2023-07-08 08:00:14
Barcelona Amath and Moha look at each other, with complicity. “Moha, is it true that Amath plays soccer very well?” they ask Moha Es Zaky. He is a shy 23-year-old boy. He looks at the ground and doesn’t quite answer. So Amath, more determined, decides to answer himself: “I’m very good. I played Regional Preferent this year,” he lets go with a laugh. Amath Fall, 21 years old, plays for CD Altorricón, a club in Torricó, in the Ponent area. And he demonstrates his commitment every weekend by commuting from Lleida, where he lives. He lives it so much that a few days ago he decided to give up going to visit Barça’s sports facilities to play a match with his club. That’s why Amath is waiting for them to bring him a gift: Barça shirts. Both he and Moha owe a lot to Barça. Thanks to the club’s Foundation, they have found work. And they have signed their first contract.
In Torrefarrera (Segrià), the wind blows and the sun beats down. Amath, born in Senegal, and Moha, from Morocco, arrive at the industrial estate jokingly. They have signed a contract that changes their lives. A contract implies being able to look for an apartment and have security. It has not been easy to get here, since they arrived in Spain crossing the border without papers and they have had to suffer, because they have had to sleep on the street or in shelters. They now make a living as welders at Distform, a Torrefarrera company that makes kitchen furniture and has just created a second brand, Mychef, specializing in ovens. A growing company that needs qualified staff. The sparks of the welders jump through the industrial building, where no one stands still. Upstairs, salespeople are tapping away at computer keys. It is here, in the offices, where signing a contract changed the lives of these two young men who crossed the border as best they could. “It wasn’t easy, there are people who don’t get away with it. I, luckily, yes,” recalls Amath, who dreamed of playing in a club like Barça. If he plays there, he will not play there, but now he is part of the project of the Foundation of the Barcelona club. A project that has created a virtuous center where everyone benefits, the “Young people of the future” initiative of the Barça Foundation, with the support of the La Caixa Foundation.
This project is in its first year and enlists companies and organizations to actively participate in the social and work reintegration of a hundred young people who have been excluded. These are people who, upon reaching the age of majority, find themselves in a situation of greater vulnerability, after losing the tutelage of the Generalitat through the General Directorate of Child Care and Adolescence (DGAIA), for which they are forced to emancipate without family support. “The aim of the project is socio-labor training, accompaniment and psychosocial support for this group of people aged between 18 and 25. The total beneficiaries of the project will be 100 young people per year, derived from different social entities throughout the territory,” explains Marta Segú, director of the club’s Foundation.
The project was born by working with about fifteen organizations in the social world that have a long experience in managing and supporting disadvantaged young people, such as Intress, where Marina Casals Maireles works. “I was working with the flats where some of these boys can sleep when they told us about this project that was being born. We had a meeting with the educators, with the technicians, to find out more. And I accompanied some of the young people, who knew that the doors were almost always closed to them when they were looking for a job or wanted to train,” he explains. But when you are accompanied by a brand like Barça, everything is different. “Doors are opening. They have suffered racism, discrimination… in addition to all the baggage they carry, because of everything they have lived through. These young people do not have the opportunity to train like others here, that we have family support. It’s not the same to say ‘Hello, I’m Mohamed, I’m coming to look for work’ as to be accompanied by specialists and the Barça Foundation.”
The pride of the entrepreneur
“I am a member of Barça and patron of the Foundation. I like being part of the life of the club. I found out about the initiative and thought I wanted to collaborate. We were in a moment of growth, a moment that was good for welcoming new workers and, therefore, it fit in everything. Here, in Lleida, it is very difficult to find qualified personnel. You look for a welder and you don’t find him,” explains Josep Ramon Sobirà, manager of Distform. “We have three boys, all three under contract. One is more difficult, but Amath has adapted very quickly. They all need a period of adaptation, each one has a different pace,” he adds. “We’ve trained them all for about 100 hours and then they’ve had a tutor in the factory. The boys are eager, excited and interested. A welder nowadays is a sought-after piece, they’re people who can earn a living wage,” he defends, and explains how Amath started welding the sides of tables and has grown. The more introverted Moha progresses more slowly. But progress. “It’s changed a lot in the months it’s been here, it’s opening up,” says Arnau, the co-worker who coordinates them.
Barça’s fame brings companies and young people into contact. It acts as a magnet to change the lives of many young people. “The Barça brand is very powerful and who is not excited to collaborate with the club? Many entrepreneurs, if the Barça Foundation arrives, are much more motivated. It is more than a club. If they give you a project that you don’t know who they are, it can generate some distrust. Barça is a key player in Catalan society, it helps a lot. You think that many people distrust young people, but if Barça organizes an event like the one that took place in Lleida recently , they go there. And they discovered a small group of 29 young, charming girls who want to work,” says Sobirà. The Barça Foundation trusts that the success of the first year will allow new travel companions to be added.
“It gives them a lot of security and confidence to see how they are trained to do a job. And then, they do it and get better. In addition, they meet people, they create a network of friendships at work,” explains Marina about the ‘Amath and Moha, who listen attentively. Both she and people from the Barça Foundation continue to visit them to ensure that everything is going well. In fact, within the project there is always psychological help, since “many carry trauma or do not have the tools to understand some situations at work, since they have not had references. It is very important that they have a network, but also that let this network be healthy,” he adds, and recalls that within the project, Barça is working to create a network of volunteers among members, as well as club staff, to accompany these young people. People willing to listen to them, to stay with them, after going through a short training. At the moment, almost a hundred members and 28 club workers have volunteered.
“Young people make a big change in these months. When they are in the flats, you see them as immature, they still don’t have clear ideas. Now they learn basic ideas, like being punctual, being responsible”, explains Marina Casals. In this first year, 63 of the 100 young people who have joined the project have already found work. And the Barça Foundation hopes that the number can be higher when the first season closes. In addition, meetings are organized where representatives of the companies that have already employed a young person meet with other interested parties, to share their experiences. “I was able to rent an apartment, now I have a job, an apartment and a soccer team,” says Amath. “The day they told me I would sign the contract, I was very excited. Everyone here has helped me a lot,” he explains. Arnau, who is demanding with his work, reminds him that if they helped him it is because “your attitude has been very good, with a desire to learn, to keep growing”. The company admits that the ideal move would be to find people already trained to do jobs like welding, but they can’t find them. So training them is the solution. Both for them and for young people.
As part of the project, the young people were invited to visit the Ciutat Esportiva del Barça to play a game. Amath missed it as he had a match. So the Foundation takes care of sending him club shirts when they visit him in Torrefarrera, to see live how things are going for him. Moha did go there, and he was thrilled. “My friends couldn’t believe it was in the Barça facilities,” he says. He crossed the border with Spain hiding in a truck and after trying to work whatever, as a waiter or picking fruit, he finally has a contract. And in part, thanks to Barça. Between laughs, Moha admits that he has always been from Madrid. “But this shirt, what is happening to us… it seems like a dream,” he concludes.
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