“For once, I got the feeling that I was not alone”
| Illia Derkach played for Ukraine at the Homeless World Cup in Edinburgh in 2005.
Illia Derkach was part of the Ukrainian team that finished 3rd in the Homeless World Cup in Edinburgh in 2005.
20-year-old Illia Derkach found himself in a position common to thousands of young men in the Ukraine. Living on the streets and feeling only anger or indifference, he was isolated and could see no solution to his problems. Then, he discovered street soccer and the Homeless World Cup.
"Since the Homeless World Cup I feel more tolerant to people and have started to communicate with my friends and I feel they treat me with respect, I have a girlfriend now and I have plans for the future."
Only a teenager at the time, he found himself on the streets: “It happened five years ago. I never saw my father and lived with my mother. Then my mother started drinking. We quarrelled all the time, and I left home and went to live with my friend. Unfortunately, I couldn’t live a peaceful life with him either and decided I had to leave. I had nowhere else to go and ended up on the streets.”
“I carried bags in the railway station and worked as a carrier in the market. For another job I needed documents, but I had taken money using my documents as security and didn’t have enough money to get them back. The money I earned was enough for only basic things like second hand clothes, not rent.”
Illia’s life began to change when he became a seller for The Way Home, a street paper in Ukraine: “In March 2003 I started selling The Way Home, but I didn’t do it regularly. Last year, I found out that I had a chance to play in the Homeless World Cup so I started selling it regularly and devoted the rest of my time to training.”
With a goal to work towards, things started looking up for Illia. “The money I raised from selling the paper regularly was enough to pay the rent on a flat. And training all the time distracted me from alcohol.”
Social workers from “The Way Home” foundation helped Illia get his documents back, which allowed him to get a passport to travel to Edinburgh.
Though he broke his nose during the tournament, Illia enjoyed his stay in Edinburgh and feels that it has had a transformative effect. His relationships with his friends improved, and he was inspired to further improve his life. “The most remarkable thing about the Homeless World Cup was the friendly atmosphere. The people who came to watch were great and so were the guys from the other teams."
“For once, I got the feeling that I was not alone, that there were others with the same problems I had. I started to believe that I could change my destiny if I wanted to, when I came back I not only wanted to change, but I actually started to change my life. Since the Homeless World Cup I feel more tolerant to people and have started to communicate with my friends and I feel they treat me with respect, I have a girlfriend now and I have plans for the future. Before the Homeless World Cup, I lived in the present day not thinking about the future at all.”
Find out more about The Way Home Foundation and how they’re supporting people in Ukraine.