The beautiful game

Ali would be considered ambitious under the best of circumstances, but knowing he spent the last five years as a refugee makes his goals all the more impressive.

He was just a regular 9-year-old kid in Syria when violence erupted and ravaged his country.

At home in Syria, Ali loved playing soccer and worked hard on his dream of becoming the next Messi or Ronaldo.  When he was forced to flee his country with his parents and eight siblings in 2017, Ali took his dream of becoming a world-class soccer player with him.

When they arrived at the refugee camp in Jordan, Ali was thrilled to find that World Vision had provided sports pitches, trainers, equipment and sports gear. “This helps a lot,” he says. “Football is about activity, vitality, and movement. It helps de-stress and makes you a unique person.”

Soccer also taught him the importance of teamwork and even more importantly, tolerance. “Football played a role not only in gathering children, but also helped with the cultural exchange when children from different societal backgrounds mixed,” he says.

Ali is also working to teach his siblings the life skills that he has learnt through soccer. “It helped them communicate more, it helped in enriching their cultural awareness and knowledge,” he says.

That’s when Ali realised his passion for teaching, which he also plans to add to his growing career aspirations. “Education is the basis of everything, it is what builds and shapes people’s characters, so they can deal with different situations.” Given the chance to run the world for a day, he thinks eradicating ignorance in all communities would have a positive impact.

Helping others and building a strong community has always been in Ali’s nature. Now, on the verge of adulthood, 19-year-old Ali has big goals in life. He wants to become a doctor, a teacher, and still holds onto his dream of becoming a soccer star… all at the same time. He’s learnt that they all have something in common that matters greatly to him: helping others through education and building life skills, and then using these life skills to build strong, healthy communities.

Ali is already taking steps to achieve his dream of living a life dedicated to serving others. In 2019, he won a scholarship for the University of Geneva and enrolled in a remote Basic Medicine programme. The class and the regular exchange with professors take place online and through WhatsApp groups. This English language course prepares him for formal medical studies and his future as a doctor.

Ali’s diverse activities have taught him the key to progress: “We need to be resilient, resist, not give in, and always keep going. These are essential qualities because whenever we give in, we are done.” He is proud of the resilience his fellow Syrians have shown amidst the conflict, and their ability to face challenges – from displacement to COVID-19 lockdown. Reflecting philosophically on his time in Jordan, he says “It’s a temporary situation for us here, it is just an emergency, but not permanent. Stability is only in one's own country.”

On top of his studies, volunteer work, and sports, Ali also currently works a construction job to help support his family and his dreams. Isn’t this all more than he can chew? Ali doesn’t think so. He’s got big plans. He gets his inspiration from looking to the horizon, he says. What would make him happy? “On a personal level, I would be pleased and satisfied to have an effective role in society through my profession: helping people and changing their reality.” 

World Vision has been responding to the needs of Syrian refugees since 2011. In the last 10 years, we have reached nearly 6.5 million children affected by the conflict in Syria.

See how our programmes are keeping the dreams of children like Ali alive and providing for their urgent needs.