On March 28th, 2013,
I went to Anse-à-Veau, Haiti, to do a soccer
clinic and to distribute sports materials I collected from my community in the
DC area. With the help of parents from
my soccer club, Bethesda Soccer Club
(BSC), my parish Saint John The Baptist, and P.J.'s Sports store in
Bethesda, Maryland, among others, I distributed donated sports equipment to
kids of this coastal village who were very appreciative.
As a member of Haitian SportsFoundation (HSF), which is a non-profit organization created to uplift the children of Haiti through the use of sports activities, I also wanted to see firsthand the donated land where HSF plans to build its sports facility.
As a kid growing up in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, I used to play soccer with the neighborhood kids in the streets because there wasn't any soccer fields around for us to use. Some of these kids would play barefoot on partially paved road because they were poor, and they would also play on side streets where traffic was not as heavy but still dangerous nonetheless.
Haitians are extremely passionate about soccer. When I was growing up in Haiti people around me would talk of the day Haiti made it to the World Cup in 1974 so often that I was:
As a member of Haitian SportsFoundation (HSF), which is a non-profit organization created to uplift the children of Haiti through the use of sports activities, I also wanted to see firsthand the donated land where HSF plans to build its sports facility.
As a kid growing up in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, I used to play soccer with the neighborhood kids in the streets because there wasn't any soccer fields around for us to use. Some of these kids would play barefoot on partially paved road because they were poor, and they would also play on side streets where traffic was not as heavy but still dangerous nonetheless.
Haitians are extremely passionate about soccer. When I was growing up in Haiti people around me would talk of the day Haiti made it to the World Cup in 1974 so often that I was:
- Convince the World Cup was held every year
- That Haiti must have won the World Cup at least once
This is a country
that literally stops when Brazil or Argentina is playing a match in the World
Cup. In fact in 2004, the WC winning Brazilian team played a friendly match in Haiti, and the
place went crazy.
So clearly Haitians love sports, but they just don't have access to it like we do here in the U.S.
In 2011, in recognition of the good work HSF has been doing throughout the country, the mayor of Anse-à-Veau, donated a few acres of land near the beach so HSF could finally build a sports facility. HSF will continue to partner with other local organizations throughout the country to provide Karate training, which is the only program they offer at the moment.
So, when last fall I mentioned the work of HSF to Mrs. Deb Warsaw, who is the Public Relations persons at BSC, and with Mr. Jonathon Colton, who is the Director of Coaching and Player Development at BSC, and that I was trying to start a soccer program for kids back home in Haiti, they understood the vision and gladly offered to help in collecting equipment for that purpose.
Finally, after many weeks of collecting sports materials from parents of the Bethesda SC family, including from the parents of my under 8 Boys team at BSC, I drove to Mrs. Deb Warsaw's house with my niece one day last December to fill up my brother's van with donated equipment. We had stuff ranging from soccer cleats, uniforms, and to even collapsible soccer goals (a donation of Mr. George Spicer and family). Much to my surprise, a family from California, Mr. John Paul Sutliff and family, donated some equipment.
So clearly Haitians love sports, but they just don't have access to it like we do here in the U.S.
In 2011, in recognition of the good work HSF has been doing throughout the country, the mayor of Anse-à-Veau, donated a few acres of land near the beach so HSF could finally build a sports facility. HSF will continue to partner with other local organizations throughout the country to provide Karate training, which is the only program they offer at the moment.
So, when last fall I mentioned the work of HSF to Mrs. Deb Warsaw, who is the Public Relations persons at BSC, and with Mr. Jonathon Colton, who is the Director of Coaching and Player Development at BSC, and that I was trying to start a soccer program for kids back home in Haiti, they understood the vision and gladly offered to help in collecting equipment for that purpose.
Finally, after many weeks of collecting sports materials from parents of the Bethesda SC family, including from the parents of my under 8 Boys team at BSC, I drove to Mrs. Deb Warsaw's house with my niece one day last December to fill up my brother's van with donated equipment. We had stuff ranging from soccer cleats, uniforms, and to even collapsible soccer goals (a donation of Mr. George Spicer and family). Much to my surprise, a family from California, Mr. John Paul Sutliff and family, donated some equipment.
Then in the spring of this year, I went to Haiti to achieve the mission of distributing the collected equipment and to do a soccer clinic.
Once in Haiti, I was accompanied with Mr. Mario Arthur, one of the co-founders of HSF, and 2 other HSF Karate instructors for the 3 hours to drive from Port-au-Prince to Anse-à-Veau. I have never made it that far west into the country before as I was in my mid-teens when I left Haiti for the U.S. some years ago. So this trip was as much as me being a tourist as me also going for a purpose. The drive was very scenic and beautiful. It was also dangerous since the roads were very curvy at times going through mountains. In fact, Haiti or Ayiti in creole means mountainous region in the language of the Arawak Indians who originally inhabited the island. Then to add to the adventure, we had to drive around people, livestock and potholes at times on this two-lane (one way-each way) major highway.
Whenever I thought I saw a soccer field, I tried my best to take some pictures, and most of the time they were open dirt spaces that were created in the middle of a corn or sugar field, with standing sticks for goals.
