\u201cLooking at this photo fills me with a lot of joy but also a sense of sadness.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s wonderful to see those pure and sincere smiles that result from being a child, playing, running after a ball and celebrating a goal by imitating a national team player or idol. This is priceless, and no money in the world would be able to buy this. And yet it saddens me that many of them will unfortunately throw their lives away due to either alcohol, drugs or other unfortunate choices. <\/p>\n
I\u2019m sorry to be so frank, but this is the sober truth.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a film I\u2019ve watched several times. It\u2019s very sad; I even cry just remembering how many children were in the same photo, taken years ago. So many children that I\u2019ve seen grow up to become adolescents and, unfortunately, start making wrong choices. It\u2019s very sad. Each of these children has a dream, but regrettably not all of them will be able to achieve it. Many dreams will be lost along the way, many dreams will be ripped away by alcohol, lost to drugs, lack of opportunities, or family problems. I speak from experience: more than 20 years of the Inter Campus project have passed; I\u2019ve had many joyful moments but also many sad experiences. I wish I could help every child and every family\u2026 but I can\u2019t. It\u2019s complicated for people living within the community. It\u2019s sad seeing that youngster who started right there, on our little pitch, when they were six or seven years old, whom I saw grow up. And who today, walking through the neighborhood, I see lost to alcohol and drugs. It\u2019s devastating. <\/p>\n
Many will say, \u201cWhat do you care, he\u2019s not your son\u2026\u201d But I believe that in some way, we all have a responsibility to guide these children onto the right path. This week, I was deeply touched by the testimony of a mother: her son participated in the project many years ago and, unfortunately, is in prison today. Instinctively, news like this led me to think about ending the project. But the words this mother spoke made me stop, think, take a deep breath, and gave me the motivation to continue. Despite everything, today her grandson also plays on the team. She said, \u201cMy grandson can\u2019t wait to start playing soccer at Inter Campus; he\u2019s very eager! And thank you for the opportunities you gave my son\u2026\u201d These are the people and these are the words that truly make me believe, even though they are not my children, that I can make a difference in their lives. Even if we can\u2019t save everyone. I know from experience how painful the suffering related to a child\u2019s fate can be; I know mothers who face this challenge daily. Children addicted to alcohol or drugs, who often stay out all night in the streets while their parents are at home worried, who sometimes come home when their parents have already left for work: it is very painful. <\/p>\n
So today, I would like to ask every mother, every family representative, to take care of their children, give them more attention, more affection, hug them, because sometimes they only need you in their lives.<\/p>\n
Thank you to each parent for your trust, thank you from the bottom of my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nelson, Caju hub, Inter Campus Brazil<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nelson\u2019s frank and sincere comments about the disillusionment and hope felt by many coaches who, like him, refuse to give up on youngsters\u2019 futures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3438,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[207],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":{"sottotitolo":"Nelson\u2019s frank and sincere comments about the disillusionment and hope felt by many coaches who, like him, refuse to give up on youngsters\u2019 futures","bandiera":18654,"galleria":[],"carosello_immagini":[],"video url nazione":"","Url nazione":"","link_nazione":null,"link_bandiera_nazione":"https:\/\/wearethecampus.org\/en\/brazil\/","nome_paese":"BRAZIL","bandiera_paese":18654},"yoast_head":"\n