Spanish footballer meets Delhi slum dwellers
June 30th, 2011 - 11:18 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, June 30 (IANS) Popular Spanish footballer Fernando Llorente interacted with several families living in the slums of Okhla here, a NGO said Thursday.
Llorente is the ambassador of Save the Children’s global campaign to reduce infant and child mortality and is on a three-day visit to India.
“Children are the future of humanity. What moves me is that millions of them die before they even reach the age of five and shockingly half of them die in the first month. This issue needs attention,” said Llorente.
According to the footballer, his first trip to India was “more shocking” than anything he had seen in his life. He was equally amazed to see people smiling despite their problems.
“When I played with the kids here, I saw the same joy, smile and excitement like any other kid. People here are very warm and welcomed me in their homes,” he said.
Promising to support the campaign, Llorente said that there are millions of children who need help as many do not get proper education and better opportunities to live.
“I would continue to collaborate with Save the Children to help all the children who need our attention,” said Llorente.
According to the NGO, it is running six mobile health clinics in 60 slum clusters in Delhi, reaching out to a population of 6 lakh dwellers who are living without basic access to healthcare, sanitation and hygiene.
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Tags: ambassador, child mortality, clusters, excitement, fernando llorente, first trip, footballer, global campaign, india children, mobile health clinics, New Delhi, ngo, population, proper education, sanitation and hygiene, slum dwellers, slums, smile