As we look back at the memories of our childhood it's definitely there… a ball reminiscent of endless hours play. The obvious though, for most right at game for others it is a big and distant dream. For whom? For visually impaired children who unfortunately cannot see her ball and so they can not chase her and kick her. Elias Mastoras, proving in practice their love for his little friends, decided to help them by making bell balls which he even sends for free all over the world.
The "A ball for all" campaign has so far distributed over 3.000 balls in 99 countries on all continents and is responsible for the countless smiles of blind children who can now share their love of football with their friends. they see.
The ball for blindly children are 300 grams lighter than their adult counterparts and has special mechanisms inside that give it sound.
This global initiative has its own sweet history as reported to newsbeast.gr by Elias Mastoras that started about three years ago. However, the first contact of its creator with people with visual impairments took place several years earlier, specifically in 1994 when he was a coach at chess at the School for the Blind in Thessaloniki. As an international referee in blind football and a professional youth coach in non-formal education, he has dedicated his life to the blind. Both in 2004 in Athens and in 2008 in Beijing he participated in the finals of the sport in Paralympic Games, then he was in charge of arbitration all over the world, so in this capacity he went to Rio.
- But how did the vision "a ball for all the children of the world" start?
There is a little story behind the birth of the idea! I had published a children's chess tale and the School for the Blind, wanting to be accessible for young children with visual impairments, organized its theatrical narration in the studio. The surprise was even greater when 3-year-old Leandros came to tell a little riddle from the fairy tale and wanting to thank him, I gave him the adult adult soccer ball. Imagine the difficulty of playing with the rest of the family when it weighs 550 grams! So, like a fairy tale, a new journey began…
- What special features does this ball have besides the ringing and what does it symbolize for you?
Having been an international volunteer in the field for over 20 years inspired me to create the global "A ball for all" campaign. The ball is quite light as it weighs 250 grams and contains four internal mechanisms. It is not sold but only donated as a key priority is the right to the joy of every visually impaired child regardless of financial ability. The needs are global and there is no such ball either campaign. Our goal is to send balls every week to countries we have not traveled to. All expenses are covered by us through the programs we run and we are very happy when they send us photos and videos.
- Who helped you carry out this project?
The non-profit organization that I am honored to be president of, Vision Youth Youthorama - Panorama Chess Club, was the beneficiary of the innovative idea. The association has no operating costs as it is based in the Municipality of Pylaia Chortiatis that supports our work while we have no employees but only our volunteer team, mainly young people. With this approach, we are happy when a program we have submitted to is approved Greece or abroad while when we receive a negative answer the only thing we have lost is our time. We are a body that has been established since 2003 but is not widely known. Nevertheless, we are pleased that international organizations have understood the need for the right to play for all.
Considering that we have no business activity but a vision for the common good, we decided that the ball should not be sold but only donated. We came in contact with representatives of countries where the paralympic sport of Blind Football is cultivated, Schools for the Blind and structures where children - young people with visual impairments are also active. We discovered that the ball, patented by OBI, had a great impact that went beyond the borders of our country. We have already been supported by international foundations such as the UEFA Foundation for Children, Save the Dream from Qatar and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. Also, programs have been approved by Erasmus + and the Foundation for Youth and Lifelong Learning, but also institutions of our city organize activities for us. The last two years the theatrical team "Synpraxis" realized two performances while our new collaboration is with the theatrical volunteer group "Cycle of Life".
Well-known footballers have played with the ball such as Xavi Hernandez of Barcelona FC during the presentation of the ball in Qatar, Didier Drogba of Chelsea FC in Monaco where we presented the ball at the Peace and Sport International Forum. We are pleased not to refuse and to always have availability in balls covering all expenses and to reach the arms of visually impaired children on 5 continents for free. All you need is an email to our body [email protected], with the address of the school and the number of visually impaired children attending without personal data, and we send the special ball.
- Your feelings when you saw the first ball?
I had the feeling from the first moment that this creation will accompany me throughout my life. The first period was important for choosing the right weight, size and safety. I was lucky as from the beginning, it took on global proportions with the official first presentation in Qatar, in the presence of Xavi Hernandez. I have kept that ball with his signature as the rest were distributed to the children, with or without visual impairment, at the National Sports Day event.
- Moments you will never forget?
In Greece, this year's on-site interventions at Leandros General School, which was the source of inspiration and the protagonist of the promotional videos of the global campaign. The educational program "One ball for everyone" is approved by Ministry of Education for all schools in our country and we had the opportunity with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation to send 700 packages to 170 schools where there are children with vision problems. In its pilot phase, we had the opportunity to visit some schools and chose Leander School. We could not refuse our visit to go a second and finally a third time as the results were raucous in the inclusion either in terms of kinesthetics and socialization or in empathy. Our goal is to move on to the full development of the program and to visit all the schools in the country on the spot next school year, where there are also children with visual impairments.
Abroad, we managed to send balls to all blind and visually impaired young people in Sierra Leone. The first photos were touching when they received the first balls. We decided, with the help of the theatrical volunteer group "Synpraxis", to organize a theatrical performance where with the income we would ensure the mission for all children with visual disabilities. Thanks to the spectators who flooded the theater, it became possible, and to thank us they organized parades in all the cities where the balls were distributed. Blind children and young people were ringing the special balls and I am sorry that I was not able to attend these acts of gratitude.
- What are your plans for the future?
We have just closed the second year of the campaign and over 3.000 balls have reached 99 countries on five continents. Youth Vision Youthorama organizes an open event of 4 vs 4 penalty accuracy with closed eyes, on Friday 10/4/2020 at its facilities D.E.Th. The experiential action is under the auspices of the Region of Central Macedonia, in co-organization with the Municipality of Pylaia Chortiatis within the program Erasmus + I.NE.DI.VI.M. and with the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. We invite you to register as well as with the team that we will create in the 15th Marathon "Alexander the Great" on 12/4 in the 5 km race. Applications for participation in [email protected] until 10/3 for the best organization as we already know that children, young people and adults from 8 countries will participate with a three-digit already confirmed number. Our goal is to reach 100+ countries. Will you help us?
