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Swiss youth play for their peers in Cairo

Feb 6, 2014

In the third year of the Arab Spring in Egypt, the young people of the Focolare in Zurich organize a Volleyball Marathon Day to raise funds in support of microprojects developed by the youth of Cairo.

On the 25th of January, 2014, the 14° edition of the annual sponsored volleyball marathon organized by the “Youth4unity”, the young people of the Focolare Movement of Switzerland, was held.

160 sports enthusiasts full of enthusiasm met in six gymnasiums belonging to the schools in Zurich Oerlikon, and not just to engage in sports. In fact, with what they have gathered from the sponsors, they are able to support, already for the third time, the Koz Kazeh (Rainbow) Foundation of Cairo.

This foundation takes care of Egyptian youth and teens who have to work to support their families and who can only study during their days off. Recently they are able to take advantage of professional training courses and special support programs for teenage girls.

Aside from the social commitment, having fun and games has marked the volleyball mMarathons that take place in Zurich. The motto “Take care; respect the one next to you; each person is important”, was the guiding thread of the tournament, making it a friendly and fair competition.

“In the game there is no battle for competition, as is the usual practice in other tournaments, because we play for another reason”, Gabriel (18) from Zurich who is participating for the first time in the Volleyball Marathon affirmed.

Aside from this, Volleyball Day has involved around twenty people who voluntarily collaborated behind the scenes for the success of the tournament.

The team “Abracadabra”  was able to raise the highest amount totalling 2,376 Swiss Francs (around €  1.942,1 ) thus winning the “cup challenge”. The winning teams “D’Choncheflicker” (League A) and “Oerlikon one” (League B), each won a big basket of food items for a dinner together.

The “time out” (a minute of silence to pray for peace) and the letter that arrived for the occasion from the Koz Kazeh Foundation, helped to strengthen the relationship among the young people of Zurich and of Cairo.

The total amount collected for the 2014 Edition of 12,074 Swiss Francs (€ 9’869,30 ), has already been sent to support the microprojects in Cairo.

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