BY MUNYARADZI MADZOKERE POPULAR Radio personality Kudzai Violet Gwara also known as KVG is set to be part of the Zimbabwe team for this year’s edition of Street Child World Cup to be held in Doha, Qatar ahead of the Fifa World Cup.
Zimbabwe will be making its debut appearance at the fourth edition of the event which has been the forerunner of the global football showpiece since 2010 when it was held in South Africa.
This year’s edition of the Street Child will run from October 5 – 15, 2022 in Doha.
KVG will be the ambassador for the 10-member girls’ team, which will hoist the country’s flag in Qatar after signing an agreement with a local organisation, Young Achievement Sport for Development (YASD), who are the custodians of the event in Zimbabwe.
“We did the launch of our relationship last Saturday and she got to meet some of the girls who are going to the Street Child World Cup. We had three girls from Juru, Mutoko, one from Mbare and other girls from Hatcliffe area. The one from Goromonzi could not make it,” YASD programmes officer Pearl Gambiza told The Sports Hub.
“They got to meet KVG and also got to know what is expected of them in as far as the Street Child World Cup is concerned.”
The launch event was held in Hatcliffe Extension recently.
The Street Child World Cup brings street-connected young people from across the world together to take part in a five aside football tournament, a festival of arts and advocate for their rights and protection through a child-focused congress and general assembly.
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Gambiza explained the role KVG will play in the Street Child World Cup initiative for the Zimbabwe team.
“We realised that we needed a role model such as KVG to help us garner more support and awareness from the public as well as help us raise funds to get these girls to Qatar,” she said.
“We are taking 10 girls, who are going to be participating in the five-aside games 10- day event and so she will also be travelling with the girls as the ambassador,” Gambiza said.
There is going to be 12 countries represented in the girls’ competition and 15 boys teams at the Street Child World Cup.
“At the moment we have started doing parental visits to the families of the girls that we have chosen. We are also in the process of getting passports for the girls. There is one girl who does not even have a birth certificate. All that requires funds but as a nongovernmental organisation we don’t to anything for profit.
“We are hoping that even beyond the World Cup KVG she will still be our ambassador because she is excited and we are excited also that she is going to be part of this journey with us
“We are looking to raise at least US$13 000 to get all that the girls need from passports to their uniforms and shoes.”
“Through the Street Child World Cup, an international organisation, Street Child United, aims to give young people from vulnerable and marginalised communities an opportunity to stand up and say ‘I am somebody’.
“We are talking about children, who at some point lived on the streets or have a risk of actually living on the streets
“These are not necessarily streets kids we see in town, but children who spend most of their time on the streets and are at risk of being roped into drugs, prostitution as well as early pregnancies and early marriages
“We are hoping that they will see that there is an opportunity to tranform their lives through this experience while they also gain valuable skills, which they can use to manoeuvre their day to day lives as they are being exposed to the many social ills that they face in their communities
“And KVG coming from a humble background and has made it in life as a young woman living in Zimbabwe we thought she will be a positive role model and beam of hope for these girls.”
