UNICEF: Young Chechen landmine survivors score at football

GROZNY, Chechnya, Russian Federation, 16 June 2008 -- The legacy of conflict is all over this indoor football field, where 11 young men, all missing a limb, regularly gather to score a goal for beating the odds.

A local non-governmental organization know as Laman Az (Chechen for 'Voice of the Mountains') created the football team with help from UNICEF in 2002 as part of the Mine Action Survivor Assistance programme. UNICEF provided the team with basic equipment and restored the premises for training in the only surviving gym in war-torn Grozny.

UNICEF's Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States, Maria Calivis, recently visited the team and commended its young members for their courage, calling them "an example for all of us."

To read the full story, visit: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/russia_44499.html

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• UNICEF
• Chechnya
• Russia
• Grozny
• football
• soccer
• landmines

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