Weekly on Volkskrantreizen.nl: article 6 (Dutch)

A new story on 'My Game is Beautiful' from de desk of Volkskrantreizen correspondent Jaap Scholten. Click here for article 6 "Op de motor naar Kathmandu"

[Preview]

Na het verblijf in Bodh-Gaya hadden Franz Gastler en Willem Grimminck een lange rit voor de boeg: door de vlakte van de Ganges en over de ‘foothills’ van de Himalaya naar de Vallei van Kathmandu.

Willem: “voor het eerst gaan we klimmen met de motor. Met de komst van de bergen was ook het verkeer verdwenen. Op een paar schoolkinderen na reden we alleen door de bergen met een geweldig uitzicht over pittoreske dalen met bergdorpjes en terrassen waar de bewoners hun gewassen verbouwen. Een onbeschrijfelijk mooi landschap. Na twee uur rijden (en 40 kilometer!) kwam ik op de top van de heuvel waar een ware beloning op me wachtte: het uitgestrekte Himalaya-gebergte met de Mount Everest. Een wereldwonder!” Lees verder

In the news: 'My Game is Beautiful in South Asia'

Republica, a national daily in Nepal, introduced 'My Game is Beautiful' to the Nepali public.

Weekly on Volkskrantreizen.nl: article 5 (Dutch)

Volkskrantreizen reporter Jaap Scholten did it again. Click here for article 5 'Voetballen in boedha's stad Bodh-Gaya

[Preview]

Na drie georganiseerde toernooien wilden Willem Grimminck en Franz Gastler wel eens weten hoe meiden spontaan reageren op het voorstel om een partijtje te voetballen. Vinden ze het het overal echt zo leuk? Van Dumka reden de initiatiefnemers van “My Game is Beautiful” naar de heilige stad Bodh-Gaya met de idee om de bal ergens op te gooien en te kijken wie er tegenaan trapt. Lees verder

Reflection 1: Results after 5 games and 1500 KM

With the first games on tape and Christmas time ahead its time for reflection. What are the results so far?

Reaching communities

• Reaching underprivileged girls in the Indian tribal belt, the outskirts of Kolkata and in the streets of a tourist place.

• Video reports of 5 football events capturing the passion and ability of young woman in North-Eastern India.

Developing partnerships

• Support by Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) Jharkhand for a ‘Special Football Camp for tribal girls’ at the TATA Football Academy (TFA).

• Commitment of TATA Steel for promoting for Girls football in India and organising exposure visits to official tournaments for YUWA girls football team in 2010.

• Marketing and organisational advice by Sukhvinder Singh, head of Marketing AIFF.

• Support by Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. in Jharkhand for organising a girls football tournaments.

• Support by Usha Martin for YUWA’s launch in 2009 and youth programme in 2010.

• Partnership with national and local NGOs for organising demonstration games.

Raising awareness
   
Our media coverage to date has reached over 10 million people

• Radio 1 - interview (The Netherlands) – December 13, 2009

• Hindustan Times (National Edition) - “Bend it Like Beckhambhai. New Ballgame: In a village near Ranchi, a small group of girls and their American coach are learning to juggle the football – and their lives”. Sunday, December 6, 2009

• De Pers (National daily in The Netherlands) - “Tribal Girls gain self-confidence through Football”. December 2, 2009

• Hindustan Times (Eastern Edition) - “Soccer Succour: Jharkhand's tribal girls to bend it Like Beckham in Switzerland”. December 1, 2009
• Prabhat Kabar plus seven (7) other Local Newspapers in Eastern India covering 'Special Football Camp for Tribal Girls' at Tata Football Academy. December 1, 2009

• Radio 1 - interview (The Netherlands) - November 17, 2009

• Sun Current (Minnesota, USA) - “Edina Natives Making a Difference in Rural India”. October 8, 2009

• Other Press coverage in national and regional newspapers and electronic media in India, USA and The Netherlands.

Radio 1/LLink interview Willem Grimminck (Dutch)

The Netherlands - Radio 1 reporters asked 'why football?' Click here for the interview broadcasted at Sunday the 13th.

