The football heroes who aren't interested in winning the World Cup

Spain may have won the World Cup final, but the Spaniards aren't the only football heroes. “My dream is to play for the South African Women Football Team,” a young girl proclaims as she and a group of girls pass, dribble and showboat on a football pitch. The action was caught on a video made by the Hong Kong-based What Took You So Long Foundation (WTYSL).

WTYSL aims "to promote sustainable traveling, promote grassroots NGOs’ collaborations and show the world different sides of the stories from a grassroots level,” says Sebastian Lindstrom, the Swedish founder and team leader. 

“We are interested in telling stories of the people who may become bigger. And when we finish the film and show it to them, we hope people can learn something from others’ stories,” adds Alicia Sully, an American filmmaker and one of the three key production people at WTYSL. 

Completing the production trio is Evan Fowler, owner of a Hong Kong-based multi-media production company, whom Lindstrom met while on an exchange program at the University of Hong Kong. 

What Took You So Long in Africa

In 2009, the team of volunteers made a debut trip across Africa, from Morocco to South Africa, searching for 'unsung heroes', people doing good things but yet to be recognized for their work. One of the people they met was Bayari Rogerio Skade, the program co-ordinator of Soccer 4 Hope, an NGO that uses sports programs to empower young girls in the Mpungutye Township in Cape Town. The girl in the video is participating in one of these programs. “Sport is a good way to fight poverty and educate the people,” Lindstrom says. 

As the World Cup in South Africa winds down, Lindstrom and his team want the world to remember that other, more important battles are going on, especially for girls in Africa. Soccer 4 Hope uses the continent's passion for football to deal with gender issues, violence against women and HIV. It offers a safe haven for young girls to play and grow. 

Wisdom given, wisdom gained

The workers at WTYSL use these adventurous experiences to give back to the communities they travel through, inspiring others to do similar things. One teacher from Africa sent Lindstrom an email asking how she could motivate her high school students by doing something similar. There are many other similar emails praising the WTYSL team, helping to motivate them further. 

And despite having to acclimatize to new cultures every time they go on a new trip -- it is important to chew betel nuts to be accepted into the community in Papua New Guinea, for example -- the team are preparing for more projects all the time. 

They have just left Hong Kong to return to Papua New Guinea to work with betel nut farmers and chewers. And next up, a trip to the Middle East to work with camel cheese producers, who believe their product can cure disease among the locals. The plan is to explore cheese-making in other ways. The trip’s message is “to respect the camel,” says Sully.

From pizza to life-and-death matters

These kinds of endeavors obviously have their challenges, especially when using local forms of transport. Once, when their car broke down in the desert, they had to wait to be rescued by their contact, who also happened to be the son of the first president of Mauritania. He took them home and gave them pizza. "It was the best pizza ever!” says Lindstrom. 

And Sofie Rødam, a film student from Copenhagen, Denmark, who joined the team for another expedition to Papua New Guinea, recalls a “life-threatening” moment in the village Trek. “There are rascals who are prison escapees hiding in the forest and would rob and rape as they go. We were walking with Robert (an expat who lived there) to his village. Suddenly, there were 12 young men with knives and guns and wrapped with scarves,” Rødam says. “I was thinking they are going to kill me.” 

However, despite one of the "rascals" being the most wanted man in Papua New Guinea at the time, wanted for murder and robberies, the 12 young men turned out to be Robert’s friends. And the wanted man "was actually a Robin Hood,” continues Rødam. He robbed the banks and helped the poor in the village to protest against the system and government, according to Sully and Rødam. 

The updates of the team and their documentary can be found on their website. Here is the Preview of "In Search of Unsung Heroes" by What Took You So Long Foundation.