Former West Ham striker Enner Valencia has promised to donate any cash he gets from the World Cup to help kids escape the most murderous streets of Ecuador.
Valencia, 33, has put himself in the frame for the Golden Boot with three goals in his first two appearances at the World Cup. But his bid for glory in Qatar is made even more remarkable by the fact that he was born and bred in Esmeralda, the border province close to Colombia that has an homicide rate that makes it one of the top-10 deadliest places in the world.
The murder rate currently stands at 64 per every 100,000 people - and the Ecuadorian government have now abandoned the area and left innocent people to fend for themselves against the drug gangs and paramilitary groups that rule the streets with deadly intent.
