Teams of young people from around the world competed at six events: 100m; 400m; 100m hurdles; 4x100m relay; shotput and long jump.
Team Pakistan won 10 medals overall, which including three gold and two ‘one, two, threes’ in the 100 and 400 meter male events. Naeem, who was representing Pakistan won two golds and one silver medal and his teammate Mehar won one gold, two silver and one bronze medal.
Naeem had this to say: “I am so excited I won! I want to tell the world that I am somebody and I want to thank Street Child United for this opportunity!” with a time of 12.00 seconds to win the 100 meters, it was one of the most notable performances of the day.
Mehar added: “I have done something for my country and I am proud to bring back these medals!”
The home fans had plenty to cheer with Dinara, who grew up in Rio, taking gold in the 100m hurdles and shotput for Brazil. Her shotput throw of 10.79m was almost a meter longer than the winning throw in the boys’ competition. Dinara said: “I want to show my medals to Brazil and travel the world!”
Team GB won one medal at the Games, with Camille claiming silver in the shotput. Her teammate, Liya said;
“The real message of the Games is that all the children here stand united. We are all competing against each other on the field, but at the same time we are all here together, as one team, to fight for the rights of all children across the world.”
The unity of the young people was symbolised by the final event of the day, the 4x100m relay. Instead of competing in their national squads, the athletes ran in mixed-country, mixed gender teams. In the spirit of the Street Child Games all the young people who took part came together at the finish line to celebrate with the winning team.
In addition to the games, thirty one former street children from: Brazil, Argentina, Great Britain, Egypt Burundi, Mozambique, Pakistan, India and the Philippines took part in a UN-style congress on children’s rights that produced the Rio Resolution – a set of demands for the global community to ensure better protection of the rights of street children. The Resolution focuses on the right to legal identity, access to education and protection from violence.
The games where hosted by Street Child United and held in Rio ahead of the Rio Olympics. Street Child United Position their international events ahead of the world’s biggest sporting events such as the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games, this enables them to attract widespread media coverage amplifying their message across the globe and creating real change for street children.
Click To find out more about the Games and Street Child United