Kenyan Progress

Streets revolution Kenya project members are so thankful to the SR World for their support towards streets youths since they partnered. The project which has a football team , bracelets making and currently initiating drama, traditional dances,Art,photograph,creative writing both seniors and juniors boys and girls has a total of 50 members. We started as a football team but we have experienced many youths having interest to join SR Kenya and can do other sports and have decided to co opt them.
Streets Revolution organization that uses sports and leisure as a tool to engage marginalized section of the community, Homeless, Unemployment, Mental illness, N.E.E.T’s, Disabled, Ex offenders, Asylum seekers amongst many others.

Streets Revolution Kenya seniors have played 30 friendly matches this year .The teams which SR Kenya has played are:
Kariobangi sports f.c,Tena academy f.c,Al supkem f.c,Kariobangi south f.c,Buru buru Sacramento f.c,Elevate f.c,Over coming f.c,Idomitable academy,Umoja f.c,Huruma youth,Asec f.c,Lucky summer f.c,Babado dogo f.c,Uganda school, Classic f.c,Roodney f.c,Pa parazi f.c,Malta f.c,Korogocho youth, Metro sports ,Kariobangi sharks f.c,Liberty,Bungoma youth,Pangani technical,Dandora youth f.c,Ken aric industry club,Turang f.c,Roy sambu f.c,Kasarani youth f.c,Waliotii f.c, and Olympic .SR Kenya juniors have played 25 matches, ladies have played 15 matches. During this matches it had been brilliant to us because of the uniforms, boots and balls sent to us by Jon.

Our request to SR World is to move fast so that SR Kenya can be legally registered, support us to secure our project plot build club house if possible so that some of our members can move out of streets and have somewhere to sleep during the night, support us with transport money during matches, register SR Kenya to play league and also approve our proposal so that we can be self sustainable.

We are so grateful to SR family and partnership also for the support of equipments. They have given us direction, hope and motivation here in slums through sports. We believe in long term rewards of developing our community and bring glory to our country in future.

Compiled by,
Streets Revolution Manager/Coach

Patrick Hato

Leadership….we all can, but who will?

I have been a bit slow in keeping this up to date, partly due to the ever growing family of Streets Revolution and the many projects we now have.

Whilst randomly ‘googling’ stuff, I came across a wonderful video that helped me understand how Streets Revolution has organically grown from that simple idea in a field in Oxford in 2010.

We are growing rapidly and as this year alone has proved people around us are beginning to understand what is possible if we all come together.

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After watching this video and then realising what had happened in SR, the people that follow are the true leaders in Streets Revolution.

Guys like Steve Woodford our Project Coordinator in Huntingdon, who recently won a leadership award in his community, changing his perceptions about himself and others around him, now people are following him.

Steve Woodford(SR Huntingdon=Project Coordinator) and Jon Regler(Chairman) with his Award

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Patrick Hato in SR Kenya, who despite many obstacles is leading a revolution in his community and others follow his example and has become a role model , all the key principals in changing the person and the community.

Patrick Hato (SR Kenya- Project Coordinator) giving a team talk

SR Uganda run by our project coordinator Mukasa, has grown the project from nothing, he has followed Pattrick’s example. He has big plans and great ideas, you need vision to become a leader.

We all see people around us, that have the potential to achieve great things, this is at the core of what we believe at Streets Revolution. The truth is that it takes real courage to believe in yourself the easy part is to believe in others.

I am rewarded every time a picture is loaded on our facebook page and have conversations with players and coordinators who themselves have had to overcome some major hardships to reach this point in their lives and are ready to give back.

We welcomed recently a new member of our ‘family’ Jim Cook, who despite and because of his past is ready to make the difference where he is. SR Portsmouth will flourish, not because of the idea, not because of any amount of money(although it helps), but because of the drive and determination of individuals like these.

