SALEM, OR (September 28, 2007) \u2013 High school students at Trinity Covenant Church recently embraced a universal language to help severely impoverished children in the Sierra Leone. They donated soccer balls.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe children were thrilled,\u201d says Jim Sundholm director of Covenant World Relief and the Paul Carlson Partnership (PCP). He distributed nine balls among three villages during a recent trip to the African nation, one of the poorest in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was like asking, do you want some chocolate pudding?\u201d Sundholm recalls. \u201cThey went wild.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Trinity students initiated the project (several are pictured in the accompanying photo). \u201cIt started when five students within two weeks came to me and said they wanted to do something to help people in Africa,\u201d says youth pastor Carolyn Poterek. She figured God was trying to tell her something.<\/p>\n
But the group didn\u2019t know specifically what to do, so Poterek called Sundholm. Together, they hit upon the idea of donating the soccer balls. \u201cIt seems to us like something minor, but it means so much to the kids in the villages.\u201d<\/p>\n
The idea was a logical fit. Many of the students play soccer, and Salem is a community where the sport is especially popular, Poterek says. The youth group plans to send another 25 soccer balls to Sudan next month.<\/p>\n
Most of the balls have been donated. The students were not shy in asking for help. Group member Bekah Chin decided on her own to call the Salem Department of Parks and Recreation, which eagerly gave several balls to the cause.<\/p>\n
The forgetfulness of one youth group member had a special impact on a girl thousands of miles away. Cody Miles donated her equipment bag, but didn\u2019t realize she had left a pin inside from a soccer tournament.<\/p>\n
When Sundholm discovered the pin in Sierra Leone, he decided to give it to a girl he met last year while visiting a village where victims of polio live. \u201cShe was terribly timid,\u201d Sundholm says. \u201cI gave her the pin, and it meant so much to her,\u201d he adds, recalling that the gesture helped break through the emotional distance she tries to maintain.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids can make such a big difference,\u201d Poterek says. \u201cThey want to see God\u2019s purpose in their lives. They really have a heart to serve him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The soccer balls were a means by which the students could give something tangible to the children, but Poterek says the group also is committed to helping fund PCP. The students already have raised $400. They plan to invite friends to an upcoming party and ask for a five-dollar donation.<\/p>\n