Miradi’s story
Miradi’s parents emigrated to Portland from the Congo, via South Africa, with six kids in tow. We met Miradi and his brothers in Powell Park, near the Kateri housing development where they live. This summer, Miradi made it through tryouts for Portland’s Northeast United Soccer Club, and his younger brother Manusha made it onto Southeast Soccer Club. Both are flourishing.
It takes a team of drivers and organizers to get kids like Miradi and Manusha into these leagues, and to practices and tournaments and games, but the benefits can’t be overstated. Miradi, at age 13, is now connected to worlds beyond his own, to paid professional coaches, and most of all, presented with a challenge that will pay dividends throughout his life.
