Safe escape
Homeless youth use sports day camp as refuge from the streets.
by ANNA REED| Photojournalist
Temesgen shuffled his feet as he rattled off answers to the question his instructor asked. His broken, green jelly sandals scraped the concrete floor of the Ethiopian schoolhouse filled with 40 boys like him sitting in wooden desks. Later, the same boys and Temesgen would play the world’s most universal and popular sport: soccer.
Temesgen has lived in Addis Ababa for about a month. At age 10, Temesgen boarded a bus to Ethiopia’s capital to escape his abusive father. His milky right eye is evidence of the abuse, after his father’s whip contacted the eye and left him blind. At 13 years old, he lives among other street kids in Addis Ababa, asking for any leftover food scraps in local restaurants. Owners hand him inerja bread and sauces customers left on their plate. Often the older and bigger kids will bully Temesgen into giving them his food, for Temesgen is on the low end of the hierarchy with the other kids. The streets are crowded, filled with small businesses on every corner and busy people constantly streaming through the sidewalks. Life is not easy for youth on the streets.
“Drunk people see us sleeping on the street and they throw rocks or pee on us,” Temesgen said.
When the sun goes down, Temesgen lives on the streets, using benches in place of a bed. By day, he spends his time at a local nonprofit organization called Sport the Bridge. The organization is run by Lyliana Ahmed, and aims for street kids like Temesgen from ages seven to 14 to engage in soccer while providing education, food and medicine. Their resources are small, but the impact is great. The kids are taught math, reading, Aramaic and English. Breakfast and lunch is provided. On Thursdays, meat is served. This is Temesgen’s favorite day.
The sun shined on the patches of grass and dirt as a rainbow of uniforms ran up and down the field. The boys channeled their energy chasing the beat up soccer ball the coach kicked across the field. Some wear beat up sneakers, some run barefoot. Various drills are run, along with scrimmages. The sport gives a place to blow off steam and find refuge for the homeless children.
Most street kids spend their nights running and hiding from the police. Stereotypes against homeless youth portray them as beggars, and bad people. But Ahmed refuses to see them as anything but lovely children.
“Many people who don’t have any direction, any exposure with street children think they are so bad, they are bad people, bad children,” Ahmed said. “And when you start working with them they are not at all. This really makes me (want) to work with them,”
“I’d tell other kids not to come to Addis Ababa. It is better to stay home with their families. I’ve gained nothing by living on the streets.”
With the beat up grass beneath his feet and bright red uniform, Temesgen sat between the goalposts, ready for the opposing team to draw near with the ball. Though Temesgen has been attending the day camp for roughly a month, he still yearns to return to his family and get off the streets. He knows his dad loves him, and says he only beecomes abusive when he drinks.
“I’d tell other kids not to come to Addis Ababa. It is better to stay home with their families. I’ve gained nothing by living on the streets,” Temesgen said •
Edited and designed by Sarah Nelson.
