The story is about a boy who signed up with the football nursery. During the half-time of a game, he stopped to look at a world map on the billboard. Together with his coach and friends, they write prayers for the countries of the world.
Ages
- Primary Years
- Middle Years
Dinja Waħda – Flimkien mal-Oħrajn Nirbaħ
Karim inkiteb man-nursery tal-futbol u tgħidx kemm ikun qed jistenna s-Sibt filgħodu biex imur għat-trejning! Apparti t-trejning, ikollu ħerqa kbira li jiltaqa’ ma’ wħud mill-ħbieb tiegħu tal-klassi kif ukoll ma’ tfal oħra li jittrenjaw miegħu u li bħalu telqu minn pajjiżhom bit-tama li jgħixu ħajja aħjar f’pajjiż ieħor. Trid tarah kemm jifraħ magħhom u huma miegħu meta jiskorja xi gowl.
Darba waħda waqt il-half time ta’ logħba minnhom, Karim waqaf iħares lejn wieħed mill-bords tar-reklami li kien hemm madwar il-grawnd. Fuq dan il-bord kien hemm mappa tad-dinja flimkien ma’ bnadar ikkuluriti ta’ timijiet minn diversi pajjiżi. Huwa beda jfittex il-pajjiż tiegħu fuq il-mappa.
Kompla jfittex pajjiżi oħra fejn jaf li jgħixu xi familjari oħra tiegħu. Tant intilef iħares lejn din il-mappa li lanqas kien induna li l-kowċ kien qiegħed isaffar is-suffara biex ikomplu jilagħbu. Meta ra hekk il-kowċ ġietu idea. Qal lit-tfal l-oħra kollha biex imorru ħdejn Karim, iħarsu lejn il-mappa tad-dinja u jiffurmaw ċirku madwarha. U qalilhom, “Ħarsu sew lejn din il-mappa u sibu l-pajjiż tagħkom jew il-pajjiż ta’ fejn jgħixu qrabatkom. Tistgħu wkoll issibu xi pajjiżi oħra li tisimgħu dwarhom fl-aħbarijiet li ġratilhom xi ħaġa negattiva bħal xi terremot, tsunami, ġlied, gwerer jew xi protesta li wasslet għall-vjolenza.”
Sadanittant il-kowċ ħareġ ftit sticky notes u lapsijiet mil-folder li kellu f’idu u beda jqassam sticky note u lapes lil kulħadd. U kompla jgħidilhom: “Issa fuq l-isticky note, iktbu talba għall-pajjiż li ħsibtu fih jew għan-nies li jgħixu hemm, imbagħad wara waħħlu din l-isticky note mal-mappa tad-dinja.” U t-tfal hekk għamlu. Kemm kitbu talb sabiħ u mill-qalb dawn it-tfal!
Wieħed tifel talab hekk,“O Alla, waqqaf il-ġlied u l-isparar kontinwu li kont nara jseħħ jien stess fis-Sirja.”
Waħda tifla talbet,“O Alla, ipprovdi l-ikel u x-xorb lil min m’għandux u pprovdi nies biex jgħinu lill-foqra.” Xi ħadd talab għall-paċi fid-dinja. Xi ħadd ieħor talab biex il-pajjiżi kollha jinħelsu mill-mard, speċjalment tal-Covid-19.
Kemm ġiet isbaħ il-mappa bit-talb imwaħħal fuqha! U inti kieku kellek tikteb talb għall-pajjiżi fid-dinja x’kont tikteb?
Karim signed up with the football nursery, and now he looks forward to Saturday morning to go to the training! Apart from training, he is eager to meet some of his classmates as well as other children who train with him and who, like him, have left their country in the hope of living a better life in another country. You want to see how happy he is with them and they are with him when he scores a goal.
Once during the half-time of a game, Karim stopped to look at one of the billboards around the stadium. On this board, there was a world map along with colourful flags of teams from various countries. He started searching for his country on the map. He continued to look for other countries where he knows that some of his other relatives live. He was so lost looking at this map that he did not even realise that the coach was whistling to continue playing.
When he saw this, the coach came up with an idea. He told all the other children to go next to Karim, look at the map of the world and form a circle around it. And he said to them, “Look carefully at this map and find your country or the country where your relatives live. You can also find other countries you hear about in the news where something negative has happened, such as an earthquake, tsunami, fighting, wars or a protest that has led to violence.”
Meanwhile, the coach pulled out some sticky notes and pencils from the folder he had in his hand and started handing them out to everyone. He went on to tell them, “On the sticky note, write a prayer for the country you thought of or for the people who live there, then stick it onto the map of the world.” And the children did this.
How beautiful and heartfelt the prayers these children wrote were!
One boy prayed: “O God, stop the fighting and the continuous shooting that I saw happening in Syria.” One girl prayed: “O God, provide food and drink to the needy and provide people to help the poor.” Someone prayed for peace in the world. Someone else prayed for all countries to be freed from the diseases, especially from Covid-19.
How wonderful the map with the prayers attached to it was! And if you had to write a prayer for the countries of the world, what would you write?
