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2014 is rapidly approaching, just beyond the peeling bells of Christmas and with it, comes the Fifa football world cup in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, more excitingly (for anyone disillusioned with England’s chances!), the second Street Child World Cup (SCWC) will be kicking off in Rio on 27 March, seeking to build on the success of the inaugural tournament held in Durban, South Africa in 2010.

 

22 teams of children from all around the world will compete in Rio in two tournaments, one each for boys and girls. If the last tournament was anything to go by, competition will be strong and some great football will be played! SCWC has a threefold aim: to provide a platform for street children to be heard, change the public perception of street children and to realise the rights of street children. 

 

In 2014, alongside the football tournament, there will be an arts program to facilitate the children in expressing themselves and their views. This was incredibly powerful in 2010 and the art work produced was exhibited at the Durban Art Gallery and later opened in London at the Foundling Museum. The success of 2010 was also seen in the cessation of the often brutal police round-ups of street children that frequently took place in Durban for 15 years or more. These stopped in the wake of SCWC 2010 before Fifa arrived in the city, preserving the rights of the Durban street children, instead enabling them to be cared for by Umthombo. Finally, the youth participation conference on the final weekend produced the Durban Declaration which was presented to the United Nations Committee on Human Rights. See www.streetchildworldcup.org for more information, both on SCWC Rio 2014 and the lasting impact of 2010.

 

Joe and Fran Williams, both members of St Saviours, met at the Street Child World Cup in 2010 and married in April this year. One year on, they will be heading out to Rio in March 2014 as part of an 80 strong team of UK volunteers to help facilitate the event.

 

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Thanks for taking the time to visit our fundraising page, and hopefully donating! Through this website, its really easy and secure to donate. Just giving promise never to sell your details or send you lots of irritating emails. The money you donate goes directly to Street Child World Cup, so it saves the small SCWC team time and cuts costs! We really appreciate your donations, thank you so much!

 

Joe & Fran