India is a country of cricket-lovers, so can soccer catch on?

Ashok Rathod is convinced that soccer is the best way to give kids growing up in the slums a second lease on life. Teamwork, leadership, respect and communication come out of the game for 22 players.

Having grown up in a Mumbai slum himself, Ashok knows exactly which problem the kids there face. Many start drinking and gambling as young as 10, he says, then get married early and drop out of school.

Committed to make a difference, Ashok founded the Oscar Foundation in 2006. The team organizes soccer practices and matches for young people – but also provides an education program aimed at giving school drop-outs basic literacy skills.

Listen to the report by Sanjay Fernandes in Mumbai:

 

First published on February 26, 2014.

Afghanistan has seen violence for years and many of the women and children in the war-stricken country lack the education to get good jobs and put enough food on the table. That’s where Zhora Comes in, a young Afghan woman living in Germany. Her plan to help the women in her home country is making Germany’s fashion more colorful.

Listen to the report by Falk Steinborn in Siegen, Germany:

On a trip to South Africa a few years ago, Jesse Carlton Ndongo, 21-year-old student from Cameroon, was touched by the large number of children he met who’d been orphaned by HIV/AIDS. He saw first-hand the pain and anguish they  face, but also noticed that they seem to be neglected by the rest of society.  He felt that he had to do something about it. So three years ago, he founded the Carlton Smile Charity on Easter Sunday.

The charity is already active in five African countries – Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon, South Africa and Zimbabwe – and has plans to expand even further. Carlton tries to stand out from other organizations in that he doesn’t focus first on giving the kids material goods. Instead, his first priority is to show them love.

Listen to the report by Ngala Killian Chimtom in Yaoundé, Cameroon:

 

 

 

 

Andeisha Farid knows how important it is for children to get an education. Born in 1983, she grew up as a refugee in Iran after her family was caught in the midst of war in Afghanistan.

Despite the odds, she managed to get an education in Pakistan. When she realized how fortunate she was, she made the decision to return to Afghanistan and set up orphanages there.

Through her organization, the Afghan Child Education and Care Organization (AFCECO), she is working to give some of the country’s estimated 1.6 million orphans a chance to succeed.

Listen to the report by Mischa Wilmers:

Educating Afghanistan’s orphans

Life in Timor Leste – Asia’s newest nation – has been hard for many. But the decades of violence hit the children hardest. Twenty-three year old Juliao Amaral Dos Santos knows that as well as anyone -that’s why he’s already spent more than half of his young life devoted to creating a safe place for other kids, working with the organization MAC Children United.

Just barley out of university now, he’s already one of the nation’s brightest young leaders.

Listen to the report by Emily Richmond in Dili, Timor Leste:

Committed to non-violence in East Timor

As the crisis in Syria continues, NGOs are calling an end to the conflict that has killed over a hundred thousand people and displaced millions.

Dan Cole co-founded a Berlin-based collective called It’s Bigger Than, which is doing its bit to raise awareness about the crisis and to raise money to help those in need. Their method? Putting on a party with some of the finest DJs and electronic producers around.

All the DJs play for free. The club donates the space and the party is being put on by a group of volunteers. Party number 2 raised money for Save the Children and featured the likes of Marcel Fengler, Nick Höppner, Iron Curtis, Deep Child and Barbara Preisinger.

The next It’s Bigger Than party will take place in Berlin on September 1, 2013 and this time the money is going to the Mercy Corps.

Listen to the report by Cinnamon Nippard in Berlin:

Techno for the children

Anete Baskevica, 22, dresses up as a clown – but not to perform at the circus. Instead she heads to a local children’s hospital where she volunteers her time with kids who are ill. Laughter, she says, is the very best medicine of all. She’s part of a Latvian organization of clowns who have just launched their hospital visits this month (July). They all wear different costumes, but have one very important thing in common: a big red nose.

Listen to Gederts Gelzis report from Riga, Latvia:

Laughter is the best medicine

Find more pictures on Anete’s blog.

What’s it like to know you’re going to die soon? If you’re 10 years old and terminally ill, what you probably need the most is a good friend. Shlomie, a youth orthodox Jew from northern England, is like a big brother to a terminally ill boy. Sharing the gift of quality time, says Shlomie, is a small sacrifice that makes him feel on top of the world.

Listen to the report by Andrew Edwards in Manchester:

UK mentor brightens dying child’s world

Children of prostitutes often end up working in the trade themselves. But some brothel children in India, who have launched a unique handwritten magazine, are making efforts to escape the trap.

 

Read the article here.

Mao Ju, 29, was concerned when she found out that many Chinese children don’t read for fun. She founded a free library in Beijing, for migrant children in particular, to help them discover the pleasure of reading. She involves the kids in the management of the library and encourages them to express their own opinions on the library blog.

Listen to the report by Gaia Manco in Beijing:

Empowering Chinese kids with books

Check out the blog that the kids at the library write every day.