A few miles from the village, the road was not completed and so we had to finish the drive on dirt roads being shaken side to side as if I was getting hit like a piñata. And then just like that we arrived to the quiet coastal village of Anse-à-Veau.
Anse-à-Veau is a small village of 50,000 people. They weren't affected much by the earthquake of January 2010; however there are still some remnants of the last somewhat significant earthquake that happened in the country in 1953 (magnitude 5.7), such as the ruins of former President of Haiti's house, President Geffrard, are still visible.
Finally, we arrived to the place where the facility will be build, and it is currently made up of a small 2-room building, one of which is a computer room and the other where they practice Karate.
One look around the territory, and I realized we don't even have a clearance for the soccer clinic I was about to do, and so we decided to go somewhere else a little bit outside of the village. We told the kids who had shown up by then to meet us at this other field, and we were on our way. We drove another 10 minutes to that location, and while the field was somewhat decent, it was filled with cow dung, which we did our best to clear. After a little bit, the first few kids started to arrive there, and 45 minutes later we had about 50 kids in total.
Most of these kids are already involved in the HSF Karate program. A few of them showed up because they were interested in soccer. Some caught rides on motorbikes, some came on bicycles, and yet others even walked.
Once in Haiti, I was accompanied with Mr. Mario Arthur, one of the co-founders of HSF, and 2 other HSF Karate instructors for the 3 hours to drive from Port-au-Prince to Anse-à-Veau. I have never made it that far west into the country before as I was in my mid-teens when I left Haiti for the U.S. some years ago. So this trip was as much as me being a tourist as me also going for a purpose. The drive was very scenic and beautiful. It was also dangerous since the roads were very curvy at times going through mountains. In fact, Haiti or Ayiti in creole means mountainous region in the language of the Arawak Indians who originally inhabited the island. Then to add to the adventure, we had to drive around people, livestock and potholes at times on this two-lane (one way-each way) major highway.
Whenever I thought I saw a soccer field, I tried my best to take some pictures, and most of the time they were open dirt spaces that were created in the middle of a corn or sugar field, with standing sticks for goals.
A few miles from the village, the road was not completed and so we had to finish the drive on dirt roads being shaken side to side as if I was getting hit like a piñata. And then just like that we arrived to the quiet coastal village of Anse-à-Veau.
Anse-à-Veau is a small village of 50,000 people. They weren't affected much by the earthquake of January 2010; however there are still some remnants of the last somewhat significant earthquake that happened in the country in 1953 (magnitude 5.7), such as the ruins of former President of Haiti's house, President Geffrard, are still visible.
Finally, we arrived to the place where the facility will be build, and it is currently made up of a small 2-room building, one of which is a computer room and the other where they practice Karate.
One look around the territory, and I realized we don't even have a clearance for the soccer clinic I was about to do, and so we decided to go somewhere else a little bit outside of the village. We told the kids who had shown up by then to meet us at this other field, and we were on our way. We drove another 10 minutes to that location, and while the field was somewhat decent, it was filled with cow dung, which we did our best to clear. After a little bit, the first few kids started to arrive there, and 45 minutes later we had about 50 kids in total.
Most of these kids are already involved in the HSF Karate program. A few of them showed up because they were interested in soccer. Some caught rides on motorbikes, some came on bicycles, and yet others even walked.
I separated the kids by age and by size and got started with the program. I passed out the donated equipment to them at which point every single one of them said "mesi!" (Thank you in Creole) and had a big smile on their face. Then it was time to start the soccer clinics. Under an already burning sun at around 10 in the morning, I trained kids aged from 8-12 for an hour. Then an hour later, I did the same for the older kids with a few girls also present. Then in the end, they were all playing in their donated gears and having fun.
Mr. Mario Arthur and I distributed some Rice Crispy Treats we brought with us from The States to them, and we also had someone bring in water for them.
Then we went back into the small village to visit and to eat before our long drive back into Port-Au-Prince.
This part of the
mission is accomplished. The longer goal
however will take some time and effort to be reached. HSF would like to start building the sports
facility we envisioned for the kids of this community. I would like to get our soccer program going
there this year, and there are already 3 soccer coaches who are currently
volunteering their time until we have an established training program for them
to follow. Before we can get our soccer program started however, we need
to have:
- One regulation size soccer field
- Two smaller size fields for the younger kids
If you would like to help us in this endeavor, please feel free to contact me.
In the meantime, from June 30th to July 5th, HSF will run their annual summer camps with volunteers coming from all over The States. They will sep up many activities in the middle of the village for the kids to take part in, and the kids of Anse-à-Veau are
looking forward to this event.
In Haiti, life is difficult for everyone.
With your help, HSF will be able to at least provide a place where a kid
can get proper sports training.
Click HERE for more pictures!
Click HERE to visit the HSF website!
I would like to send a big Mesi Anpil! or Thank you to Mrs. Deb Warsaw of BSC, Mr. Jonathon Colton of BSC, the whole Bethesda Soccer Club family, especially the parents of my U8 Black team, the family of Mr. John Paul Sutliff, the family of Mr. George Spicer, Mr. Tom Gardner of Saint John The Baptist Catholic Church, Mr. Jack Maloney of PJ's Sports, and many others who helped us with our collection drive on behalf of the HSF kids.
Sincerely,
James Louis-Charles