SR Swindon has flourished and goes from strength to strength, because of Brian Beattie our Project Coordinator, who is tireless in his support of the players he comes into contact with, he has an understanding of the issues, because that WAS him, and leads by example. Gathering people around him to make it happen, they all share some common characteristics ~ empathy, drive, commitment and energy on top of a willingness to learn, all needed in a true leader!!!

There are many others like them out there, our mission is to find them and empower them to be able to do what they do best and lead.

Brian Beattie(SR Swindon- Project Coordinator) and Jason Richards

Look around and spot those people who are dancing in the field and follow and become the true leaders in your community, it is that easy, just one move and it will begin for you and others.

Jon Regler(Chairman)

The Stars come out again

On the 10th of October 2011,we will be hosting the Oxford Social Inclusion Cup(OSIC) an annual football tournament which aims to raise awareness of the issues of marginalised members of our community and especially the people who find themselves HOMELESS.

Crisis recently released a report, a further effort, to understand this much used and misconstrued expression to describe someone who for one reason or another finds themselves without a stable, permanent HOME of their own.

I found myself looking into a cloudless sky last night, in awe of the brightness and beauty of the stars.

It made me reflect on the OSIC event and how we now know that on that day we can celebrate the rising stars on the field, the shooting stars off the field who have helped in various ways along the journey.

Also the many stars that have faded and died along the way, too many to mention individually and not always noticed.

Q. How many people are considered HOMELESS in the UK?

A. How many stars in the night sky?

Some are really obvious and bright and noticeable, others hidden on friends sofas and in squats, in police and prison cells for somewhere safe and warm to stay. In strangers homes for motives not so pure….

Some are now well used to keeping out of the public eye, and like it that way, sleeping in places not really fit for purpose, but away from prying eyes.

No one star is better than the other, no situation a homeless person finds themselves in worse than the next.

It’s all WRONG and not justifiable.

On the 10/10/11 we are aiming under the theme of #morethanwords to use our tournament to kick out the words people use for OUR stars and hope you join us in person or in spirit.

The hidden stars need to come out, we need to celebrate the shooting stars on there way up, and encourage others to aim for the stars.

The A-Z of a Homeless man

A Being Clearly Doing Everything For Grateful Housing In Justification Knowing Lesser Mortals Never Often Pass, Quickly Resigning So That Underclass Vagrants Write X Zzzzzzz !!!!

More Than Words

The theme of this years Oxford Social Inclusion Cup is “More than Words” and the message that stigma around mental illness and homelessness needs to change. Here are some thoughts around the stigma around mental illness.

For years and years people with mental illness were locked away in Asylums and people even used to pay to come and watch the patients as a form of entertainment.

Mental Health care has moved forward miles and miles since then and now many people with mental illness are living with support in the community working towards their recoveries and many more would have recovered completely. Although the services have moved forward and the public’s perception has changed and will continue to change, STIGMA is still very much alive.

The impact of negative words can be devastating and can “lock” people out of society in the same way that the Asylums used to.

How many newspaper articles have you seen using the words ” nutter” or “psycho”?

How many times have you heard people using these negative words to refer to someone’s behaviour?

So why does stigma still exist? Is it because of poor education around mental illness? For example in many shops you can still buy t-shirts that state “I used to be schizophrenic but we’re ok now”. This statement pokes fun at a serious illness and is factually inaccurate in that people with a diagnosis of Schizophrenia do not have a split mind or two separate identities. So why do people find statements like these acceptable and even amusing? Would there be a t-shirt that says “I had a heart attack but I’m fine now”? Or ” I’m blind what are you looking at”? It’s not right; why is physical illness socially acceptable but mental illness not?

If we look at the facts 1 in 4 people will experience some form of mental health problem in their lifetime. Therefore people who use these negative words are likely to be insulting a member of their family, a work colleague, a friend or even themselves in the future…

Mental illness doesn’t need to be that hard to comprehend. Take depression for example; imagine that day in your life when a close relative died, feel that sadness again, that is a symptom of depression. Add to that a change in your sleep pattern, a lack of appetite and a difficulty in concentrating and you may be diagnosed with depression. It’s something that we can all relate to. And with further education around other mental illnesses they can become relatable too at the end of the day it’s about relating to suffering and that is something that everyone has experienced in their lives.

