These Street Children Did India Proud At Street Child Games Rio

Thursday, September 15 2016, 05:39:59

Jayati Godhawat

JWB Blogger

These Street Children Did India Proud At Street Child Games Rio

JWB Post

March 25, 2016

When a group of young street kids boarded their flight from Chennai to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the first ever Street Child Games, little did anyone know about it or had any expectations.

According to a story, “One such girl, Hepsiba, won three medals, including a gold in the girls 100m dash. The 16-year-old is one of five street kids from Chennai, who were given the chance to participate in the Street Child Games in various disciplines.”

The games were organized by an International NGO Street Child United. The NGO works to provide a voice to street kids who are marginalized by giving them a platform of sports to express their talents.

The tournament games took place between March 14 -March 20, where street kids from nine nations namely, Burundi, Pakistan, Egypt, Britain, Argentina, Brazil, Mozambique, Philippines, and India, participated.

Hepsiba along with a gold medal in the 100m dash also won a bronze in 100m hurdles and a silver in girls’ 400m. Also, her teammates, Ashok, earned a bronze in boys’ shot put, and Sneha, stood third in 4 x 100 m relay races & won the bronze for the country.

Paul Sundar Singh, the secretary of Karunalya, a Chennai-based NGO, is the man who funded these kids and took them to Rio games.

He reportedly told, “We had organised a sports contest for street children, and this girl (Hepsiba) was sheer talent. Actually, she just about made it; it was a miracle that her passport came through on time.”

Kudos to you Mr. Singh!

More power to Hepsiba and other participants!

The performance of these kids is enough to draw attention to the fact that if given resources and opportunities, India can tap the hidden talent of the million other underprivileged children and people.

Agree?