How can they tell me that magic doesn't exist?
On Saturday, 28th October, over 25 people from 11 different countries started arriving at Ezeiza International Airport to carry out the most significant gathering in the history of the foundation. Ten years don't come around every day. With 41 projects in 17 countries, we have changed the lives of over 3000 children worldwide. There are plenty of reasons to celebrate.
On Sunday, we had our first workshop at the IUDPT centers (Education for the Knowledge Era). We formed a circle, and Henry May, founder of The Huracan Foundation, couldn't hold back the tears of emotion. After over a year of effort and planning, we had managed to bring together people from such remote places where it all began, Buenos Aires, Argentina. We used this first session together to get to know each other. Despite the magic of football and education uniting us all for some time, almost no one knew each other personally. And there they were; our project leader from the Himalayas, India, Tenzin Dondul, giving a 5-minute presentation with Andy Smith, our trustee for over 7 years, and Willy Canwat, our new project leader from Uganda. What an impressive sight. How can anyone tell me that magic doesn't exist?
Linia Hambure, our new project leader from Zimbabwe, remember the moment: “The Kick off Week started by an emotional burst, when the founder of The Huracan Foundation sir Henry May broke into tears of joy. It was an amazing moment for him to realize that a dream that had started by just being a crazy fan of Huracan has materialised to an extent of uniting more than 11 nations. Henry started narrating how the foundation began and the journey that it went through until this point where we were celebrating the its 10th anniversary”.
From left to right: Andy Smith (United Kingdom), Tenzin Dondul (India) and Willy Canwat (Uganda).
In the afternoon, we fulfilled one of my main purposes for the trip. We went to the Tomás Adolfo Ducó Stadium. The importance of the staff, trustees, and project leaders knowing Club Atlético Huracán was not just about seeing a football stadium because it's the sport that unites us. Nor was it to make the trip dynamic, but because everyone needed to know the foundation's first driving force. Knowing the neighborhood, the club, its history, and its people allowed them to see with their own eyes the magic and power of the globe on the chest to "globolize" the world. Before entering, a man introduced himself to us. His name was Santiago, and he had a surprise for us. He had closely followed our work in the foundation and made a flag in gratitude for what we were doing: "You make the name of Huracán great in the world". Not only was our excitement enormous, but we also invited him to join us in the stadium.
In the stadium Tomás Adolfo Ducó with Santiago (first men from the right).
We had the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the professional team. It was the first time the foundation had such a close contact with something as important as the professional players of the club. We told them what we were doing and how we had carried the name and emblem of Huracán around the world for years, took photos, and also had the opportunity to step on the playing field. Again, I asked everyone to form a circle. It was a sunny afternoon. We all fell silent and closed our eyes for a few seconds. Something strange was happening in our bodies, something new was flowing through our veins. A unique passion that beat in our hearts as if it were one.
José López, our project leader from Perú, reflects on this first encounter: "Getting to know the passion of the fans inside and outside of the Ducó, especially Santiago, who kindly taught me the history of the club, was enlightening. I participated in a football training session and was amazed by the kindness of the players".
The next day, we went to La Quemita, the training ground of the first team and the leisure place for the "Quemero" members, to meet the young players of the seventh professional division. For over 3 months, in collaboration with Teach for Argentina, we have been funding and developing a project where we work with these potential professional players on something as important as the emotional and psychological aspects. The result of this meeting was memorable because a bond was formed between these young people and us, where they told us about their frustrations, fears, and achievements, asked about our projects and our work, and thanked us for the project's effort. The meeting ended with a barbecue, where we tried the famous "chopiran".
Mercedes Álvarez, Program Coordinator for Teach for Argentina, highlighted that "for the players, it was an exceedingly enriching encounter. They had the opportunity to exchange experiences with people from diverse countries, learn about their realities, and the projects each one implements. Despite the different realities, they could identify a common passion for football, for Huracán! They also coincided on the importance of education and sports as tools for inclusion. It was an experience that the young people cherish to this day, being able to learn about other realities that are so different yet share a passion and similar values".
