Selected from five neighbourhoods across Nairobi, Berit Marion was chosen to captain a team of girls who had never played together before. Marion’s team, Zebstrong, were one of 17 girls teams that had flown across the world to be at the sixth Street Child World Cup in Mexico.
Street Child United is a charity that uses sports to give street-connected young people a platform for their voices – to advocate for access to identity, education, gender equality and protection from violence. Their first tournament was in 2010 in Durban, South Africa. Set up by CEO John Wroe, the tournament expanded to 29 teams this year.
In May, Zebstrong and their coaches embarked on a 20-hour flight with a seven-hour layover in between. Soon after landing, they found themselves on the pitch. Brazil, Bolivia and South Africa were knocked down in a string of victories. Zebstrong were certain that they could win.
“Every time we won, we had to celebrate and tell our opponents that we’ve really come from far, and we’re not losing here,” Marion says.
Playing on the international stage was intimidating, but their coach Veronica Achieng kept them fired up by reminding them, “Whenever you feel there is a Goliath in front of you, remember that there is a David in you.”
Zebstrong won first runner up and took home the Fair Play award. Before a match, the girls would chant Street Child United’s signature line: ‘You are Somebody’. Marion says. “It opened your brain and you realise that you can achieve anything in life if you just keep on working hard and trust in yourself.