Un solo mondo – insieme agli altri vinco
Karim s’iscrisse alla squadra del vivaio e non vedeva l’ora che arrivasse il sabato mattina per andare ad allenarsi! Oltre all’allenamento, bramava incontrare alcuni dei suoi compagni di classe nonché altri ragazzi che s’allenavano con lui e, come lui, erano partiti dal loro Paese con la speranza di una vita migliore in un altro Paese. Non si credeva quanto saltasse dalla gioia insieme agli altri appena segnava un gol.
Una volta, durante l’intervallo di una delle partite, Karim si fermò a guardare uno dei cartelloni pubblicitari che c’erano attorno allo stadio. Su questo cartellone c’era una carta geografica del mondo insieme a delle bandiere colorate di squadre di Paesi diversi. Si mise a localizzare il suo Paese sulla carta geografica. Proseguì a cercare altri Paesi dove sapeva che vivevano altri parenti suoi. Era così immerso in questa mappa che non si rese conto che l’allenatore aveva fischiato perché si riprendesse il gioco. Accortosene, l’allenatore ebbe un’idea. Disse agli altri ragazzi di accostarsi a Karim, di guardare la mappa del mondo e di formare un cerchio attorno ad essa. E disse loro, “Guardate bene questa mappa e individuate il vostro Paese o il Paese dove vivono i vostri familiari. Potete anche localizzare altri Paesi di cui sentite parlare nei notiziari perché colpite da qualche calamità come terremoto, tsunami, ostilità o qualche protesta che sfocia nella violenza.”
Nel frattempo l’allenatore estrasse dei biglietti adesivi e matite dalla cartella che teneva in mano e si mise a distribuirli a tutti, dicendo loro: “Ora sul biglietto adesivo, scrivete una preghiera al Paese di cui vi siete ricordati o della gente che ci vive, poi attaccate questo big;lietto adesivo alla carta geografica del mondo.” E così fecero i ragazzi. Quante belle e sincere preghiere scrissero questi ragazzi ! Un ragazzo pregò così,“Oh Dio, fa’ cessare i conflitti e i colpi continui d’arma da fuoco che vedevo avverarsi io stesso in Siria.”
Una ragazza pregò,“Oh Dio, provvedi da mangiare e da bere a coloro che ne hanno bisogno e provvedi gente che aiuti i poveri.” Qualcuno pregò per la pace nel mondo. Qualcun altro pregò che ai Paesi fosse risparmiato il flagello di morbi devastanti, come quello del Covid-19.
Come era diventata più bella la mappa con le preghiere attaccate adessa! E se tu dovessi scrivere una preghiera , che cosa scriveresti?
Resources related to this story
 Leaving an impressionIn this prayer activity, one sits down and listens to a reflection in the Gospel of Luke about the impressions others leave on us and us on them. |
 Forgiveness For GreedIn this prayer space one is invited to reflect on the greedyness not only globally by mostly personally, and to ask for forgiveness for such greedy actions. |
 Pray for the WorldThis prayer space encourages one to look at the world map and think of family and friends living away and pray for them and their countries. |
 New WorldThis prayer space encourages one to think of a scenario of what one would do if given the power to create a “new world”. |
 People in the WorldThrough prayer and images, this prayer space helps one to ponder upon people who are suffering in various ways around the world. |
 Relationships: One World |
 Christmas: Worldwide ShepherdsDuring this prayer space one will have the time to pray for worlwide peoples who are considered as not important and are marginalized just like the shepherds during the time of Jesus birth. |
During this session, the students participated in the animation of the story ‘One World’ from the Book ‘Spazju għal Qalbi – Beloved Space’ by Ms Silvana Cardona. They eagerly answered questions, shared their thoughts, and contributed to the storyline, making the sessions more engaging and personalized.
During the animated reflective story, a world map was placed on the tables so that students could find different countries, reflect on the event or situations happening there and eventually write prayers for those countries. The children wrote beautiful prayers on sticky notes and lit tea-light battery-operated candles on the countries they wished to pray for.
The ‘Pray for the World’ prayer space allowed them to think about people living in various countries and pray for their relatives who live abroad just like in the story they had just heard.
This story’s animation took place at Theresa Nuzzo School, Marsa, on the 19th of June 2023 by Fr Reuben Gauci and Ms Silvana Cardona.
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 Cardboard on the PavementThe story is about a girl who travelled to London to watch a musical. On her way to the theatre with her parents, she saw a small boy with his mother lying on a piece of cardboard on the pavement. The girl sought how she could help these homeless people. |
 Show and Tell – Maltese TraditionThe story is about children during drama class. While performing a mime with objects placed in front of them, they are reminded of Il-Quċċija – a Maltese tradition. As they look at the dance mirrors, they thank God for their talents and good qualities. |
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 Saying Thank YouThe story is about a group of friends who accepted an invitation to participate in a celebration that would take place on World Gratitude Day. Through dance and art, the children expressed their gratitude towards their family, friends, pets, artistic talents, and life. |
 Asking Questions Leads to WisdomThe story is about a girl who is interested in many things and so she likes to ask lots of questions. In the catechesis class, she is given a coloured cardboard paper cut out in the shape of a question mark. She was invited to think about a big question she wished to ask God and write it on the question mark. |
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