COLUMBUS, Ga. - A victory for a children’s soccer team composed of orphans and abandoned children in India has done more than win them a championship.

The soccer team from a Hopegivers International-sponsored “Hope Home” in Kota, India, recently won the Rajasthan state championship in their age bracket.

“Though the team was nearly denied the opportunity to participate in the tournament, they played and carried themselves like champions,” said Hopegivers Founder Dr. M.A. Thomas. “Our children are proof that every life matters and is precious to God.”

After the historic victory, the children were greeted with jubilation, and a parade was held in their honor. The children hold the distinction of being the first team from their district to win a soccer state championship since the tournament began in 1947. A celebration surrounding orphaned and abandoned children is a wonderful thing, Thomas said.

“People from the public came and took the children on their shoulders and danced with them. Then they began to give them gifts and brought food items and fruits and all these things for them,” Thomas said.

The victory testifies to the team’s hard work and also serves as a reminder that Hopegivers-sponsored orphans are getting the chance to be well-rounded and simply ‘be kids’, said Thomas.

Despite the enormous amounts of difficulty faced during this last year because of his outreaches’ faith-based approach, Dr. Thomas believes that this victory can go a long way to unite and bring communities together.

“My dream is to rescue one million children and make them as stars, make them as ambassadors for God in various fields,” he said.

Hopegivers (www.hopegivers.org) is a faith-based, not-for-profit humanitarian agency based in Columbus, Ga. Hopegivers exists to bring “help for today and hope for eternity” by rescuing homeless children, widows, the sick and needy, regardless of caste or creed, primarily in India, Malawi and Haiti.