Helping underprivileged children

Situation

Living in the western world we have many advantages compared to life in developing countries. However, even in affluent countries like the USA one in five children live in poverty.

Global Child Poverty Rates In Perspective

However, there are people who want to make a change in this children’s lives. Read the following text to learn more about it and then do all the tasks.

Text: What happens if you stick inner-city kids on top of a mountain?

Dan Charlish, the founder of charity Snow-Camp, on why skiing transforms lives

by Hanna Summers

1  Dan Charlish got the idea to start a programme teaching disadvantaged young people how to ski and snowboard in 2003, when he was running a youth group at a church in south London. He overheard a group of young people playing an X-Box snowsports game saying this was the closest they would ever get to winter sports.

2  “The idea they had about snowsports was quite accurate in that it was something, at that time, they were never going to be able to do for real,” says Charlish. “They were at a high risk of being dragged into things they didn’t want to do and our job as youth workers was to provide an alternative.” Charlish scraped together enough money to take 13 young people on their first skiing experience to the French resort of Les Deux Alpes. Snow-Camp was born.

3  The charity’s aim was to teach teenagers life skills as well as how to ski or snowboard, so that they would have the confidence to find work in winter sports. “My thought was – if you take a group of inner-city young people from a depressing environment and stick them on top of a mountain, and teach them this amazing sport they thought they’d never have the chance to learn – what would happen?” he says.

4  Their first time on the slopes was similar to that of anyone who had never skied – more time on their backs than upright; frustration, anger, loss of face in front of their group members. “The big guy was falling on his face, he was having to learn to laugh at himself, the little guy might have found he was better for once and was building confidence.”

5  To master skiing certain life skills had to be used: perseverance[1], focus and commitment[2], which could later be applied in the context of their life back in London. It was around the third day, Charlish says, that they started navigating the slope without falling. “You can see they’ve nailed it and then the penny drops. They think ‘if I can achieve this just by focusing, maybe I can achieve far greater things’. For me it was seeing them make that connection that was really special.” […]

6  The charity’s running costs per year are now around £700,000. […] Charlish stresses that the charity’s results are well worth it. He tells the story of Jonjoe Boulter from east London who was 16 years old and had given up on school at the time he was put forward for Snow-Camp. He wasn’t looking for employment, had few hobbies and risked getting into fights where he lived in Hackney. Two years ago he’d never seen snow or worn skis but today he is an internationally-qualified ski coach working in Switzerland with a promising career ahead of him. […] In all, Charlish says, 95% of those who complete the course go on to full-time employment or further training. […].

Source: www.theguardian.com, April 11, 2017 (zuletzt aufgerufen: 17.10.2019)

[1] Ausdauer, Beharrlichkeit

[2] Engagement

Task 1: Mediation

Beantworten Sie die folgenden Fragen sinngemäß auf Deutsch.

  1. Wie kam Dan Charlish darauf, die gemeinnützige Organisation Snow Camp ins Leben zu rufen?
  2. Welche Aufgabe haben seiner Meinung nach Sozialarbeiter?
  3. Welches Ziel verfolgte die Wohltätigkeitsorganisation zunächst?
  4. Was meint Charlish im Textszusammenhang, wenn er sagt: “You can see they’ve nailed it and then the penny drops.”

Während einige Jugendliche ein Wintersportspiel auf der X-Box spielten, hörte er zufällig wie sie sagten, dass sie wohl nie näher an echten Wintersport rankommen würden, als durch dieses Spiel/dass sie wohl nie die Chance haben würden, echten Wintersport zu erleben (paragraph 1).

Sie sollen eine Alternative dazu schaffen, dass Jugendliche abrutschen/auf die schiefe Bahn geraten (paragraph 2).

Jugendlichen Lebenskompetenzen  und das Ski- und Snowboardfahren beizubringen, damit sie das Selbstvertrauen haben, eine Arbeit im Wintersport zu finden (paragraph 3).

Sobald sie beim Skifahren Erfolg haben, fällt es ihnen wie Schuppen von den Augen (fällt der Groschen), dass sie alles schaffen können.

Task 2: Short Answer Questions

Answer the questions by providing the information from the text.

  1. What did the young people experience in general when they were first on skis? (4 aspects)
  2. How does Charlish prove the charity’s overall success?

Lösungen

  • more time on their backs than upright
  • frustration
  • anger
  • loss of face in front of their group members (paragraph 4)

95% of those who complete the course go on to full-time employment or further training (paragraph 6)

Material Based Writing

Now that you’ve learned how sport can change people’s life think about other ways that might help disadvantaged young people better their situation.

Task: Write an article

Choose one of the sources below and use the idea to unfold your argument on several levels. Don’t forget an introduction and conclusion. Write about 150 words.

Source 1:

„Bildung (be)trifft Jeden!“ by igmetalljugendbayern is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Source 2:

„Counselor ‚Appreciation‘ Day!“ by Camp Pinewood YMCA is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Source 3:

„Besuch der AWO Beratungsstelle Frankfurt-Höchst von Ulli Nissen MdB“ by AWO Bundesverband is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

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