INTER CAMPUS TUNISIA’S NERAZZURRI SPIRIT

HERGLA – The charming town of Hergla on the Mediterranean coast was the setting for the Inter Campus delegation’s latest visit to Tunisia. Massimo Seregni, Lorenzo Forneris and Silvio Guareschi travelled to the region to meet local instructors and the 300 boys and girls involved in the project across the Hergla and Kairuan centres. Launched three years ago in Hergla and now with a new centre in operation 50km inland in Kairuan, the project is going from strength to strength thanks to collaboration from the El Mustakbal and Tanit Onlus associations. These partners are involved in supporting the sporting and academic development of the children, who are as enthusiastic as ever to meet our staff. The Tunisia programme, which is meticulously planned by local coordinator Chicco Uncini, also includes 51 children whose improvement represents a truly significant success story of us. We still remember them as they were two years ago during the initial training sessions, struggling to move around and cripplingly shy. Now, they are engaged and enthusiastic, sprinting after the ball, sharing ideas and helping team-mates out, almost on a par with their other friends.. In Hergla, education and sport are pursued via full-time programmes. The activities take place in a school where many of the instructors are also regular teachers. Teaching flows between classroom and training pitch, and once lessons are over Chicco ensures that there are recreational and educational activities to keep them entertained. The recent visit was the first chance for the Kairuan-based instructors to get the full Nerazzurri experience, sharing methods and advice with their Hergla counterparts. Thanks to the support of Lorenzo, Massimo and Silvio, they were able to absorb the true spirit of Inter Campus: sport, integration, education, joy. The gravel pitch in Hergla has been transformed into a safe, permanent facility where fun abounds. Every single afternoon, hundreds of children dressed in Inter black and blue run around under the watchful eye of their instructor – the sense of liberty and joy is simply infectious. There was a particularly moving moment during the final tournament, when the children commemorated one of their team-mates, Youssef, who tragically died last summer. It was a painful event, but one that has strengthened the Inter Campus Tunisia team as they strive to further a project aimed at creating a better future for children just like little Youssef.

16.01.2015