In August of 2015 I set about on a round the world adventure, starting in Rio. What I didn't realise At the time was that 4 weeks of my time in Rio would be spent in a dangerous Brazilian favela (the slums), and it was these 4 weeks that really gave me perspective and changed my whole outlook as to what is important in life.

To the young children I met during my time volunteering with the favelas very own football project the most important thing to them despite them having nothing is love, music (samba) and sport!
The children I helped during my time here, boys and girls aged 5-16 have nothing, hand me downs for clothes, a lot of the time no footwear, very little food, you can see how mal nurished the children are. Very little education, and really bad, dangerous facilities to play football, an area littered with glass, excrement, human waste, dead animals and building waste. The pitch itself is up rooting itself, full of holes, stones and is a huge hazard.

But what these children lack in our perceived and taken for granted quality of life, they make up for in respect, humbleness, manners, generousity, heart, passion and love!! They honestly put a lot of western children, children that have everything to shame.

Now I understand that they know no different but it shouldn't stop us wanting to help, I've been there, I've seen it first hand and I've met the people. The community leader Jose is a absolute hero. He himself has raised children, not his own, who lost parents to the crimes and brutality of living in a Favela. I have Jose currently looking into the cost of a new pitch, clothes, footwear and equipment. However I would still like to raise as much as possible and it will all go to the project and children.

Any money raised I am going to be taking over myself to Rio October time next year and supplying the project and the children with clothes, footwear, equipment and hopefully a new safe pitch and environment to play, socialise and live!!