A pack of 30 schoolboys have what the best sporting clubs in India do not — a foreign coach. It only helps that he also teaches them a thing or two about HIV/AIDS.
So every Sunday, Matthew Pickard, a British national, joins the boys at the Unit VI Athletics Association ground in Bhubaneswar for a quick game. That done, the children troop in for the next class — a session on HIV/AIDS.
Pickard has his hands full with two seemingly unlike jobs. As part of a contract with his club in London, he arrived in Orissa to spread awareness about AIDS and to improve the football skills of local children. "I once happened to watch a school tournament here and volunteered to coach the children. Here, 30 boys share five footballs. In England, two people get to share a ball. The government is not doing its bit for these children — they could do with some resources."
Language is a problem but the coach makes sure he drives home his point. Pickard gets authorities at the club to help him when his Brit accent gets too heavy for the children.
{{/usCountry}}Language is a problem but the coach makes sure he drives home his point. Pickard gets authorities at the club to help him when his Brit accent gets too heavy for the children.
{{/usCountry}}Shakti Prasad Sarangi, a class VIII student, told HT, "Language is not that big a problem. Sir is a good coach and we have learnt a lot from him".
Azharudin Khan, Sarangi’s classmate, said, "We have learnt how to make a wall to defend a free kick, how to take a corner kick, how to finish and how to defend. I also came to know about HIV/AIDS from him".
Pickard’s job involves several district tours to acquaint himself with the magnitude of HIV/AIDS. As he travelled, he discovered that though the disease was spreading fast, there was a lack of awareness and understanding about the virus. "It is horrible that people discriminate against HIV+ patients".