Roadmap: India to Zurich

Traveling from the hills of Jharkhand to the Kolkata delta and through the Ganges plains to Nepal for game no. 5. What’s next? Check the roadmap for 'My Game is Beautiful' on googlemaps


'My Game is Beautiful' - Map weergeven op een grotere kaart

Weekly on Volkskrantreizen.nl: article 4 (Dutch)

Jaap Scholten launched a new story on 'My Game is Beautiful'. Check article 4 'Kolkata'

[Preview]

Na het voetbalkamp bij Tata Steel in Jamshedpur zijn Grimminck en Gastler op zaterdag 5 december op de motor gestapt richting Kolkata. De etappe van ruim 300 kilometer was eenvoudig. “Voor het eerst reden we op iets dat op een snelweg leek. Dat gaat sneller maar het blijft oppassen.. Je komt er namelijk net zoveel voetgangers, vreemde motorvoertuigen en hele kuddes koeien tegen als op de gewone wegen. Ook zagen we vrouwen die hun pas geoogste rijst uitspreiden op de snelweg om het te laten drogen”, aldus Willem. De motorrijders reden Kolkata binnen over de Vidyasagar Setua, de enorme hangbrug over de Hooghly-rivier.

Voor het hele artikel klik hier

Report from the field: Game 2 – Football at TATA city

‘Life’s battles don’t always go to the stronger or faster man; for sooner or later the man who win is the man who thinks he can.’ – Tata Football Academy brochure

Click here for Game 2 pics

From tea to ten-tonne trucks, Tata is everywhere in India. It is the iconic Indian company. Yet for a 100 year-old giant, Tata is surprisingly young at heart. Take the family of five off the 100cc motorcycle and put them in a real car for two thousand dollars? They can do that. Few people thought the Nano was really possible, but for the Tatas like Adidas, impossible is nothing.

For the Tatas, ‘Sport is a way of life’. Even Tata Steel’s chief of corporate sustainability services, Mr Satish Pillai, is a former international athlete who represented India at the Asian Games in athletics. So when the our friends at Tata Steel offered to sponsor a week-long training for twenty-five girls from Yuwa’s teams at India’s top football academy (theirs), we thought what better place for Game 2?

It was a big event for us, our three coaches, and our girls, but also for Tata. Yuwa was the first girls team they had ever hosted – and from the kitchen staff to the head coaches, they did it with all the class you would expect of a century-old company.

However, as Franz mentioned in the last up-date, getting thirty of us down to Jamshedpur hours before a maoist strike closing the state's roads wasn’t exactly a walk in the park.

The plan was to leave Sunday, so I was going to take Saturday say goodbye to my friends in Ranchi. After two years in the city, I had finished my post working for survivors and children vulnerable to human trafficking, and wanted to thank everybody who had helped me along the way. But the announcement of a moaist strike threatening to violently disrupt any travel put a stop to my party plans.

The strike marked the beginning of a new episode in my life. After first gauging the threat (very real) of travelling on Sunday with Franz's team and Rahul Singh (head of CII's Jharkhand office) who had helped us to organize the training, we came to the unfortunate decision we would have to leave after the three-day strike, and cut short the training camp. Then we changed our minds and decided to try to leave that very day. We had all worked too hard for this, and the girls were hugely disappointed to have their time at training camp cut in half.

I started packing and distributing a few last sweets (Indian tradition) to my saati’s (friends). In the meantime Franz, Helena (Yuwa's program director) and her husband tried to organise transportation for the girls from Ranchi to Jamshedpur, but sunset the girls where still waiting with their luggage on top their heads in the village. Most buses were out of service due to the upcoming strike, and three SUVs that had confirmed never showed up.

In a final attempt, I went to the bus station and somehow found a lone bus, destination: TATA. I was biting my nails as the bus company threatened to sell the thirty seats I reserved. Meanwhile, Franz was chasing down four auto-rickshaws for the girls along the highway near Hutup, 20 km away. At the last possible minute, they appeared in the station.

By this time it was dark. The girls and coaches boarded the bus, and drove off in a cloud of dust, with Rahul following in his car. Franz and I rode off to get my bike and said a final farewell to our Ranchi crew (Mark, Rachel and Mahesh).