In the afternoon, we went back to the IUDPT for our second workshop. This time, several project leaders presented their projects, sharing their successes, difficulties, and also failures with their colleagues. The idea behind this activity was to enrich each other with experiences and stories from each one. The exchanges that took place were extremely enriching for everyone.
The evening came, and with it, one of the most special moments of the trip. A significant part of the foundation's financial support comes from a significant income from the sale of shirts and jackets. So, we made a delivery at the official headquarters of Club Atlético Huracán. It was a magical moment because fans had the opportunity to meet the project leaders for the first time, greet them, interact with them, and ask them questions about their projects around the world. Then we went to El Globito, a legendary pizzeria in Buenos Aires and, of course, “Quemera”. We had 35 minutes to eat because we had to leave later to attend the match between Huracán vs Barracas Central. The team was playing to stay in the first division, and we had secured tickets to be there with our 25 delegates. We started walking along Avenida Caseros with the fans on the way to the stadium. The party was in full swing. The group looked around, beginning to feel the magic of Huracán's power. We reached the "banderazo", the place where fans gather in a kind of mythical prelude, where they sing, jump, and prepare their hearts for the match. As soon as we arrived, the people welcomed us with open arms. Etim-Etim was given a flag, Phiona was invited to jump, and Desi started singing. We took photos, filmed, they asked us for pictures as if we were rock stars, and they thanked us for carrying the name and the globe of Huracán around the world. We entered the stadium, the same one we had visited empty yesterday, now glowing with people, chants, and a football atmosphere that is only seen in Argentina. The match? It ended 0-0, but the goal was achieved. The project leaders had been able to get to know the emblem and name that everyone represents up close, like never before.
Obasanjo Fajemirokun, our project leader from Nigeria, has this reflection about knowing Huracán world: “At El Duco, I felt like I was part of the family. I never felt far from home like I usually do when I travel abroad. The warm welcome from the Huracan community, fans and people made me feel welcome”.
The next day, we had our third workshop at the offices of Urban Grupo. A company specializing in digital marketing and communication. Andy Smith and Hayley Barton, foundation trustees, explained to our project leaders the importance of having a "Theory of Change" and why it is crucial to develop their projects.
In the afternoon, we visited the Tirando Paredes foundation, at Club Atlético Atlanta. Its founder, Francisco Lanusse, told us that they worked with children with different abilities and used sports as a catalyst. Finally, we did an activity with them, playing a couple of games with the children. The experience filled our souls with inspiration and humility.
“My visit to Tirando Paredes, a project for kids with special skills in Club Atlético Atlanta, was a highlight of the Huracan Foundation's Kick Off Week in Buenos Aires. Interacting with the children taught me the importance of physical activities in their learning and interaction. Overall, the week was rewarding” says our project leader from Nigeria, Etim-Etim Akpan.
On Wednesday, after having a series of professional photos and interviews in the morning for our documentary on another visit to the Tomás Adolfo Ducó Stadium, we had our fourth workshop at the central offices of the Government of the City of Buenos Aires. There, Phil King, our Head of Fundraising & Partnership, explained to project leaders the importance of developing the project as a brand and how to raise funds to finance their project's activities and issues. Our foundation's idea is that after a year or two, our project leaders can fly on their own and independently. Then, Obasanjo and Etim-Etim shared their experiences in their respective projects in Nigeria, and being from the same country, far from opposing or competing, it generated that they worked together for the common good of both projects. Etim-Etim emphasized the importance of pursuing dreams and not giving up, recounting how they laughed at him in Nigeria calling him "Mr. Huracán", and today, he is an example in his community and the first to have the opportunity to travel outside of Africa or on an airplane.
