Since beginning my work for Grassroot Soccer, I've come across some really cool and innovative ways of organizations using soccer to bring about social change. One of those organizations is Ragball International, in which "young people from Africa produce handmade soccer balls from recycled materials in exchange for a fair wage and entrepreneurial training."
I've done a lot of reading on aid to Africa lately - some experts arguing the foreign aid is helping the continent and that there needs to be a bigger influx of it, while others say that sending so much aid to Africa creates a sense of dependence, allows for more corruption, and doesn't give these countries the opportunity to grow economically. What both sides seem to agree on however, is that giving people the opportunity to learn business skills and specialized job training is of the utmost importance. That's one reason I really like this organization, it's not giving Africans handouts, it's giving them jobs.
Check it out and definitely buy a ball if you can.
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