So the first leg of our journey was at night, hours before a maoist strike, on an unfamiliar road amid trucks having at least one light working if we are lucky. Arriving at Jamshedpur was for us a great victory.

That feeling stayed with us that whole week, even after the excitement of having avoided the strike faded away.

For the girls it was something beyond amazing. None of the girls had been away from home so far for so long. The first day Franz spent a couple of hours teaching the girls to tie their shoe laces and to wash their hands with soap before eating. I enjoyed watching their excitement at this adventure and the luxury of three full meals a day – and not having to cook anything themselves.

After a day of getting used to their temporary dormitory in JRD Tata Stadium, they started their training at Tata Football academy (TFA).

The first thing I noticed was that the coaches are genuinely interested in the talents of the girls. I could see that it naturally brought the best out of the girls without knowing it themselves. Coach Vijay Kumar commented one morning that he believes the most important thing is that the girls have fun – ‘you can’t do anything by force’. It might be common sense for us in the West, but living in India for two years it felt as if I heard a revolutionary speaking. In the most places I visited in India girls are bossed around and nobody asks themselves how that might feel or if the girls want to do what they commanded to do.

The girls' work on the field was rewarded with great cultural programs, and the girls took trips in the brand new TFA bus to a tribal dance competition, the zoo and a laser light show, where they danced in the stands. To understand the experience of the girls I compared the town that orbits on the gravity of TATA to a trip to Disneyland.

For us, the solid relationships we established during the training camp is promising for the future. Satish Pillai, who is chief of TFA and Corporate Sustainability Services at TATA Steel Limited, said to us, “Nothing brings a community together like sports.” Together we discussed how to promote football as a tool for development. The first steps in 2010 will be 1) residential training camps for Yuwa girls at TFA, 2) special trainings for Yuwa coaches at TFA, and 3) fielding a girls team by the Jamshedpur Football Association.

After the closing ceremonies on Saturday, we said a sad goodbye to the girls and coaches. The girls gave us a high five and wished us good luck on the trip – not completely realising where we are going to and what for. Heading off towards Kolkata by bike I wondered what their parents would have to cope with when their girls came home from the camp.

After dark we stopped in Karagpur, West Bengal for a good night's sleep. Stay tuned for the next blog post.

Weekly on Volkskrantreizen.nl: article 3 (Dutch)

Our weekly reporter Jaap Scholten is following us closely. Check article 3 'Voetballen bij TATA Steel’on Volkskrantreizen.nl


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Wie in Jharkhand wil reizen in een verkiezingsweek, moet weten waar hij of zij aan begint. Het streekvervoer ligt plat want alle bussen worden geconfisceerd om kiezers naar de stembussen te rijden. Veel scholen en bedrijven sluiten simpelweg. En daarbij komt nog iets anders: de ‘bandh van de ‘Maoists’. Deze links-extremistische beweging ligt al vier decennia in een slepend conflict met de Indiase overheid en is actief in bijna de helft van de Indiase regio’s, daaronder Jharkhand. De recente verklaring van de overheid voor eens en altijd korte metten te maken met de beweging in combinatie met verkiezingen deed de gemoederen natuurlijk verhitten. Eén van de gevolgen was het uitroepen van een maoïstische ‘bandh’ wat protest en staking betekent in het Hindi. Niet dat iedereen daar nu vrijwillig aan meedoet, maar wie toch de auto pakt of z’n winkel open doet, riskeert represailles.

In the News: Jharkhand's tribal girls to bend it like Beckham in Switzerland

The local edition of Hindustan Times, India's second most read newspaper, covered game 2 in Jamshedpur.

Report from the field; game 1

I may ruin the suspense by telling you we're already down in Jamshedpur, home to TATA Steel. We're comfortably settled now at the athletes dormitories at J.R.D. Tata Stadium, and with us are our three coaches from Yuwa and twenty-five of our Yuwa girls. But getting to here was no walk in the park.


Click here for the game pics

Let me start two weeks back, before the maoist bandh that nearly kept us in Ranchi. The word 'bandh' in Hindi means 'shut down' or 'closing'. Jharkhand is known for insurgency and chaos outside the two major cities of Ranchi and Jamshedpur, but the current election together with the central government's plans to clamp down on the maoists has been stoking the coals.

