The League of Change official billboard.

As I mentioned in a previous post; I’m a mere supportive onlooker of this community. This time they’re at it again. The League of Change was held again in Bandung, to select Indonesian team for Homeless World Cup (HWC) 2013 in Poland!

Approaching Bawet “soccer field”, which is actually an empty space below Pasupati flyover.

Media exposure, subsequent to their achievement at HWC in Mexico City, has made their reputation reach to a much wider audience, who got inspired as well. Nonetheless, the team stays humble, but still aims for improvement. For, this time, there is also a women team!

The League of Change (LoC) gathered several teams from all over Indonesia, all bearing the stigma as marginalized and/or discriminated groups of society. Through football, their fellowship strengthens, from what I witnessed upon watching the finals of LoC.

The championship was held at a very insignificant venue; an empty, dusty space under a flyover, surrounded by dense urban kampongs, in a district called Bawet (an abbreviation for Bandung Wetan). However simple, this venue holds lots of unbeatable memories of events, such as when the 2012 national team played soccer for 24-hours non-stop as a proof of their vow when their prayer for gathering enough funding to go to HWC in Mexico City was granted. This place contains tears of disappointments and joys, shouts of anger and pride, whispers of sadness and hope. It is Alive with emotions.

The soccer field is determined by four fences with high nets.

It is from this Place that LoC formed, once again, national teams (men and women!) for HWC 2013. Congratulations, good people, for you have achieved what not just anyone can, by having the Courage to accept, the Willingness to excel and the Hard Work to prove it all. Take our hopes and inspirations along, show the world that you’re indeed “greater than trophies, more honorable than any title”!

I know next to nothing about street soccer. I hardly ever felt how it is to be marginalized and socially stigmatized. But I have witnessed how the former becomes a remedy for the latter.

An illustration I made to gain fund in an event

An Indonesian team consisting of people who are either homeless, (former) drug addicts, or HIV/AIDS positive, was invited to participate in the Homeless World Cup 2012 tournament in Mexico. My previous post tells a bit about their initial attempt to raise funding for the trip, which was emotionally quite overwhelming. Eventually, they managed to gather just enough to send the team to Mexico. We saw them off on October 4^th, 2012. Then, remarkable things happened…

I am not directly involved with their preparation, etc., so just take my words as a supportive onlooker: this team has become an inspiration for many.

“Why do I have so much faith in them?”

I tweeted one day,

“Because they have the guts to accept their condition and to be better persons”.

Which is true. It’s already hard for them to free themselves from their current circle (poverty, drug addiction, stigmatized illness, along with the social consequences). Their limitation is the one that pushes them forward and proves that their will knows no boundaries. What makes them what they are now is their own might. Each man has to conquer himself and they have gone beyond that. Not just anyone can say such things for himself.

During the tournament, their reputation was built not only of their sporting skills, but also of their charming personality. [Read this article at Detik Sport, for one, then click all the links with the same topics at the bottom of the article for more stories] Although they are entitled to be depressed, they choose not to. Instead, they lift up the spirits of others, and be positive about the game, winning or losing. They got a champion’s attitude.

What’s unexpected was that they made it into the semi-final! They’ve made it to the fourth place, bringing along with them hopes and prides of everyone who has followed their journey. Thanks to the team, all crew, and everyone who supports them, for being unsung heroes for all of us. Tomorrow they’ll arrive in Indonesia, back to their families, friends, communities, ready to inspire more. Welcome home, brothers, we’re proud of you. Quoting Ridwan Kamil (the team’s supervisor) and Ginan Koesmayadi (the team’s predecessor),

“You’re all greater than trophies;

more honorable than any title!”

R E S P E C T !

=====

Relevant links:

Homeless World Cup: http://www.homelessworldcup.org/

League of Change: http://www.leagueofchange.org/

Rumah Cemara: http://www.rumahcemara.org/

Dukung tim Indonesia di HWC2012 di Mexico City!

