Shining a Light on Vital Education, with Didier Drogba

Jan 4, 2017 9:05 AM ET

How a soccer star and a food company united to help kids in Côte d’Ivoire

The crowd erupts as the young Ivorian soccer star scores a goal…

He wheels away in celebration, and shares a high five with two-time African Footballer of the Year, Didier Drogba, former star of the Côte d’Ivoire national team and top club sides including Marseille and Chelsea.

But this isn’t the African Cup of Nations Final, played out in front of thousands of spectators. It’s a ‘kick around’ on a dusty pitch in a small village in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa-producing nation.

And the goal scorer is a small child, playing alongside his countryman and hero. It’s the stuff of dreams.

Visiting this village in Côte d’Ivoire, Didier Drogba sends out a powerful message on the importance of education, sustainability and sport in the country.

It’s a message that resonates in the classroom of the newly built school, where he shows the excited children a special ball which, he explains, will store kinetic energy when they play football together.

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