While I was in Delhi with Helena, our program director, and three kids we selected to represent Jharkhand at the National Children's Assembly, the girls and coaches back in Hutup were preparing for Game 1 of My Game is Beautiful. The girls from our three teams, now up to fifty-five, continued their cold, pre-dawn regimen of getting to the field in the dark, practicing for three hours before heading off to school. Their new Yuwa track jackets lugged back from Delhi have been dampening the bite of the cold, but for the forty who don't yet have shoes, the toe-numbing ground is still testing their commitment.

Looking back on our first tournament in March, it's amazing what eight months and maybe a thousand hours with the girls and coaches can accomplish. Making this tournament was a piece of cake. Our coach, Anand, energetic multi-tasker as always, was busy working with the girls on their song-and-dance numbers for the welcoming ceremony. The sound system came from Neelum's (Hutup assistant captain) brother, and all the fixings for a dinner for sixty were purchased and prepared. This was financed from the girls' savings till I returned from Delhi with the funds (around $100, or a month and a half's wages for most of their families).

Game Day

Sixteen soccer girls in saris welcomed our guests, dancing in adivasi style, moving along in two columns alongside guests and singing. I thanked our teams, told them I was proud of them, and what I've seen change since I arrived eighteen months back, in Hindi I'd been practicing on the train with Helena. Then eight Hutup girls, led by Shivani (age 9) and Neeta (age 10) – nicknamed Chungu and Mungu after two comic dwarves on TV – wowed the crowd with a Nagpuri dance, before the full sixteen sang a hip Hindi welcome song. Our chief guest and good friend, Rahul Singh, a dashing lad heading Confederation of Indian Industry's Jharkhand office, gave the keynote speech, and talked directly to girls of Yuwa, who he has come to know well. He told them about the goal of 'My Game is Beautiful', and said lots of things we would have liked to have if we could speak better Hindi. Finally, Willem and Helena welcomed everyone and got the players pumped-up with some words of encouragement before the first two teams took to the field.

First match, action-packed from the coin toss, brought together neighboring village rivals Adivasi Yuwa Club Hutup and Yuwa Young Girls' Club Rukka. Hutup is our first team, training since March, and it showed. Usha (class 8), the middle sister to Reena (captain) and Puspa (star defender) – but more regular than both in practice – sprinted up the near side putting three missiles only inches wide of the bamboo goalpost on the right side. Sita (class 9), whose fifteen-year-old sister was married off this spring, dribbled around multiple Rukka defenders, launching a couple of left-footers just wide of the left side pipe. Sita's a serious and hard-working girl at practice, and puts a lot of pressure on herself to carry her team and score goals.. She's the second of five sisters (no brothers), and her parents eke out a living selling rice beer. Unless something big happens for her, she knows her parents will send her out the door next. So for her, Yuwa programs and football are a serious affair.

Hutup goalie, Binita (class 10), didn't get much action either half with the Shivani, Puspa (a star since day one who has swapped her yellow dress and red bandanna for Adidas gear sent to us from Germany) and the powerful Poonam (age 17, working to get back into school) on defense.

Luck held for Rukka with the game going to a draw, decided by a shoot-out. Neelum (Hutup assistant captain) went in for Binita as goalkeeper, making some impressive slides and dives, but in the end it wasn't enough after she put a graceful shot past Rukka goalie Sudha's head – unfortunately it was before the whistle. Her next shot went right to Sudha's hands. Yuwa's Rukka girls won by a single shot and went wild.

There were cheers, a few tears and some jeers from the town drunks, but hands were shaken and our girls were good sports in victory and defeat.

