Joel Glover is not your stereotypical footballer.

The talented, free scoring forward for Hadleigh United has been a man on a mission this season, and it was not about topping the goalscoring table.

Joel took time out from playing non-league in the Thurlow Nunn Premier Division with the Brettsiders, to running around a horse muck strewn pitch while spending four months working with the poor in favelas in Rio De Janeiro.

Along with wife Natasha, Joel taught English, worked in a poverty-ridden community centre, and took worship to the 100s of children in the 1,000 slum areas of Brazil.

"We spent quite about of time out here volunteering with the church, which was something different after a year of lockdown," said Joel.

"My wife and I thought this would be a great opportunity before having a family and just thought -'let's go fo it', it is something different."

With a background of charity work for Care For Children, started by his father Robert, Joel and Natasha went to the very heart of Rio's poorest areas.

He said: "Tuesday and Thursday we would teach English in evenings then at weekends in the slums we would have things like worship night Friday nights.

"We would spend time with the kids, there are hundreds the favelas suffering real poverty. They would turn up with no shoes, no shirt and we would just play Lego, and you would see real joy on their faces.

"We don't have much of that in the UK because we are blessed here with what we have."

While giving so much in the deprived areas, organising events, cake baking, and making lives better, Joel admitted he and Natasha learnt loads themselves, embraced the experience and took a lot from the adventure.

"In Brazil people are so joyful with the little that they have." said Joel. "Death is very common, you see it happen a lot all around us, so they take life very seriously but but joyfully.

"Sometimes in the west we think we are invincible, or we are immoral, which is great but there are other countries out there that are in real need and to be out therefor a few months and to be able help with the little we did was a great experience.

"It was amazing to be out there and it was an adventure for my wife and I.

"We have not been to South America before, it was the complete opposite to here, not least 35 degrees."

They learnt some Portuguese, and as a non-denominational Christian, was able to get the message of faith across in the predominantly Catholic country.

Joel said: "We were in an area of Rio where no one spoke English. We picked up enough too get by and there were a coupe of others in the church could seek a bit.

"I'm non-denominational Christian I just believe Jesus died on the cross for us and I want to share love with people. Jest loved us, and one of the Commandments is: to love him and others."

Given his upbringing, and being one of six children, charity work is in the blood with the family being brought up in Shanghai, and also spending some time at school in America, while his parents Rbert and Liz ran Care For Children.

Joel explained: "I grew up in China, I was there 13 years and been overseas a number of times so I guess this sort of work is in my DNA. My father started charity in China and I love working with under-privileged children."

His football talent is also inherited in part with his dad a a former Norwich City youth player, who signed for Portsmouth before injury prematurely ended his career. He started a team called Shanghai Canaries for teenagers from an orphanage and Joel has played in the US and for a number of non-league sides in Norfolk and Suffolk.

"I really missed playing competitive football." admitted the striker. "I played a couple of times a week with some guys in the favelas but it is completely different to this (playing for Hadleigh).

"The pitches were something else, no grass, with horses pooing on them before hand, so you would be running through all that. A different environment completely."

Before coming back he and Natasha planned a Christmas event at the community centre in the favela with a nativity scene, some Christmas worship songs and meals for people to enjoy together.

Although Joel was on the losing side in his first game back, United went down to league leaders Wroxham. Hadleigh manager Steve Holder was delighted to have him back and said: "The club is happy to see Joel back, he has given everyone a lift."

Sadly for both their big local derby match against Brantham tomorrow (Monday) has been postponed after the league called off all games due to covid.

Still, things could be worse, as these are extraordinary times, and Joel has experienced more worrying situations.

Scroll right on top image to see more pictures.

• In 1998 Care for Children pioneered family placement care in China as a positive alternative to institutional care. The project has since grown from a small pilot project in Shanghai, to a nationwide project with repercussions throughout Asia.

At that time, there was no direct translation for the word 'Foster Care' in mandarin. Robert was given an office in the Shanghai orphanage. The goal for the three-year project was to place 300 children into local families, working in partnership with the Shanghai Civil Affairs.

From the offset Robert Glover established an approach that was to be key to Care for Children's on-going relationship in China, and the success of the project work.

Rather than acting as a care-providing organisation that could only ever commit to hundreds, the goal was to provide skills and knowledge to local staff that could eventually impact many thousands of orphans in China.

That work has now been replicated in other Asian countries and the USA.

See Care For Children website here...