The 3rd of July at Korogocho grounds – at 11 a.m. - the 1st AC Milan Slums Championship will be hosted, with an exceptional guest, Franco Baresi, historical captain of the Milan “Invincibles”, who will inaugurate this special event organized by Alice
This tough championship started this year on the 19th of March. It is special because the 12 challenging teams are composed of children from 10 to 14 years old coming from the Nairobi
The whole Korogocho community will be involved in the event and invited to join the inaugural parade which will go through Korogocho and reach the football ground where the referee’s whistle will start the grand final!!
The Government of Italy and Ambassador Paola Imperiale are playing a central role in improving the living conditions in Korogocho, characterized by a high level of insecurity, poor accessibility, poor housing, a high unemployment rate and poor environmental health as the settlement borders the Dandora dumping site. Thanks to the debt conversion agreement between Kenya and Italy a pedestrian walkway has been built linking Korogocho with Dandora, drinking water tanks have been installed and health and hygiene initiatives have been promoted. The programme also envisages, by mid-2011, the completion the paving of all main access roads.
Italy has also funded the construction of the football field where the match will take place. As originally planned by the organizers the championship has become a meeting point for children from each slum and it has once again proved that sport and its values can be one of the most powerful weapon in the fight against social decay.
The 1st Milan Slums Championship is not the only project sponsored by the Milan Foundation in favour of Alice for Children: at Alice Village - a family-village where 76 orphans from Nairobi
Another fundamental aspect of the project will be to cover of the medical-healthcare costs for all the children from Alice Village and Alice Homes another orphanage organized by Alice for Children in the Kariobangi slum. By doing so the Milan Foundation will provide medical screenings, medical insurance and medical care for children affected by HIV.
The roads of friendiship
“The Roads of Friendship" is a special classical music concert already performed in all the major cities of the world, like New York, Jerusalem, Sarajevo and Moscow.
The orchestra will be composed of a total of 300 Italian and Kenyan musicians, the show will be broadcasted by RAI TV and Kenyan Televisions and aired all over the world.
The adventure of “The Roads of Friendship” began in Sarajevo in 1997: this project, promoting brotherhood through art and culture, has now become one of the Ravenna Festival’s inalienable moments. Today, like fifteen years ago, the Festival answers another call and heads for the heart of Africa for a big music happening.
The Concert will be dedicated to the dwellers of the Nairobi slums. The purpose: awakening souls through music’s universal and boundless message and actively supporting the development and social promotion of Kibera, the largest shantytown in Sub-Saharan Africa.
