Unveiled Soccer

João Henriques/4SEE

Ibtissam, 18 years old, is the best female player in  Nassim, a club in the district of Sidi Moumen, on the outskirts of Casablanca, Morocco. They call her the "Messi of Morocco".

Although Sidi Moumen is one of the most problematic neighborhoods  of Casablanca, with a high concentration of radical Islamic cells and groups of criminals, Nassim girls come second in their group on the national championship.

The 25 players, aged between 19 and 25, are all Muslim but only four of them play with pants, long shirt and veil to cover their heads.

Sport has been one of the promoters of the emancipation of Moroccan women.

The Zeedee  project, led by American Nicole Matuska, worked for three years with Moroccan youth, both in Casablana and in rural areas. It is in more remote locations that Nicole finds more difficult  to convince men that sport has no gender: "The Moroccan girls love playing football but it is still difficult to convince their parents. In rural areas, they think that by playing football the girls will not be able to raise a children and no man will want them  to start a family "says Nicole.

In Amizmiz, 100 kilometers of Marrakech in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, the Zeedee Project was able to form a football team with 11 players. Ouidad and her colleagues share the fields of the city, which has about 11 000 inhabitants, mostly Berbers, with dozens of boys. The boys play in the main field, while they are confined to  a square pavement. "For now, my parents do not care who plays. But when mother, I must devote myself to my family" said the footballer.

Unlike Casablanca, the girls from Amizmiz play with veil and the body completely covered.

The Phuket Vegetarian Festival

Alexander Widding/4SEE

Every year during the ninth lunar month of the Chinese calendar, the Phuket Vegetarian Festival kicks off. The religious festival in Phuket, Thailand, lasts for 10 days, during which sacred rituals take place in the many Chinese shrines and temples. Walking on fire and climbing ladders with bladed rungs barefoot are two of several rituals believed to bring good fortune.

The main purpose of the festival, however, is spiritual cleansing and merit-making. The origins of the festival date back to 1825, when a traveling Chinese opera company came to Phuket to perform for the miners there.

An epidemic broke out and as the members of the company fell sick, they adhered to a vegetarian diet to honor two of the Emperor Gods, Kiew Ong Tai The and Yok Ong Sone Teh. When they became well again shortly thereafter, the people of Phuket followed the companyÕs example - and have celebrated the festival ever since to bring good luck to their communities.

.See all pictures

Polio in Democratic Republic of Congo

João Henriques/4SEE

Patients who are conditioned with Polio ilness, in the care of the Association StandProud in Kinshasa, contradict their apparent difficulties playing football games in the courtyard of this organization.

The game rules are clear: there are no restrictions on the crutches, it is forbidden to defend with hands and there´s unlimited number of players.

The Association StandProud in Kinshasa, is a center of reception and treatment of patients with polio, a disease caused by a virus that causes atrophy and paralysis of the limbs and can even be deadly. However, this is not a center like the others. Here the 92 patients, some with previous negative experiences - like begging on the streets -, take care of themselves without the need of aid.

Each one has his rank, his work and its role in society as a traditional African village. But the aim is common: to give a hand to those who most need help and make them one more proud member of the village

See all pictures

Poverty in Thailand

Alexander Widding/4SEE

On the banks of a polluted river, in poorly-built houses, live more than a hundred people from the Lahu tribe. They live in a slum in Chiang Mai, Thailand, away from the Lahu people’s original way of life. Usually, the Lahu people get their resources from the forest. The slum has been there for decades.

Some of the people work in construction, while others clean roads or restaurants. Although some of them find work on occasion, they remain poor. Lack of education makes a normal way of life with a stable income almost impossible.The children grow up in conditions that are very hard on them both mentally and physically. Many of the children have to sell flowers and are punished if they don't sell enough. They wander around for many hours during the day and night, trying to sell flowers in the roads, markets, restaurants, and bars of Chiang Mai.

Basic dental and health care is something they cannot afford, and because many of the people don´t have Thai papers, it is risky for them to go to the hospital or the police when something happens.

Despite this harsh reality, they are a civilized and caring community: they share with each other, families help other families, and if there is an important decision to be made, then it is made together.

Rainbow Family Gathering

Bruno Fonseca/4SEE

For one magical month the European rainbow family joined again to embrace nature, celebrate and share their experiences and knowledge. People from all over Europe came to Portugal with their families and friends, reunited in this Rainbow Gathering in Serra da Cabreira.

Even though the closest village from the camp site was a long distance walk, the rainbow gathering was very well received by the locals and there happened a wonderful integration between the villagers and the visitors. The municipality helped in the basic infrastructures and during the annual summer festivity the rainbow family was invited to participate.

The 15th of August was a special day, since the full moon was the motive and inspiration for the beautiful celebration in the fire camp.

See all pictures

Red Arena

Julio Aracil/4SEE

Brazil is a place full of imported traditions. Europeans, Africans and Asians reached the Brazilian coast by waves from the sixteenth century. Some came as slaves and others seeking new opportunities, but all of them came with a cultural baggage that transformed and adapted, creating the huge richness of Brazilian culture.

Part of this Brazilian unknown richness is the " Festas do Peão" , or cowboy rodeos in true Brazilian style. In the early twentieth century, American culture of rodeos arrives to Brazil and merges with caipira or sertaneja culture from the interior of São Paulo's state, giving rise to a strong cultural movement that now spans almost all rural areas of Brazil.

An example of this Brazilian style merger is the " Peão". Peão is the Brazilian word for cowboy, but Peão does not have the romantic allure of the American cowboy as well is the term used for rural workers, peon, worker of a cattle ranch ... Usually with humble origin, Peões travel much of Brazil to participate in the Brazilian Rodeo Season that extends from Pará to Rio Grande Do Sul.

Among these rodeos, Barretos has something special. Barretos was the first rodeo competition held in Brazil in 1956 and currently the most prestigious of the Brazilian rodeos.

Maratane Refugee Camp

Tommaso Rada/4SEE

Only one refugee camp exists in Mozambique; it is located in the north of the country, 25 Km from Nampula.

The Maratane Camp hosts between 5000 and 8000 refugees from countries as far away as Somalia or Ethiopia.

Diferent nationalities mix together in the camp - Congolese, Rwandese, Sudanese from Darfur or Uganda.

In the first six months of 2011, there was a considerable arrival of a significant number of displaced people from Somalia and Ethiopia, due to socio-economic issues, policies, instability and civil war in these countries. Poverty spreads causing an increase in the number of refugees worldwide.

See all pictures

Special children with special needs

Rui Miguel Cunha/4SEE

The initial shock of having a different kid is quickly replaced by the will to always do and try to provide children with the best possible learning and evolution.

It is in this particular context that the technical Intervention Service center action emerges. An area created to support and promotes the inclusion and the quality of life of the families with children aged 0 to 6. The service is provided in various contexts and considering various risk factors: the established risk, referring to the proven handicap; the biological risk, condition acquired after the birth; and the environmental risk, when the environment in which the children lives is at danger.

The evaluation of the child’s chart allows the technicians to best actuate with the family, the pillar and basis of the education of these children. To Helena Rocha, coordinator, the life of a family with different children is comparable to a race. “We are the sprinters, we have a short actuation time, and the families are the marathon runners, which will strive to maintain the process during the whole life.

The water bottles that we deliver during the race represent small pieces of hope to help them go through the race and get to the finish line”, she states.