Teams Embark on the ‘I am Somebody Express’ to Champion the Rights of Street-Connected Children
The first teams have arrived in Chennai for the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023, welcomed by a rapture of applause from volunteers and staff as they entered their hotel.
Six teams participating in the Street Child Cricket World Cup 2023 (SCCWC ‘23) have arrived in Chennai after embarking on a 1284 KM train journey on board the ‘I am Somebody Express’, which departed from Mumbai on Wednesday.
Representing India on this symbolic journey were teams from notable NGOs: Bucket List, CHETNA, Hope Foundation, Magic Bus India Foundation, and Salaam Baalak Trust, while participants from SAFIRE waved the flag for Team Mauritius.
Ahead of departure – as a mark of unity and identity – a 20-metre banner adorned with flags from each participating country at the SCCWC ‘23 was unfurled, featuring the powerful rally cry: ‘I am Somebody.’
Once aboard the train, the teams bonded over singing and games. Each child received their own workbook to document memorable moments of their journey. When the teams arrived in Chennai, they were greeted by rapturous applause and rhythmic clapping from Street Child United volunteers and staff.
The journey was not just a simple transportation to the event, but rather served as an emblematic journey to spotlight the challenges thousands of India’s vulnerable children face daily, often only to find even more daunting challenges awaiting them.
This is an advocacy drive at the heart of Street Child United’s mission: raising global awareness about the rights of street-connected children, and being catalysts for positive change.
