"The children sang 'Roger, our Father' to me, I didn't really understand it" - When Roger Federer was moved to tears during 'emotional' Ethiopia visit
Roger Federer once disclosed why he was reduced to tears during his visit to Ethiopia with his foundation. The Swiss expressed surprise at the overwhelming reception he received in one of the most impoverished and remote places in the world.
In 2003, the same year he had won his maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, the Swiss established the Roger Federer Foundation with the aim of empowering children in Africa and Switzerland by providing them with access to education and sports.
In February 2010, shortly after winning his fourth Australian Open title, Roger Federer took a trip to Ethiopia to see a school funded by his foundation. During his visit, the Swiss interacted with the children, beat one of the teenage students in a game of table tennis and ate a traditional lunch of injera.
In an interview with Reuters about the trip, the Swiss shared that the children welcomed him with an "emotional" song. Despite struggling to understand the song initially, he admitted that the performance moved him to tears.
"When I arrived at the school and all of the children were singing, it was very emotional. They sang, 'Roger, our Father' to me. I didn't really understand it at the beginning, but I still had tears in my eyes," he said.
Federer also disclosed that he hadn't expected such a warm reception on his first visit to Ethiopia, humorously remarking that he forgot his matches were watched around the world.
"It's my first time here, so I didn't expect this. I always think I should have been to a country before people know me. I forget about the television," he added.
"I definitely want to show them that this world exists as well" - Roger Federer on his daughters potentially taking over his foundation
Roger Federer and his wife Mirka welcomed twin daughters Myla Rose and Charlene in 2009. Although his daughters were only seven months old at the time of his Ethiopia visit, the Swiss expressed thoughts about them potentially taking over the foundation some day. He emphasized his desire to educate them about the foundation's work in disadvantaged and remote parts of the world.
"I definitely want to show them that this world exists as well. There's no way around it for them because I'll be travelling. It will be a very exciting ten years for me because I'll be trying to educate and help them and show them all these things," he said during the same interview.
Federer also credited his mother Lynette's South African heritage as the inspiration behind the foundation, sharing that he expanded its reach beyond South Africa as he matured and earned more money.
"My Mum being from South Africa is obviously the inspiration behind the foundation. I went there on vacation a lot when I was younger. So we started with a project in South Africa and, as I got older and got more money, I wanted to expand," he said.
The Swiss legend celebrated the 20th anniversary of his foundation in December 2023, highlighting the achievement of providing 2.5 million children with access to preschool education and reflecting on the "incredibly exciting and fulfilling journey."