Mental illness does not have to define somebody in the same way that people who are physically unwell are not defined by their diagnoses. Recovery is alive and well and is being pushed more and more into the forefront of modern mental health care. People can recover, their lives can change and as a result people can become stronger and stronger. When a person is on their journey of recovery do you think that it helps if they are called a nutter? If they are socially outcast from their communities? Or…… would it help if there was no shame? If they could approach their friends and families easily for support? If they could apply for jobs without worrying about discrimination?

SO WHAT CAN YOU DO ABOUT STIGMA?

– Challenge negative language in the press, in the workplace, in your communities.

– Learn more about mental illness

– Speak to your friends and families about these issues

– Join the campaigns that are running in social networks

– Attend events such as the Oxford Social Inclusion Cup

This list is by no means exhaustive and this post by no means expresses all of the impact that stigma can have….but what I hope it does express is the hope that stigma can be irradiated from our society.

Homeless means…..

I have been getting excited with only 3 days to go to the Homeless World Cup in Paris.
Every year players from all corners of the world come together in celebration and recognition of the hard work and effort they have made to get themselves on an even keel again.

It led me to think what does it mean to be homeless?

Maybe it is better to say what it isn’t rather than what it is.

It isn’t PERMANENT, it is for a lot of people a circumstance, sometimes a long time, but either at the beginning or the end of adult life.

It isn’t the END, alot of people will move forward or return to lead a positive life again.

It isn’t CATCHING, it’s not a disease in which you can by contact alone become homeless yourself.

Although some would argue it is a plague or epidemic, which unless as a society we collectively agree we have to eradicate, will only grow in numbers.

It is not HOPELESS, we can all make a difference, in small ways locally, nationally and globally we can help, be creative.

We at Streets Revolution have found one way as have similar projects around the world.

It’s about being creative to find small ways YOU can help!!!

It isn’t about STEREOTYPES, every person I have met had a unique story and a unique struggle.

Labelling is a big factor, and only enables the problem to remain, maybe by listening to the personal stories from all the players at the Homeless World Cup, you will gain a better understanding.

A maybe, just maybe that’s how a BALL CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.

From Slum to Soccer Star

My name is Patrick Hato i was born into a family of four and i am the first born.I started playing football at the age of 12yrs in Korogocho slums.

In the year 1997 i made my first trip to Norway as a player in under sixteen category to participate in an annual tournament called Norway cup.Last year i was the captain of Kenya in HWC held in Rio.

My football experience had been challenging due to the environment which i was brought into, it is drugs and crime infested.
Thank God football had always been my partner and this is why i escaped all this.I have also changed other street boys come out of drugs and crime to join sports activities.
My hopes for Streets Revolution Kenya Fc is to use sports as a tool for change in a community that is poverty stricken, environmentally unhealthy and crime infested and to also improve living conditions of village and slum dwellers.A part from sports we will be running other programmes namely HIV/AIDS,clean ups in our village,Batik making,leadership project where youth come together work on leadership skills,drama,music,poetry among others.

We’re on a Journey

This weekend we travelled on what we hope is our first of many mini residential.
Hosted by Liverpool Homeless Football Club, we played the inaugural OXPOOL cup.
It is physically a lot of miles from oxford, and mentally a whole new experience for the majority.
It’s a journey that was also a metaphor of the life of the lads that came and the volunteers that went with them.

Some missed the opportunity for a variety of reasons, that is not unusual, the people we engage with OUR players, no matter how good the incentive, still can’t grasp it when it comes knocking.

Preparation from the volunteers and myself was fraught with many frustrating moments and hundreds of phone calls.

We set off in our normal late fashion, the best laid plans and all that.

