respond to you.
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