Final match - After their tough loss and a few minutes moping behind the spectators' tent, Adivasi Yuwa Club girls (which we usually call “A team”) got back to the sidelines to cheer on their younger neighbors, the similarly named Yuwa Club Hutup (which we usually call “B team”). Started by Hiralal, one of our coaches, B-team is mostly made up of his seven- to fourteen-year-old cousins. They're an ever expanding bunch (presently nineteen), and not yet in possession of shoes or jerseys, so there's still lots of local flavor to the kits, a sort of potpourri of salwar kameez, kurta pajamas and dupattas sailing by.
It was a foregone conclusion that B-team was going to get creamed by the older, bigger and more experienced girls from Rukka, but in contrast to their rather ladylike appearance, the girls of B-team were ready for battle. Right off the first touch right-forward Poonam (age 13) caught a pass from the center, carried it up, cut back, gave it a whack and almost put the leather between the bamboo, but missed by frog's hair, as my grandfather used to say. Minutes later she nearly scored again.

Remarkably, this game too went to a draw. To give you an idea of the spirit of the B-team girls, when the mercury started dipping and the cold kept the other teams in bed an extra half-hour, these girls packed up empty cement, fertilizer and seed sacks with sticks, dry leaves and cow pies, got to the field at the usual dark hour and made little fires next to the field to warm their fingers and toes. During the match I was particularly proud of one particular girl, Lalita, who was with us way back on our very first day of football, but who kept getting nudged off the first team by a few of the girls. Maybe she wasn't family, maybe she wasn't the best player, but whatever it was, she's joined back up and started making her mark on B-team, and got a few big kicks off playing defense.

But the stars were still aligned on this particular Sunday for the girls from down by old Rukka dam, and in the end the shoot-out went their way for a second time, making them champions of the first tournament of 'My Game is Beautiful'.
There was a quick post-tournament exhibition match by the village boys in which I put my much improved (but nothing to write home about) skills to test against guys who actually know what they're doing. In the first few seconds I made a lucky steal from Anand and was pretty proud of myself for taking a flying ball on the forehead, but after using up all my good luck on those moves, I'm afraid I didn't contribute much. On the other hand, all four goals scored on both sides were put in by Yuwa coaches and members Anand, Hiralal and Dharam, who paints logos on all of our footballs. That's significant because some of the older players in this match have given the girls trouble in the past, taking over their field, playing over top of them, kicking balls right past them at full force, and that sort of thing. So the girls cheered loud for their coaches and friends, who put on the only real show to speak of.

Near sunset, the Sunday finally ended in Hutup village outside Seema and Suman's house (eleven-year-old organizer of our first team), with dinner for sixty. Reena, Usha and Puspa's mother managed the whole affair from huge pots and an outdoor chula.

As Willem and I made our last preparations for departure it could have been a sad day. But instead of riding off alone for Game 2 in Jamshedpur, we would have twenty-five of our girls and three coaches in tow.

Willem will be reporting on that adventure very soon..

Coverage of game 2 by major daily newspaper in The Netherlands

De Pres, a nationwide daily newspaper in The Netherlands, published an in-depth article on the second game of 'My game is Beautiful' in Jamshedpur.

[Preview]

De Nederlander Willem Grimminck probeert in India meisjes via voetbal zelfbewuster te maken.

Het is moeilijk voor te stellen dat de zelfbewuste meiden in trainingspak op het voetbalveld een jaar geleden nog op blote voeten en met een gevulde zak als bal speelden. Met kracht speelt Sita (14) de bal naar Puspa (13), terwijl hun teamgenoten luid elkaars naam roepen om aandacht. ‘Het is prachtig hoe het zelfvertrouwen van deze meiden is gegroeid’, zegt Willem Grimminck. ‘Voetbal kan hen bewust maken dat ze talenten hebben. Daarbij biedt de groep ze een platform om over hun dagelijkse problemen te praten.’

Kijk voor het hele artikel op e-paper pagina 22 of op de website van De Pers.

Weekly on Volkskrantreizen.nl (Dutch)

Check article 2 'De aftrap' online.

Willem talks about "My Game is Beautiful' (Dutch)

Watch Willem talking about "My Game is Beautiful' on the football field. Click here 

Budget up-date

Our budget has increased slowly over the last week. From 50%  we are now at almost at 60% of our target budget. Thanks to all the donors for your generosity.

The project is on but we still need support! Will you help? Join us and donate at http://www.yuwa-india.org/ ‘My Game is Beautiful’ or ask for banking details.