Our penultimate day. In the morning, we went to the offices of one of our most important partners, Teach For Argentina, belonging to the Teach For All network, for our last workshop. We had two activities. Verónica Cipriota, CEO of Teach For Argentina, presented the scheme and model of how to succeed in our projects, focusing our efforts on what to focus on and what to do to help children overcome school dropout. Then, our trustee Chris Gibbons gave us an extremely inspiring talk about the importance of inclusion and diversity in our projects, especially for our members in Africa, where women fight for equal opportunities as men.
Finally, the first project leader of The Huracan Foundation, Carlos Echeverry, gave us a talk about how we can grow ourselves proffesionaly.
In the evening, we had the most significant event of our trip. In collaboration with the Varkey Foundation, we organized an event called "Football Transforms" to showcase what we had achieved over these ten years to different individuals and organizations. As if it were part of a movie script, upon arriving at the venue, we learned that the storm happening in Buenos Aires that day had left us without power in the auditorium. We had to carry on by candlelight. Incredibly, and as if it were another flash of our magical journey, this created a much closer and intimate atmosphere with everyone present. The beginning of the event was marked by Henry briefly explaining why we were there and what the foundation has been doing for these ten years. Later, rugby legend and president of Laureus, Hugo Porta, reminded us of the transformative power of sports to change people's lives, especially children. Francisco Anello, Global SVP of Education at Aleph Group Inc, enlightened us with his impressive method of digital education to prepare people from around the world for the future.
Then, five of our project leaders, Etim-Etim Akpan, Briselba Chan, Phiona Mukisa, Charles Obore, and Kenneth Oroma, had the opportunity to share their own projects and success.
Phiona Mukisa, our project leader from Uganda, thanks for the opportunity: “I was honored to give a presentation about how my project Huracan Fc-Kalongo is supporting young mothers and teens to get back to school to a network of global people. I was also privileged to know more about the Teacher’s Global Prize organized by Varkey Foundation and got inspired to apply and compete for the prize next year”.
Finally, we presented our book, "We Have Chosen the Heart", written by Walter Binder and Lea Caballero. Of course, both are fans of Huracán. They have created this beautiful children's story that narrates the tales of the different teams and individuals from The Huracan Foundation projects in Uganda. And as if that weren't enough, we had the presence of Néstor Vicente, former president of Club Atlético Huracán and author of more than 10 books about the club, who shared an anecdote about the famous Jorge Newbery. An absolutely magical night.
Our last day focused on the visit to the River Plate Foundation, where we met Mercedes Miguel, the foundation's head and current Minister of Education for the City of Buenos Aires. She shared with us the methodologies and practices implemented in her foundation to improve the educational level of the students. We were so amazed that we couldn't stop asking them questions.
Mercedes Miguel with our project leaders.
But the magic didn't end here. On the last day, we all gathered for our final night to celebrate with a "asado" (barbecue). Coincidence or not, Huracán was playing for their category that same night against River Plate (the same day we went to their foundation and made a visit to their stadium!). We watched it all together on a giant screen. Huracán started winning, but River managed to equalize: 1-1. Minutes passed, and it seemed like everything had already been said. However, magic exists. In the last play of the last minute of the game, Huracán wins an impossible away match against River Plate, the most powerful team in Argentina. End of the match: 2-1. Huracán secures their place in the first division. Our last night together couldn't have ended in a better way. How can they tell me that magic doesn't exist?
This journey with the foundation was more than a series of planned events; it was a magical experience that surpassed expectations and left a profound impression on each of us. From the intimate connection with Huracán fans to the inspiring lessons from educational leaders and the excitement of witnessing the football feat in the last play, each moment strengthened our commitment to the foundation's mission. Magic not only manifested in Huracán's victory but also in the shared passion, solidarity, and determination to make a significant difference in the lives of those we serve. This journey was not just a celebration of past achievements but also a firm reminder that true magic lies in the unity of hearts dedicated to a common purpose. And so, with the echoes of laughter, learning, and triumph resonating in our memories, we carry forward the foundation's torch, renewed and ready for the challenges and successes the future holds. How can they tell me that magic doesn't exist? This journey proved it in every corner, in every shared smile, and in every celebrated victory.
Thank you all.