The Bible and the Football, Part 3

It can prevent children from having a life like mine. The life I lived would have killed me. There were forty people in my rebel group. Only two of us are left now. ' Johan knows that it is not simply the sport that changes lives. The young people build good relationships with each other. Johan said, 'Football is more than just a game. It teaches people how to be responsible. And it teaches how to respect your team players. ' This is something that many young people simply do not learn on the streets. Many young people have come from difficult family lives. They have experienced violence at home. Many of them turn to crime, drugs or alcohol.

Club Deportivo teaches important skills through football. The trainers teach team players to value and respect each other. The trainers try to provide words of peace, in a city of hate. At the start of each game they read some words of Jesus from the Bible. Johan said, 'The fighting is getting worse in my area. So a lot of people turn to God. There is no other way to get people to forgive and talk to each other. ' The club's trainers are all local people. Danilo Valencia is one of them. He knows that violence only leads to more violence. When he was a child, he watched his mother stab a woman to death. Now he says, ' I used to rob people. And I used to attack people. I was trying to prove that I was the strongest. ' Today, Danilo is a different person. He works with other people to provide a different environment for children. On the streets, the children know only violence and crime. Adults use them to carry drugs and weapons. They know no other way of life.