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Emmanuel Ladouceur was buried four days under rubble before he was pulled out as the sole survivor from his uncle’s house. Ladouceur survived but lost his left arm because of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Haiti one fateful afternoon in January. That week Ladouceur joined the ranks of hundreds of Haitians who, because they had lost a limb during the disaster, had shaky and uncertain futures. Now, Ladouceur is one of 15 amputees and disabled men chosen to travel to Argentina to represent Haiti for the first time in the Amputee Soccer World Cup. The Haitian team has three earthquake victims on it. Luccene Orima, the team’s captain, whose leg was amputated because of medical reasons as a child, wants to change misconceptions about people with disabilities. “Most people say handicapped cannot do anything, but I have something I can do,” he said. “I can play soccer.”

From left, players from the first ever Haiti National Amputee Soccer Team, Georges Cenat, Denis Gustave, and Francois Mackendy vie for the ball during a team scrimmage at a donated space behind Quisqueya Christian Chapel Oct. 8, 2010 in Delmas, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Mackendy is one of three players who lost a limb in the devastating January earthquake after the T-shirt factory he was working in collapsed on him. He was trapped for a day before friends found him. Mackendy was then forced to saw off his own leg to be freed. The team was officially formed in mid-August when 15 players were selected to join after a few months of recruiting and try-outs. The team has been training for the Amputee World Cup which they were invited to attend after the January earthquake brought attention to a growing amputee population in the country. The Cup is being held in Argentina starting on October 16, 2010.