By Jacqueline Lee | GlobalGiving InTheField Representative
Jacqueline Lee is an InTheField Traveler with GlobalGiving who is visiting our partners’ projects throughout Southeast Asia. Her “Postcard” from the visit in Indonesia:
July 23, I met with Homeless World Cup Team 2011, Rumah Cemara from Indonesia. Immediately I knew it was not an organization like others - every person I met was not only laid back, cool, and “against the grain”... every person I spoke with was inspiring and open to share the challenges and experiences faced throughout life.
When touring the organization, It was great to see the Homeless World Cup 2011 trophies for “Best New Team” and “6th in Tournament”. After taking a tour, I sat down with Ginan, the founder, and he explained that being a part of Homeless World Cup was a life-changing experience. He never dreamed that “people like us can represent our country in a world class tournament.” He said that the tournament is not just a game, it’s about change within yourself. When I spoke with another player, who played as a defender in the tournament, he said he loved being able to play soccer with people from all over the world. He had never met people from those countries before, and he said meeting them was exciting. What was his favorite part about the tournament? "That people like 'us' can represent the name of our country." When he returned, he felt very excited and proud, especially when returning to Bandung. People were cheering for the team at the airport, and that day "I was crying… crying because I felt so proud."
Rumah Cemara provides these marginalized youth an opportunity to have a safe environment, a family, and a trusting network to connect with, learn from, and grow with. Why do they do football/soccer programs? Ginan and staff say because It is an effective way to spread the message of Rumah Cemara and to bridge the gap with the local community, decreasing stigma and discrimination. Rumah Cemara is a place to be free for anyone and everyone - a place to be themselves. Rumah Cemara hopes that Indonesia can be a place without discrimination.
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