Touching Lives – The football match,
our experience – Shivam & Himanshu
We are Shivam and Himanshu, hailing from the INA Contact Point. Our parents left their villages in search of a better life in Delhi, where they work tirelessly to provide for our families. With both our parents working, they often do not have the time to monitor our education or even check on our well-being. This is why we turn to Butterflies’ contact point every day. Here, not only do we receive an education, but we also learn essential
life skills.
Today, we want to share our story about the importance of cooperation and why it matters to us, illustrated by a memorable football tournament experience.
Butterflies had a brilliant idea: to organize a football tournament involving junior and senior teams from all our contact points. At INA Contact Point, we formed our junior team. The challenge was daunting because most of us were accustomed to playing cricket and had little experience with football. We were worried that we might lose badly. However, one of our friends shared our concerns with her father, who happened to be a football enthusiast. He graciously agreed to coach our team whenever he had spare time. His encouragement and guidance became our driving force. He emphasized that winning or losing was not the ultimate goal; the real victory lay in our dedication and participation. We practiced diligently, excited about the prospect of playing in a grand stadium. On the day of the tournament, eight teams competed, each playing three rounds of matches to reach the finals. Initially, nervousness gripped us, but we won the first round, boosting our confidence. We advanced to the finals against the formidable team from Nizamuddin Dargah. Their players displayed remarkable skill, but we were certain that by playing as a cohesive unit, we could clinch the victory. This was a lesson we had imbibed from our cooperative experiences. And we did it. We emerged victorious, even when everyone had predicted our defeat. The feeling was overwhelming, and it resonated with the famous words, “Koshish karne walon ki haar nahi hoti” (Those who try never lose). From this unforgettable experience, we, as children, learnt that success is not solely about winning but also about hard work, cooperation, and teamwork. Failure should not dishearten us; instead, it should fuel our determination to persevere. In our story,
being members of a cooperative enabled us to work together harmoniously and achieve success, even though we had no prior experience in playing football.
Read more about the Child Health and Sports Cooperative here- https://butterfliesngo.org//programmes/child-health-sports-cooperative/