Many Thanks,

Franz & Willem

Kick-off tournament at Sunday the 22nd of November

On Sunday the 22nd of November we Kick-off with a tournament in our hometown Ranchi. The YUWA girls will demonstrate their skills against local teams, knowing every hole in the peddy-football field. They are ready for football! Check the latest pics from the early morning football practice.

Partnership with All India Football Federation - AIFF

AIFF conveyed its commitment to support ‘My Game is Beautiful’ by means of local football facilities and accommodation in India.

AIFF is the Indian national football federation and member of the Asian Football confederation (ACF). ACF is the governing body of Asian football and one of the six confederation that making up FIFA. (http://www.the-aiff.com/)

Working with AIFF creates professional linkages for the football initiatives on our trip and a foundation for expanding football in the Indian development sector.

We wish to express our gratitude to AIFF for its support.

Franz & Willem

Weekly on Volkskrantreizen.nl

‘My Game is Beautiful’ – the journey for woman football in social development will be reported on weekly basis by correspondent Jaap Scholten on volkskrantreizen.nl. Check article 1 online.

Working with Jaap at Towers Perrin in Amsterdam from 2006 to 2008 I have been familiar with his passion for traveling and writing. As travel writer and guide, Jaap wrote six travel guides on Portugal and Sicily and Spain where he lives. www.odyssee-reisgidsen.nl

Jaap will tell the story of the land we travel and the children we meet. It will provide readers with an opportunity to learn about childhoods in different parts of South-Asia and how football contributes to social development.

It’s great to have Jaap on board.

Willem

Game on for Woman Security Guards

The game was undecided after full-time. Unfortunately, we lost the final penalty shoot-out by 2 goals! The security guard trainees in our livelihood programme organised a football game for my farewell party at Burmu villages in Jharkhand.

Entering traditional male-dominated labour markets for security guards takes more then technical skills. It requires determinacy, self-esteem and social competence. After the first batch of woman security guards started the training focussed on self-defence, discipline and movement registration we introduced football to awaken soft competencies.

Their game beautiful game!

Thanks to all the girls and BKS for organising the party.

Willem Grimminck

(Click here to see the whole album)

RADIO 1/LLink interview Willem Grimminck (Dutch)

Willem Grimminck live on Radio 1 /LLink about "My Game is Beautiful', click here (the interview starts at 2:07 on the tape)

Game 2 at TATA in Jamshedpur

Confirmation TATA Football Academy (TFA)

Today, November 10, 2009; TATA confirms to organize a game for ‘My Game is Beautiful’ at TFA. TFA is a sports initiative from one of the world’ largest steel factory. TFA has the reputation to produce international talent. Winner of the Haarlem (NL) cup in 2004. YUWA club ‘team A’ girls join us on our trip for a training camp at TFA. After leaving Ranchi we expect to be at the TFA in Jamshedpur (Jharkhand) on the 24th of November for our second game.

Franz & Willem

Budget up-date

Our budget is now sponsored for 50%. Thank you for your support!

The total budget is divided over 20 games and a few tournaments. So, currently we have 10 games and 1 tournament covered. Similar donors (e.g family or friends) are combined in groups as they can jointly sponsor a game. Please have a look at the overview. (click on graph for full-size). Like every game has a second half. Help us to reach our final budget by joining or starting a game, click at, http://www.yuwa-india.org/

Thanks, Franz & Willem

In the news

Radio Nederland Wereldomroep (RNW) published a fantastic article about 'My Game is Beautiful'. Click here.

Welcome

Welcome to our blog ‘My Game is Beautiful’

‘My Game is Beautiful’ is a challenging project promoting football for youth development in South-Asia. In two months time, we will travel by motorcycle from India to FIFA headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. Along the way we will organize twenty football games in South Asia – India, Nepal and Pakistan – in collaboration with local NGOs. By recording the voices of unknown but talented young women in South Asia, we aim to tell the story of how football is rewriting expectations, building life skills and empowering young women to make a change in their world. We will parlay their visual, street-level petition for recognition to both FIFA and a global audience through both news media and internet. In doing so, we will present the case for FIFA's greater involvement in this important region, as well as build and strengthen our current YUWA coalition with new partners inside and outside South Asia.

Join us!

Franz & Willem
http://www.yuwa-india-org/