Keeper Lindahl hopes to save lives in Afghan charity work
STOCKHOLM, October 5 (Reuters) – Sweden’s goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl hopes to do more than save shots with his new charity effort – The 38-year-old hopes that raffles with her kit and personal video messages can help save lives in Afghanistan.
The shooting stopper, who plays his club football for Atletico Madrid in Spain, decided to start the campaign after the recent Taliban takeover and the ensuing battle that has made life difficult for many Afghans.
“We can not ignore what is happening now that all the foreigners have left Afghanistan. It is a very ongoing situation and it is important not to forget the people there. It is a matter of life and death,” Lindahl told Reuters in a telephone interview. .
“I follow many journalists, mainly on Twitter, and I am touched by the stories – I can put myself in the position of being a family with small children and what it can be like not being able to feed your children.”
The outspoken Swede, who has two children with his wife Sabine, sees it as an obligation to use his public profile to try to make a difference, even though she may be criticized.
“We who have the privilege need to use our platform – I might as well talk about Yemen or Syria or something else, but right now I chose Afghanistan because it is so recent, and the Taliban takeover has changed the lives of so many, especially girls,” it said earlier. The Chelsea player.
“I may not build my brand in the right way, but sometimes you have to be a human being too and react to things, so I do. I’m just me, the same person who grew up in a small town in Sweden and that only football happens. “
Donations of SEK 500 ($ 57.27) or more her website rewarded with a personal video message from the keeper with 178 caps and a two-time Olympic silver medalist.
There are also gloves and signed Sweden and Atletico Madrid shirts that are at stake in draws that cost from 1000 Swedish kronor and up to enter.
The money Lindahl raises will go to Afghan Aid, a British non-profit organization that provides emergency assistance to those affected by the conflict in Afghanistan.
“It really is a small drop in the ocean that I might be able to help with, so that we do not turn our eyes away from what is happening,” she said.
($ 1 = 8.7310 Swedish kronor)
Reporting by Philip O’Connor Editing by Christian Radnedge
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