Ac Milan - Milan Foundation Story

We are out in the suburbs of Milan in an area called Corvetto which has a lot of ethnic diversity. We have our headquarters of the Street Cooperative here. The project we have set up with Milan Foundation is one to help youngsters from 14 to 16-years-old who have left school and to get them to finish the third year of high school. The project is for children who have failed at school or those who have arrived here in Italy and will search for work but when it comes to September they do not have the pre-requisites to enter the job market because they do not know the language, they have not passed their exams or they do not have professional experience. 3 00:01:02,000 --> 00:01:15,000 I am called Matuto. I am nearly 17 and I come from Iran and I came to Italy by boat. I want to sort my life out. 4 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:25,000 My name is Jonathan and I am 14. I never went to school back home but here I feel more accepted. 5 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:36,500 My name is Danilo and I am 15. I am studying to work as a jeweler because I like to design and draw and I think I am good at it. This is the only school I can do well at. 6 00:01:37,000 --> 00:02:10,000 My name is Tariq and I am 18. I am from Egypt and I left my family to help them because my father is not around anymore. I tried to come to Italy twice. The first time there were 100 people on the boat and it broke down. I went back to Egypt but the second attempt succeeded. I arrived in Reims where I met a community that took me to Milan because I wanted to come here. 7 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:40,000 We work with the children in the classroom where they have to learn about the material and also prepare for their exams but above on the practical side where they get hands-on knowledge and then we also send them out to companies and small businesses because they get real experience of working especially for youngsters who are just sixteen. 8 00:02:40,500 --> 00:02:44,500 I like coming to the Street School to study and to work. 9 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,000 I am studying to be a goldsmith. I like working with gold. 10 00:02:50,500 --> 00:03:08,000 The experience here at the Street School has helped me develop, to find a way to study but especially in the way to behave because I hardly went to the other school but this year and last year I have always gone to school. 11 00:03:08,500 --> 00:03:27,000 I got to the third year in high school and then I worked in a cake shop in Milan for eight months. It changed my life and I never thought I would have such a wonderful job working with a pastry maker. 12 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:44,000 This project has been very effective. Last year out of the 23 students, 23 passed their third year high school exams and some on of them with an above average mark. 13 00:03:45,000 --> 00:04:08,000 When the students have finished the course they are given options to choose from such as sport, professional activities, grammar skills to improve their linguistic abilities to prepare them for the end of year exams for the third year in high school. They are then ready to go into the job market or to continue their studies. 14 00:04:08,500 --> 00:04:11,000 My dream is to become a goldsmith. 15 00:04:11,500 --> 00:04:19,000 I want to finish school as soon as possible and do well. Then I want to find a job and then live a good life. 16 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:30,000 I am really happy with my life now and I want to live in Italy forever. 17 00:04:31,000 --> 00:05:04,000 Milan Foundation are supporting this project economically to cover the costs of running it but they are also providing their facilities at Vismara where the Milan youth teams train. They also provide a coach for the sporting activities. One of the mission statements of Milan Foundation is the importance of the use of sport as an educational tool. 18 00:05:04,500 --> 00:05:24,000 I am Gianluca and I am 15-years-old. My school in association with Milan has provided me with the chance to play sport. I go to the Vismara sports center where the Milan youth teams train, to play sport. 19 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:33,000 I am happy to play football at Milan and it enables me to be with other youngsters. 20 00:05:33,500 --> 00:05:54,000 Apart from the physical side we also try and educate the youngsters which unfortunately they may not have had because they do not have a family here or they come from a troubled background. Training and playing sport is enjoyable and they are all together, they can learn things about the world and they can stay within a group. 21 00:05:54,500 --> 00:06:09,000 I am Manuel and I am 14, almost 15-years-old. I will be 15 on December 5th. I decided to change when I heard I could study woodwork and technical drawing which I did not know about. 22 00:06:09,500 --> 00:06:38,000 I speak to the psychologist about every child and we try to understand together the best way we can interact with these youngsters because every individual has a different past and with the psychologist we really try and communicate with them on a personal level and not just superficially. We try and teach them something and this is why it is important to have a team of psychologists so that we can compare notes. 23 00:06:38,500 --> 00:06:48,000 I like the coach because he is very serious and keeps us in line. He coaches football in the correct way. 24 00:06:48,500 --> 00:06:57,500 The most interesting thing about the approach is that it is very direct and intense towards our players. 25 00:06:58,500 --> 00:07:11,000 It is important to gain their respect but to make them understand the importance of respect because it will help them in the future. 26 00:07:13,500 --> 00:07:32,000 I met the youngsters from the Street Association today and I told them how I reached my dream of playing for the first team at Milan. I told them about all the difficulties I had to overcome and it was an interesting experience. 27 00:07:32,500 --> 00:07:52,000 I am Andreas. I am 15 and I am from Ecuador in South America. I have come here to this center where Milan train and I have met some of the players. They told us about going to school as youngsters and they are a good example for me. 28 00:07:52,500 --> 00:08:16,000 These young people seem to have a lot of enthusiasm and a real desire and it was really nice to meet these youngsters who have had a tough time but they are now improving their lives through study and they want to look ahead and have a better life which unfortunately they did not have before. 29 00:08:16,500 --> 00:08:24,000 I am happy to meet the Milan players because I support Milan and really liked speaking to Kakà. 30 00:08:24,500 --> 00:08:46,000 They have been able to turn their lives around so congratulations to Milan Foundation and we always welcome those who have supported this cause to change the hopes and dreams for these youngsters. Thank-you. 31 00:08:46,500 --> 00:08:52,000 This is a wonderful thing that happens once in a lifetime. 32 00:09:03,500 --> 00:09:32,000 Obviously working with the Milan Foundation and the representatives of Milan is something unique. It is also an important moment for the young people who understand that is a serious course when Milan are involved because Milan are so well known. This means that the project is taken much more seriously. 33 00:09:33,500 --> 00:09:52,000 For some of them it is something that will change their lives and when they come to finding a job or continuing their studies it is a satisfaction not only for us teachers but especially for the youngsters because they have taken the opportunity a project like this offers.