"The girls from Tiljala SHED lost all three of their matches but they played their hearts out. They kept practising even during the break"
Rina lives in Topsia Canalside Squatter Community where 710 families live in illegal makeshift shelters beside a stinking open sewer. Rina is 13 years old. She is a member of Tiljala SHED's newly formed girls' football squad. Her father is a rickshaw puller who drinks and smokes most of his earnings. Her mother supplements the family income by working as a domestic servant. She earns just Rs1600 (£20 or $35) a month. Rina and her three siblings are malnourished and often go hungry. Rina’s mother wants more for her children: she ensures they attend school as she knows that education is their best hope for the future. Rina also attends evening classes at Tiljala SHED’s community centre in Topsia. Beside the homework support and computer classes, Tiljala SHED is promoting sports for all the youngsters. We have no sports ground, no budget and no coaches – but we do have a wonderful crowd of 22 enthusiastic girls who want to play. And they made quite an impression