The Salesian Mission San José, in Maputo, is part of the collaboration project of the Socio-Sports Schools that the Real Madrid Foundation has launched with the Salesian Mission Office of Madrid, "Misiones Salesianas" - a collaboration that has turned 10 in 2021 and which today is divided into 21 schools in 14 countries on three continents, benefiting almost 4,000 children every year.
For three days a week, the students of the "Don Bosco-Maputo" school participate in training sessions for an hour and a half. Sport and educational reinforcement complement each other so that through sport the project participants learn good habits for study, hygiene and nutrition.
Mandatory confinement during the last school year and the consequences of the pandemic forced a reduction in sports activities and the number of participants. However, the accompaniment of children and their families has translated into solidarity, through the distribution of food, masks and protective devices, as well as through awareness-raising speeches to avoid infections.
Source: Misiones Salesianas
Walter is 13 years old and one of the participants in the football school: “Here we have fun, we learn a lot and make friends. When I grow up, I want to be a teacher and I know that what I'm learning will help me achieve this goal," he says.
The school year in Mozambique begins in February. Last year, all activities were marked by the pandemic, but classroom activities were replaced by visits to children and their families to encourage and help them during the lockdown.
The limitations of participation and health measures to avoid contagion are still respected: the use of masks during school reinforcements, hand disinfection before entering the playground or in any activity organized by the school and measurement of the participants' temperature before entering the sports complex take place.
However, what never changes in the socio-sports schools of the Real Madrid Foundation is the joy of the students, a concrete expression of the motto that guides these activities which benefit thousands of vulnerable children all over the world: "They play, we educate".
