(ANS - Itajaí)- World Cup 2014 ended yesterday with the hard-fought final between Germany and Argentina. The spotlight of the international media will gradually leave Brazil, at least until the Olympics in 2016. But apart from the great political, social and economic impact of events like these, sport is first and foremost about the game, about joy and fun, so children have every right to speak about it. Some of them were interviewed at the Parque Dom Bosco in the city of Itajaí.

Joao Pedro
I'm 10 years old, I go to school.  I am in fourth year primary school. I live with my grandmother and my sister Ana Julia. My father was killed and my mother lives alone.

Ketlyn
Hello, I'm Ketlyn, I am seven years old. I came to Itajaí a few months ago with my mother, my four sisters and my brother. We used to live in Para, near the Amazon. I'm in second year. My father abandoned us when I was one year old. I do not know anything about him. I live with my mother, my sisters Karine, Karin, Maria and Gabriela and my brother Mateus. My mother works all day cleaning houses.

Ronald
I am eight years old, I came with my family from Parana. My father and mother are looking for work.  My little sister Thais lives with us, and also my sisters Eliziane and Crislaine. For now, my mother’s uncle has given us a small wooden house to live in. I go to school.  I am in second year.

What is your normal day like?
JP: I get up at 6.30, get dressed and go to Parque Dom Bosco. There at 8.00 they give us breakfast and then, after prayer, we go to the classrooms for various activities. There is always something new. They also give us lunch and after lunch we go to school until 5.00. Then I go home  and play in the street with my friends until dark.

K: My brother Mateus comes with me to the Parque at 7.00. It's nice there. I get something to eat, and there are plenty of games and activities. I like tennis, although I'm not very good at it. After lunch at the Parque, my sister Karine takes me to school. In the evening, I help my mother to wash the dishes and the clothes,  and I play with my sister Karin.

R: We get up and go out to wash at the water pump. Eliziane and I go to school in the morning, but by11.30 am we are already at the Parque to get something to eat and then to play and have fun. In the evening, my mother reads a story until darkness comes, because then we have only two candles to light the house.

Do you like Football? Do you play?
JP: I like it, but I prefer skating.

K: Yes, I like football, but the boys usually do not let us play.

R: I am good at football. I like it a lot.

Are you able to watch the games? Have you ever been to the stadium to see your team?

JP: I watch the games at the bar in our barrio, because my grandmother’s TV doesn’t work. No, I have never been to the stadium of Flamengo. But once Neymar came here and I saw him coming out of  the hotel ... At least, it looked like him.

K: Yes, our friend the pastor has a television in his house and he invites us there for the games. I don’t even know what a stadium looks like.

R: No. We do not have electricity in our house but we listen to our neighbour’s radio. I will go to the stadium when I get picked to play for Brazil.

Published 14/07/2014