From DC to Geneva
Check out the photo album from Uniyah’s trip on Flickr!
Poet-athlete Uniyah C. from Miner Elementary School had the unique opportunity to be a part of the Eleven Campaign and represent the USA. She spent a week in Geneva, Switzerland with 10 other 11-year-olds from around the world and explored the similarities and differences of their daily lives.
Uniyah’s father, Antonio, and DC SCORES Director of Writing, Charity Blackwell, joined her overseas during this once-in-a-lifetime journey. Below is a poem Charity wrote inspired by their experience in Switzerland.
From DC to Geneva
For a week
A young fearless black girl from Washington DC
Congregated with eleven kids
From eleven different countries
In Geneva, Switzerland
For the same cause
She was foreign to them as they were to her
Broken translations
Cultural background barriers and variations
It took only a matter of two 10 minute halves
For her to speak fluently, effortlessly to them
For they became a country of their own
Where phonetics became movement
The field became home
The players stood tall as their village
The ball was their religion, their praise
And their language was soccer
It takes 9 hours to fly from DC to Switzerland
Out of the 8 wards, one girl was chosen
Given the opportunity to play soccer overseas
She was not the fastest
She didn’t have the tallest height
She was the youngest on the team
But had a will to fight
A will to persist and insist that her position thrives to exist
On a team with kids who have been playing soccer since they were three
Who came from cultures where soccer was the heartbeat
Where soccer was played on the grass or in the hard streets
Where it didn’t matter if you played with cleats or with your bare feet
Where the ball was made from polyester and cotton
Or an apple that went rotten
She was clearly not the most talented
For soccer is still growing in her culture
Still gaining a pulse
And for 7 days she practiced
She studied the language
At times it was hard to comprehend it
6 times she felt defeated and tried to quit to end it
But her fire from within was a burning pot to a kettle
A burning reminder for her to never quit or settle
Her fire spread amongst the team
As they witnessed and could see,
Her passion for this sport they loved
They took her under their wing
Taught her all of the different dialects
Slangs, practices, Gods,
They embraced her, all of her
5 minutes before their final match
She links arms with them
Who was now a village
They revealed their deepest fears
Spoke of their hopes and dreams
And took the field for a final gathering
Her fear was being ignored
Not being spoken to the entire game
Not being fluent enough to touch the ball
She did not know if the elders deemed her as worthy enough
But little did she know that she was already accepted as a little sister
They passed to her and she received 4 different times
Four different times her team told her they loved her
She is enough,
And will always be enough
They played selflessly, aggressively, emotionally
With 3 minutes left, only 2 people scored
The game ended with a tie
But it did not end the connection
Created through the beautiful sport of soccer
Because for a week
A young fearless black girl from S Washington DC
Congregated as one with a team,
Who formed their own country
For the same cause
She was foreign to them as they were to her
Broken translations
Cultural background barriers and variations
It took only one game
For her to speak fluently, effortlessly to them
Where phonetics became movement
The field became home
The players stood tall as their village
The ball was their religion, their praise
And their one language and one love
Was soccer