Do you ever have that feeling of helplessness?  Like you can't do anything to help anyone out there, anywhere?  Well, I got that feeling about three weeks ago and start thinking about what I could do to help just one person out.  Then I realized that some of the members of my church were going to Haiti.  So I decided to get a bunch of soccer gear ready to send down to Haiti.  I asked around and got a bunch of stuff to send down to Port-Au Prince.  We gave about 15 balls, 3 pairs of goalkeeper gloves, a few pairs of shinguards, and about 21 jerseys.  That was the big thing.  See, the coach of the girls high school team had given me some jerseys and we hoped that they would go to good use.

     But they were in luck.  The community in that certain part of town was looking for a way to get jerseys for an upcoming tourney.  And they got them just in time.  Just seeing the look of those kids realy made my day.  They don't have a whole lot, and a few pieces of soccer equipment may not seem like much, but it means a lot to people who don't have much.

     In some places, football or soccer, is all people have.  Throughout the world, soccer is embraced and loved.  In some countries, it is the culture.  The game has been known to stop wars, to help nations heal from natural disasters, and some countries put everything down once every 4 years.  Like in Ghana during the World Cup.  Ghana is very rich in minerals, so they usually use all power mining them.  But during the World Cup, the nation stopped to watch a Micheal Essien-led team play on a black and white screen TV.  That's a whole city, so imagine what the whole country was doing.  Pele stopped a war one time, not a normal war, but a Civil War. 

     No one can deny the power of soccer, for it is the most influential sport on the planet.  It inspires people to take their minds off the bad things of their life for maybe just 90 minutes.  And when you live in a country where you don't have much, usually soccer is wherever you turn.  The one thing that will never change is soccer.

     I encourage you to participate in a program that aids people in third-world countries.  There are many out there, and you can help in someway.  If you can't find one or don't have one in your area, then do like I did and send it yourself.  I hope this gives you a better perspective into the game of FOOTBALL.