Angela Jessa Hifume, 20
The Philippines
“Youth have the power to make the world a better place. Sometimes, they lack direction because they don’t have the support they need. Empowering them lets them know how capable they are, that they have the capacity to change the story,” asserts Angela Jessa Hifuma, a Generation Amazing Foundation (GA) international youth advocate.
Hailing from the Philippines, Angela, 20 years old, is determining her own story. The eldest of eight siblings, Angela grew up in an environment not conducive for any child to live, as she states herself. At the age of eleven, she and all of her siblings were admitted to SOS Children’s Village Davao, an NGO focused on supporting children without parental care and families at risk. It was here where Angela discovered her love for sports. With the freedom to finally feel like a kid, Angela could begin to see her future taking shape.
“I was sad and lonely when I first arrived at SOS. I was still adjusting to a new environment, somewhere I didn’t feel like I belonged yet, when I saw this kid playing rugby. That was it. I found an outlet to feel like a kid and to play. I could grow as a kid, I could run as a kid, I could enjoy life as a kid. I didn’t know until then how much I loved sports,” beams Angela. “Rugby and football are my favourites.”
And she excelled at these sports. In 2018, she qualified and became captain of the Philippines’ girls team that went to compete in Russia for the Street Child World Cup, an event that unites street-connected children from five continents ahead of the FIFA World Cup and provides them with a platform to champion their rights. Angela began to connect the dots between her love of sports, her past, and her desire to help people.
“Even though we were from different countries, we all had similar experiences, like living on the streets and in poverty,” explains Angela. “We didn’t just play there, we also discussed global issues that our communities were facing.”
After hearing her deliver a passionate speech about poverty and drug issues at the conference in Russia, Angela’s coach encouraged her to apply to become a youth advocate for the Generation Amazing Foundation (GA). One week later, her application was accepted and her journey from player to coach and advocate began.
“Before joining Generation Amazing in 2018, I was just a player. I had the experience of playing but I didn’t have the responsibility of coaching, especially kids,” explains Angela.
In 2019, Angela travelled to Doha for GA’s first annual Youth Festival, in order to learn about football for development, share her own experiences, and hear from other youth and young adults who had already begun delivering impactful community initiatives.
“After meeting my co-advocates at the Youth Festival in Doha, who were all older than me and had already started coaching and implementing their programs, I was inspired. These people had already done so many amazing things in their communities. Why not me? It really helped boost my confidence to coach and to help the hundreds of kids in my community. I felt empowered to make a difference.”
When she returned to the Philippines, Angela began implementing what she learned through GA’s football for development programme. She became the head coach at the SOS in Davao and began tapping other volunteers to help teach the younger kids. “There are over 100 kids who are very keen to play football but there was no one that could help guide or coach them. That’s the time I chose to step up,” she explains.
Empowering youth with the skills they need to boost their own futures and to “pass it on” to their communities is at the core of GA’s mission. Angela, who is now completing her international baccalaureate in Hong Kong on scholarship, is continuing to pass it on even away from her home in the Philippines.
“Being in Hong Kong is a huge opportunity for me because education is my only path to getting out of poverty,” she explains. “Every Sunday, I volunteer as a rugby coach for domestic workers here in Hong Kong, a lot of whom are Filipino migrant workers. They don’t have other outlets to play the sport; I feel like our experiences are quite similar.”
After her studies, Angela, who is majoring in psychology and community development, intends to continue serving not just her community and the children at SOS Village but also those facing conflict and displacement in communities across the world from her. Her dream is to live in Africa and to work on refugee issues there.
“It still amazes me up until these days how lucky I am to be part of [GA’s] mission,” says Angela. “These experiences were life-changing. I made so many friendships, not just with my co-advocates but also with participants and the teachers. Hearing their stories, the work that they have done, it’s very impactful. It’s something we hope is not going to end. That this movement will continue.”
“In 2018, GA supported my four young leaders to go to another city to compete in football. They provided some kits and balls to the community itself, which is very very helpful. The problem in the community is where to get the outlets and the equipment.”
About the Youth Festival in Doha (2022):
“It was a very life-changing experience. I made so many friendships, not just to my co-ambassadors, but also with participants and the teachers and hearing their stories, the work that they have done. It’s very impactful, it’s something we hope is not going to end. That this movement will continue.”
“The youth have the power to change the world into a better place. Sometimes, they don’t have direction because they don’t have the support that they need. Empowering them is the only option to let them know how capable they are. They have the capacity to change the story.”