“Menangis itu persoalan lain”, kata Ginan Koesmayadi, ketika disinggung mengenai liputan video yang menayangkan ekspresi keharuannya saat lagu Indonesia Raya dikumandangkan untuk kemenangan tim Indonesia di Homeless World Cup 2011 yang diadakan di Paris, Perancis. “Yah, bagaimana tidak”, lanjutnya, “Saya ini pernah hidup di jalanan, pakai narkoba, masuk penjara. Pokoknya sampah sekali”.  Di HWC2011 itu Ginan mendapat predikat sebagai Pemain Terbaik, tim Indonesia berhasil meraih tempat ke-6 (dari 27 negara) dan berprestasi sebagai Tim Pendatang Terbaik. “Makanya ketika itu, bagaimana tidak haru. Apalah saya ini, apakah pantas untuk dimainkan lagu kebangsaan untuk saya?”

Ginan dan timnya, yang bernaung dalam Rumah Cemara, adalah termasuk kelompok masyarakat yang terpinggirkan karena kondisi mereka, baik sebagai tunawisma maupun pecandu narkoba, hingga pengidap HIV. Namun secara bertahap mereka berusaha melakukan hal-hal yang dapat memulihkan jiwa-raga, menumbuhkan penghargaan pada diri sendiri, dan meningkatkan kepercayaan diri. Mengutip Ginan lagi, “Saya memilih untuk terus main bola, karena saya bisa mencintai diri saya yang bermain bola”.

Tisna Sanjaya berkarya berdasarkan percakapan sore itu, yang hasilnya kemudian dilelang untuk mendapatkan dana bagi tim HWC2012 Indonesia.

Banyak sebenarnya yang dapat diceritakan dari perjuangan mereka dalam mencapai prestasi ini, yang semuanya dapat dibaca di situs mereka, dan bahkan mungkin juga dapat ditonton dari video ketika mereka menjadi tamu di KickAndy. Namun, yang paling penting dari kisah ini, adalah bahwa perjuangan mereka masih berlanjut!

Seusai HWC2011 lalu, tim homeless Indonesia tiba-tiba mendapat undangan lagi untuk berlaga di HWC2012 yang akan diadakan di Mexico City, pada bulan Oktober 2012 ini. Para pemain telah siap dan terus berlatih (mengenai pemilihan para atlet ini bisa dibaca juga di situs mereka), namun salah satu hal yang paling penting belum terpenuhi: biaya keberangkatan untuk berjuang membawa nama Indonesia di kompetisi internasional tersebut.

Terus terang, saya ikut bangga, sekaligus agak malu ketika berpikir: saya yang serba berkecukupan dan sehat jiwa-raga, apakah pernah memperoleh kepercayaan begitu besar untuk membawa nama Indonesia sedemikian rupa, sementara mereka harus berjuang pontang-panting untuk mendapatkan dukungan dalam membela nama negara dan bangsa yang selama ini tidak peduli pada mereka?

Waktu keberangkatan ke Mexico semakin dekat, sementara bekal untuk dapat berangkat ke sana, sekitar 500juta Rupiah, baru 3% terpenuhi. Mari tidak tinggal diam dalam mendukung mereka, apa pun upayanya. Kontak mereka melalui Rumah Cemara di situsnya http://www.rumahcemara.org atau via Twitter @RumahCemara dengan tagar #hwc2011 dan #SatuMimpiUntukIndonesia

Silakan mengunjungi situs League of Change http://www.leagueofchange.org/ untuk dapat mengetahui lebih jauh mengenai tim homeless ini. Di tautan tersebut juga terdapat video dan dokumentasi lain, termasuk cuplikan yang membuat Ginan terharu, yang disebutkan di awal tulisan ini. Dari situs itu terdapat informasi bagi yang ingin donasi melalui transfer ke rekening bank Rumah Cemara, sbb:

Bank Mandiri No Rek 132-00-0765977-5 KCP Bandung Setiabudi a/n Yayasan Insan Hamdani

Berikut ini adalah tautan berita di Kompas Online mengenai sosialisasi partisipasi Tim Indonesia di Homeless World Cup 2012 yang berlangsung sore itu (Jumat, 10 Agustus 2012): http://regional.kompas.com/read/2012/08/10/20462571/ODHA.Tetap.Ada.di.Timnas.Indonesia

Mari usahakan bersama agar tim ini dapat tetap berlaga dan mewujudkan satu mimpi untuk Indonesia!

SERENITY PRAYER*

GOD grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference

RC

*copied from Rumah Cemara Twitter background