Rocky from Favela Street on fostering community through football: 'We're not some savior, it has to be dope'
You could say ‘the one with the contagious smile in soccer’ and people would know immediately who you’re referring to. Rocky Hehakaija (1984), one of the Nike Community Impact Fund recipients, is known for her love of soccer - or football as others might call it, being the first woman with her own character in the FIFA20 game, her partaking in (and winning!) Dutch game show ‘Wie is de mol?’ and the fact that she’s director and face of Favela Street.
Rocky standing on the field looking into the camera (by Coco Olakunle)
The Favela Street Foundation uses the power of street football to create a new generation of strong role models in marginalized communities all over the world. And here, in the Netherlands. From their website: ‘Favela Street offers a program for youngsters to become independent football trainers inside their own neighborhoods by attaining the expertise to self-organize activities for their communities. Besides becoming independent football trainers, we provide our role models with educational and employment resources in order to further develop their life skills.’
How does one come up with such an ambitious plan? After a visit to Brazil when she was 18 years old, and after years of working with young people from all over, Rocky decided to mold her love of street football and her wanting to give back to the community into a methodology that made a difference for young people. She wrote the Favela Street program together with Laura Jonker, a researcher specialised in sport psychology. Favela Street launched projects in Haiti, Brazil, Curacao, Sudan and the Netherlands.
I figured out how easy it is to connect with others when there’s a football around. No judgement, no language barriers, that’s what got me.’
‘Everything in my life, be it professionally, concerning the foundation or my private life, revolves around football,’ Rocky explains. ‘And this might sound horrible but football used to always revolve around me, in return. I wanted to be the best in what I did. I guess I turned that around when I figured out how easy it is to connect with others when there’s a football around. No judgement, no language barriers, that’s what got me.’
Beside her work for Favela Street Rocky also gives masterclasses, talks and presentations about diversity, change, inclusion and leadership. ‘It doesn’t matter if I’m talking to college professors, ladies in tech or a group of marketing professionals - I always carry a football with me during these talks’.
She’s proud of the program she developed for Favela Street. ‘It’s not just me telling my personal story or solely applicable to young kids in underserved neighbourhoods, it’s a methodology that can be applied to every layer of society.’ That doesn’t mean her own story didn’t shape her to become who she is today. Rocky - as a young girl - had to play football in the boys team because there simply was no girls team to play on. ‘I guess that’s one of the reasons why Favela Street also focuses a lot on girls. That and the fact that I myself am a girl, of course. I think it’s still very important to go that extra mile for girls since they still aren’t the norm when it comes to football. But we also let it be known that Favela Street can be a safe space for both girls and boys - and everything in between. It just depends on the location. In Amsterdam West it’s mostly girls, but our projects in Curacao and Haiti involve boys. Which I love. Besides, in an ideal world every team is gender diverse so you can let everyone learn from everyone.’
Rocky and her girls looking into the camera (by Coco Olakunle)
This can’t come as a big surprise but – when you’re trying to do good and for instance set up a program or foundation like Favela Street, it’s inevitable – you need money. ‘We’ve been working with Nike for a while now, I think this is the 6th year in a row. In 2021 we were able to set up the Train the Trainer-program with the help of the Nike Community Impact Fund. Train the Trainer is really all about getting more female football coaches with non-western migration backgrounds out there. Just so young girls can look up to women that look like them. Train the Trainer is also basically a follow up for our regular program, seeing as we mostly get our participants from a group of girls that’s so involved and motivated that they want to continue working with us and become a Favela Street Junior Coach. We’ll teach them about things like “how to motivate kids”, “how does the teenage brain work” and “how to discourage social exclusion”. It’s pretty hands on and fun.’
“We’re not some football-themed saviour. What we do on the streets actually has to be dope and kids should want to join because they think it sounds cool.”
Favela Street has really flourished thanks to the Community Impact Fund, says Rocky. She even claims the way it’s set up, it works with you and your foundation instead of making you jump through hoops before receiving a grant. ‘The Nike Impact Community Fund has helped us keep our autonomy. Which is super important when you’re working with, well, not a lot. It has happened several times that we applied for and received different funds in which the provider tried to slightly change our way of working and handling of things. This can feel very demotivating when you’ve put so much effort in your program. I mean, of course – you need all help you can get sometimes but we’re not willing to compromise on the quality of our program. Favela Street is not about helping sad, little, disadvantaged kids. We’re not some football-themed saviour. What we do on the streets actually has to be dope and kids should want to join because they think it sounds cool. And Nike gets that.’
Any advice for young idealists, entrepeneurs and activists that are dreaming of setting up a program or foundation like Favela Street? ‘Okay, I don’t want to sound super lame but: just do it. Put in the work and get to it.’
The Nike Community Impact Fund (NCIF) benefits communities where employees live, work and play. These employee-led grants support local, grassroots organizations that get kids moving, because Nike knows that active kids do better. And when kids have an opportunity to fall in love with play and sport, they’re more likely to reach their full potential both on — and off — the court. Apply for a grant in The Netherlands by March 7th. Check it out, here.
This article arose from the collaboration between Lilith Magazine x Nike Community Impact Fund to raise awareness around the fund amongst grassroots organisations.
Imagery: Coco Olakunle