In Liverpool the nervous banter came out as did the terrible attempts at scouse accents.

We had arranged a walking tour of the city which not everyone was so keen on , half went back to the accommodation and the rest stayed.

Interestingly the half that went, expressed how at first they didn’t want to do it either, but came back full of energy and positivity from the experience. They surprised themselves and me.

It was at this moment I realised, the journey was really unfolding before my eyes.

Taking people out their environment and into new surroundings, for some is scary. Asking them to try new things is difficult, I lost count of how many times players asked me what’s happening next.

The need for reassurance was tangible, the need to test the boundaries was real.

And yet they all were changing slowly, relaxing into the situation and their new surroundings.

Some more naturally then others, it’s these coping strategies that we ALL rely on in everyday life.
Constantly reevaluating the situations life throws at us and for the most part rolling with the punches.

During the match on the Sunday, you see the issues manifest themselves and how different individuals cope in different ways.
How do you cope when things get tough or life seems unfair?, the coping skills varied from walking away to digging in, from confronting head on to laughing them off.

In football as in life we learn and we adapt, in truth there is no right or wrong way just what works.

We lost the match 8-4, but made new friends and went on a journey, it may not have changed us permanently, it did plant seeds of change that may grow.

The proof, if any is needed, that football can be used to change peoples lives, was found on the trip home.

One of our players who openly admitted he was addicted to cannabis, was stating after the match.
“my legs are knackered” he said.

” but it’s strange, I haven’t smoked(cannabis) all weekend and my body feels alive!!”

That is something that will stick with him I hope for along time. It’s part of the JOURNEY!!!!

We’re Turning Perceptions

As a certain soda advert slogan says “what’s the worst thing that can happen”.
At Streets Revolution we are dealing with people everyday, who for them this is a reality of daily life.

I had a chilled afternoon watching the drama of ‘Survival Sunday’ unfold in the premiership.

Watching grown men and women cry, others celebrating with strangers as teams stayed up whilst others were relegated.

Bill Shankly famously said “Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”

I sometimes wish we felt the same about homelessness or poverty, unemployment or social injustices locally and globally.

When I get a call in the middle of all this drama, from someone in the middle of a REAL drama, it reminded me of why we wanted to start Streets Revolution in the first place.

It wasn’t to discover the next Lionel Messi or create a team to play like Barcelona.

Nor was it to just purely to create another project that operated locally, but had no lasting impact.

Our strap line from the beginning was ‘we’re turning perceptions’.

That means we are about change, long lasting wholesale change, in peoples minds from those that come to any session we put on or volunteer for us.

To the public who hear about us and people in the public sector who debate what to do about our ‘participants’.

It’s about sharing a common purpose, we should all want the same things CHANGE it’s a measure of a civilised society how it looks after the weakest in our midst, not how successful or rich the top is.
If we stay true to the original purpose and never forget, quit, or compromise from that mission, I for one believe we can change a lot of people along the way.
Whether that’s in Oxford or Kenya or beyond, we believe in a long lasting Revolution.

Meeting the right one…..

Having meet in my estimation over 500+ new people, in the last year alone. I was left pondering the question how do you know if their the right one.

I spend a lot of my time recently telling people all about Streets Revolution and answering and making thousands of calls talking about the latest project, or updating on the next move.

It’s sometimes fruitful as this week proved with plans for a new Social Enterprise spawning from that simple conversation.

It is also frustrating as seeds grow slowly and sometimes as the expression goes they ‘fall on stoney ground’.

Networking has become a BIG part of the role, I even found myself as Chairman of a network!!!

And yet I am still a novice when trying to decide who is of value? It all seems so mercenary.

I think like in the photo below we all have value, we are all different shapes and sizes, colours and opinions.

The common thread is we all should be working for a common purpose, to score that end GOAL.

You just have to stick in there long enough to find out what that is, that commonality that means WE both win !!!

So maybe the answer is there is no such thing as the right one just the right goal.