Friday, June 12, 2009

In training

Summer has hit Vietnam! Apart from sweltering heat, this also means the Blue Dragon kids have a few weeks off school. (Summer break is normally 3 months, but most of our kids attend special schools, which for some cruel reason have shorter holidays).

So... we're taking the opportunity to run a football development program for street kids. Each Friday our staff are offering training workshops for the teenagers who live around an area of Hanoi called Phuc Tan, which is notorious for poverty, crime, and drug use.

This also gives us a chance to build stronger relationships with the kids - essential if we are to make any headway in getting them back to school and jobs.

Here are some pics from the first week...


Tho, standing in the centre, is Blue Dragon's
IT coordinator-cum-football coach.



In the midst of an activity...


This guy's hairdresser missed a bit!



... and here's the team in their uniform.


We're really lucky that the British Council's Premier Skills program helped out with the uniforms, and the field managers have cut the price of field rental in half. Makes it all a bit more affordable.


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