Dubai
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
  • Prayer time
  • Expo 2020
  • Things To Do
  • Auto
  • Property
  • Sports
  • Transport
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Government
  • Fashion
  • Tech
  • More
    • World
    • Crime
    • Weather
No Result
View All Result
Morning News
Home Education

Meet the Dubai pupil who collects used football boots for refugee children

21/04/2022
Reading Time: 4 mins read
100
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Ahmad Ghandour’s scheme is bringing joy to impoverished children – and fuelling his dream to create ‘the next Ronaldo or Messi’

ExpandAutoplay

RELATED POSTS

Is it better to study abroad or in your home country? How to choose a university

Mohamed bin Zayed University for Humanities to offer full scholarships to 100 students

Dubai pupil Ahmad Ghandour, 17, collects used football boots for refugee children in Lebanon. Photo: Suhail Akram / The National

.

A 17-year-old pupil in Dubai has collected and donated 231 pairs of used football boots to children who cannot afford them but who love to play the beautiful game.

Ahmad Ghandour, a Year 12 pupil at Nord Anglia International School, said a recent summer holiday to his home country Lebanon “broke his heart” when a young child at a refugee camp came up to him to ask if he could borrow his boots.

“This little child asked me if he could borrow my [boots] to play football with his friends. I was baffled; it was my first time experiencing something like that. So I just vowed to make a change,” Ahmad told The National.

Ahmad said he and his cousins were at the refugee camp to teach some children, and were shocked beyond words when they saw many of them had no boots to wear.

“I began talking to them and they told me they couldn’t afford [boots], that they were not within their reach. And that just broke my heart,” he said.

Ahmad was so moved by the children’s plight that he decided to help them.

Over the past year, he has been collecting boots and sending them as gifts to refugee children in Lebanon.

His enterprising initiative first began as a word-of-mouth affair, followed by social media messages, he said.

Ahmad has set up a website, onekickaway.com, where he urges people to make donations, especially of old and used football boots and trainers.

“My father and I were brainstorming ideas for a name for the website, but we were blank,” he said.

“On the same day, we went for a car ride, and there was this song on the radio. It was called One Call Away. And I thought that was probably a good title. Then I started thinking about that. First, I thought something like, One Shoe Away, but then we decided to go with, One Kick Away.”

On April 7, The National accompanied Ahmad and his mother as they drove around Dubai to pick up boots from his friends.

Ahmad’s mother, Hania Daher, usually drives him around.

This fills her with pride, but also provides an opportunity to spend some quality time with her son, she said.

“I am his Uber and for free,” Ms Daher said jokingly, as her son gave her services a ‘five-star’ rating.

“This is the only time where we can see each other properly, where we spend quality time,” she said.

In March, she travelled to Lebanon with the first set of 231 boots, all donated by people in the UAE.

Ahmad showed The National a few videos on his phone which his mother had made while distributing the boots among the refugee children at Lebanon’s Malaak NGO.

Read More'I saw an opportunity to transform children's lives, but also spread the love of cricket'

The short clips were full of joy.

“Thank you, Ahmad, for letting us play football,” chanted the children, as they tried on the boots.

“The idea was fuelled by his love for football, as well as a desire to help the victims of the ongoing financial and societal crisis in Lebanon,” reads Ahmad’s website.

“I feel like this [initiative] is like a needle in a haystack. And I want to build on this and take this as a learning initiative and hopefully start some more things like this,” Ahmad, who is a defender for The Football Academy in Dubai, said.

The teenage philanthropist is now collecting more boots and plans to send another batch to Lebanon as soon as he has enough.

“One of my main goals and ambitions through this is that one of [these children] might pursue football later on in their career. I don’t know, but maybe I will make the next Ronaldo or Messi. That’s kind of like my dream,” he said.

Updated: April 21, 2022, 4:00 AM

Source

ShareTweet

Related Posts

Is it better to study abroad or in your home country? How to choose a university

Is it better to study abroad or in your home country? How to choose a university

12/05/2022
106

Many UAE pupils are still deciding where to apply for higher educationExpandAutoplayFirst: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US. All photos: Alamy unless otherwise stated Young people are often told, “the world is your...

Mohamed bin Zayed University for Humanities to offer full scholarships to 100 students

Mohamed bin Zayed University for Humanities to offer full scholarships to 100 students

05/05/2022
96

The scholarships will be open to applicants in the UAE and abroadThe most popular courses at the Mohamed Bin Zayed University for Humanities in Abu Dhabi include the Arabic language and philosophy....

Cash-for-answers websites entice pupils in UAE to cheat, says academic

Cash-for-answers websites entice pupils in UAE to cheat, says academic

04/05/2022
96

Academic ethics expert claims rogue sites are easily accessible to learnersReducing the amount of homework could allow teachers to monitor a child's progress more easily. Pawan Singh / The National .A UAE...

These degrees could lead you to the highest paying jobs in UAE

03/05/2022
100

Three top academics identify subject-by-subject salary trends for graduatesExpandAutoplayA visitor interacts with Opti the robot at the Mobility District at Expo 2020 Dubai. Robotics is one of the many degree programmes from...

Meet the four-legged well-being counsellors proving a big hit at this Dubai school

Meet the four-legged well-being counsellors proving a big hit at this Dubai school

29/04/2022
96

Ziggy and Marshall interact with pupils at Kent College to help ease stress and aid developmentExpandAutoplayMia Holmes, 11, from Kent College, is joined by Ziggy the wellbeing dog during one of her...

RECOMMENDED

Check out these new dining deals at Hyde Hotel Dubai – What’s On

Check out these new dining deals at Hyde Hotel Dubai – What’s On

28/06/2022
96

14 excellent Eid Al Adha staycation deals in the UAE – What’s On

28/06/2022
99
10 epic things to do in Dubai this July – What’s On

10 epic things to do in Dubai this July – What’s On

28/06/2022
98
16 places to treat yourself on payday in Dubai- What’s On Dubai

16 places to treat yourself on payday in Dubai- What’s On Dubai

28/06/2022
96

MOST VIEWED

  • Ronaldinho, Figo and Kaka among star names at Omega Pro Legends Cup in Dubai – in pictures

    Ronaldinho, Figo and Kaka among star names at Omega Pro Legends Cup in Dubai – in pictures

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • 22 unmissable things to do in the UAE in 2022 – What’s On

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Dubai’s best restaurants 2022

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mohamed Salah’s daughters star on the pitch at Anfield – in pictures

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Manchester City’s ‘legends’ celebrate Premier League title with open-top bus parade

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • TheKIEV.city
[email protected]
2022 © "TheDUBAI" Media Group.
All Rights Reserved
No Result
View All Result
  • Prayer time
  • Expo 2020
  • Things To Do
  • Auto
  • Property
  • Sports
  • Transport
  • Economy
  • Education
  • Government
  • Fashion
  • Tech
  • More
    • World
    • Crime
    • Weather

Copyright © 2022. "TheDUBAI" Media Group. All Rights Reserved