The pictures of the little boy tell a great story. Neesa lives in Lusaka, is 8-years-old, and had surgery just over a year ago on both legs to correct club feet. He loves soccer and had been playing with plastic bags that were taped together to form a ball. (Note to our kiddos: No more excuses).When he was given the ball by our teammates, he held it reverently and stroked it - and then bolted out of the house at the first chance he had. He couldn't wait to bounce it (plastic bags don't bounce!). Although he's not smiling (Zambians don't always smile for pictures), he was overjoyed with the treasure he had.
We almost didn't pack the soccer uniforms given to us as they were adult sizes, but since we had room, we threw them in. God had His plan, always better than ours. Little did we know that the hospital has their own soccer team made up of employees. Even though the hospital sits in the shadow of the Zambian national team's stadium, the hospital's team has not had uniforms in over 3 years. The guys donned them happily for a team picture and had a great time running around a grassy area showing us their skills, just like kids. We left some balls with them also as well as with the children's ward for their enjoyment. Two more balls were given away on home visits.
Soccer balls = treasures. And a universal language.
Special thanks to Share the Wealth and the PA Soccer Coaches Assocation for providing the balls and uniforms. http://www.pasoccercoaches.org/sharethewealth.html
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