Hi all @ ps.com - I hope this isn't against the rules of the forum, and if so please accept my apologies, but my friend has produced an amazing film about a Liberian "ex-child-soldiers" football-team called the "Millennium Stars", whom he has worked with in the past and tried to help.
He is currently writing up the book of the story, and I really think his dedication and efforts deserve a wider audience, so please take the time to watch the film if you can, it is a poignant tale, and provides a 'reality-check' to the oft cited view that football is the answer to all of life's problems.
http://naughtonmedia.co.uk/its-not-easy-film/
My friend is far more 'wordy' than myself, so I will let his words describe it better for you:
Why is the Millennium Stars story important?
Firstly, it’s a great story of human effort to overcome adversity: hope and disappointment, war and peace, truth and opinion, life and death, and above all, humour.
One of the main lessons is that football – like any other vehicle – is not a foolproof answer to any of the world’s problems. Anyone who thinks you can start a sports project, run it for a couple of years, then leave its participants to thrive, will face the same harsh truths that we have.
Hope people enjoy the film, and please feel free to leave any comments/feedback
(sensible ones only please) you may have.
Many Thanks,
$heriff.
ps: be sure to activate 'captions' as the lad's accents are quite strong, and may be difficult to understand for some.
pps (MODS): I was unsure whether this belonged in the 'sports' section, as it is not strictly speaking about sport, so I placed it here, but neither would I describe it as 'small-talk', so if there is a more fitting place please feel free to relocate. thanks.
