Plan Sponsor Iker Casillas lifts World Cup!

Minding the nets...Real Madrid and Spain soccer star Iker Casillas takes part in a penalty shoot out with children during a visit to Peru to raise awareness of Plan's work. Photo by Pasquale Caprile (Plan).

July 11, 2010 - Iker Casillas, the captain of the Spanish soccer team which won the 2010 Fifa World Cup, is an enthusiastic Plan supporter and Ambassador.

Casillas, 29, sponsors a child through Plan’s Spanish office and has been campaigning with Plan since 2008 when he made a visit to Peru that he described as “moving and unforgettable.”

Casillas visited the communities of Sanambele and Bougoula, both in the Kati area of Mali. He also visited the child he sponsors through Plan, a 3-year-old boy named Bourama. Holding him in his arms, Casillas said: “It is wonderful how organizations like Plan contribute to better the lives of families and kids like Bourama who now have a health center available to them 24 hours a day.”

Casillas later participated in a soccer match with the children and a Kids Waves radio broadcast. Kids Waves is a radio show produced by children in Plan supported communities and broadcast to millions of listeners in eight countries across West Africa.

The shows — supported by a partnership between Plan and Nokia — discuss children’s rights and give the children a chance to air their opinions and educate their communities. Live recordings are very popular and each one is attended by around 2,000 people.

At the end of the day, Casillas stated: "I am truly amazed by the initiatives in your communities. My belief is reinforced to pursue these activities with Plan International to improve the lives of these children who have no clean drinking water, not enough classrooms and adequate access to health care. I will continue to seek the cooperation of all to allow these children access to education and welfare."

Read also about Iker's visit  to Plan in Mali