Transforming soccer jerseys into hospital pajamas, an idea to improve the lives of hospitalized children

Good initiatives, no matter how small, are never irrelevant. All of them, in their own way, make the world a better place. For this reason, we will present another one of those cases that make a difference in people’s lives and that call attention because they are simple, but at the same time ingenious and very efficient.

Our story will show an idea that anyone could come up with: turning soccer jerseys into hospital aprons and pajamas for hospitalized children. A simple initiative, but one that produced surprising results.

O awesome.club tell us more about this beautiful initiative dedicated to making the daily lives of hospitalized children a little more cheerful.

The idea came to the team at the Spanish site Panenka, specialized in soccer, through the creators and founders of an NGO called We are Xuxa and focused on hospitalized children. Together, the Panenka and We are Xuxa teams began, in a small tailoring workshop in Madrid, the work of transforming the official team t-shirts into pajamas and hospital gowns for the little patients. Once the first batch was finished, the pieces were delivered to a hospital, where the children’s reactions to receiving their new “uniforms” were recorded in photos and videos.

A curiosity: you must be wondering why the name of the Spanish NGO is “We are Xuxa”. Yes, it has to do with her, the Brazilian presenter queen of the little ones. Advertisers Diego Lauton (Brazilian) and Fede Botella (Spanish), creators of the NGO, were fans of Xuxa when they were little. “She danced, sang and won the hearts of thousands of children around the world. Today, we hope that you will also help us to win your heart”, they say on the website.

The photos and videos that record the reaction of children with the T-shirts, at Hospital San Rafael (in Madrid), started an international campaign for the cause. The project proposal “Las batas más fuertes” was adopted only in this establishment. But, on the strength of its emotional images and social media, it ended up receiving many requests for help from people, clubs and associations all over Spain. Offers ranged from donating club shirts (some from collections) to cash support and volunteer work. A chain of good.

When a child is forced to spend time in a hospital, his life changes, usually for the worse. She is taken away from her home and, in some cases, sees very little of her friends and family. In this type of situation, it is very common for psychological problems to arise, such as anxiety, depression, anger attacks and even social isolation. Any initiative that seeks to improve this period they spend in the hospital can help them to have a little more emotional comfort and, in this way, speed up their recovery.

Representatives of many countries have already shown interest in being part of the initiative: Italy, Portugal, Argentina, Mexico, United States, Senegal and Chile. For now, “Las batas más fuertes” is not receiving donations, but registering hospitals and health units interested in giving voice to the project. Anyone wanting to help with the campaign can contact the program’s staff through their website. In mid-June, the next round of T-shirts produced for the initiative will be delivered to hospitals that have registered to participate.

Would you be excited to participate in a project like this? Would it be beneficial to bring this initiative to Brazilian hospitals? Do you know of other campaigns to cheer up children in hospitals? If so, tell us in the comments.