The environs of Ekambaram Colony in Mylapore cannot be, by any stretch of imagination, termed conducive for children to pursue any kind of sporting activity.
Residents of the slum board tenement, which is bordered by the compound wall of the Chennai Corporation dumping yard and the Buckingham Canal, suffer owing to space constraints and poor civic amenities.
However their children now have a reason to cheer with Slum Soccer adopting the tenement for nurturing football talent and also ensuring that they are well-adjusted.
As part of a community development initiative, UNIFI Capital has joined hands with Slum Soccer to sponsor the children.
A better future
K. Sarath Reddy, Managing Director, UNIFI Capital, said the company had adopted the tenement to help ensure a good future for the children belonging to financially deprived sections through soccer.
He said more than 100 children from the locality would be able to stay healthy by playing soccer.
As part of the project, the company would sponsor kits, snacks and the services of coaches, he added.
Praveen Kumar, a Standard VI student of a Chennai School, said until now, he used to while away time watching television. Now, the path had opened up for him to be a soccer player, he added. Thanigaivel, a resident of the locality, said the initiative would be useful in nurturing talent in sports.
