We hope you can join us for an exciting collaborative event on September 7th in New York City! The concert is organized by Konbit Mizik to highlight Haitian musicians and benefit Haiti-based organizations, including GOALS Haiti. The event will include videos featuring beneficiaries, including the great work done by our partners at Le JIT Productions!
The Top 5 Things to Know About Our New CauseVox Campaign
- An exceptional team of superstar volunteer fundraisers are hard at work on CauseVox to help educate kids in rural Haiti. Our goal is to change kids' lives by increasing access to education and improving quality of existing programs.
- The need for education in rural Haiti is extremely high. About half of Haiti's youth population - 2 million children - live in rural communities. However, about 94% of non-profit organizations after Haiti's earthquake focused exclusively on urban areas. Our goal is to reach the kids in Haiti who have no access to other non-profit, government or private services so that our limited resources make the biggest possible difference.
- Only 53% of adults in Haiti are literate, 50% of children enroll in primary school, and just 20% enroll in secondary school. According to experts, like the World Literacy Foundation, basic education will improve our kids' quality of life now, and for their future families: A child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five, and adults who are functionally literate will earn 10-15% higher wages than their non-literate peers.
- We're on a roll! Since the incredible Jovan Julien founded our Dream Team Scholarship Program in 2010, we have supported 30 young scholars. In 2012, the Child Survival Fund generously began supporting the entire program, allowing us to keep growing. What does this mean for you? Every penny of individual donations can go straight to the kiddos in Haiti most in need. Specifically, new donations will help us provide transportation assistance, more classroom materials, our first-ever solar lamps to help students do homework at night, and new educators and community learning spaces.
- By using soccer as a platform for development, GOALS is able to reach children who are left behind by conventional educational systems. Our approach stems directly from feedback from children, their parents, staff, and community leaders. Nearly a third of our players cannot afford to attend school; for these children, GOALS’ programming provides their only opportunity to engage in professionally-led educational activities.
Soccer x Health = an Amazing Month at GOALS!
Kids and families participated in a community-wide clean up to prepare for the tournament
June was a happening month for GOALS! First, we kicked things off with a signature Hand Washing Tournament in the Leogane community of Belloc. Just like at our annual October event for Global Hand Washing Day, the tournament combined health, hygiene and soccer to create fun ways to learn and play. This tournament was generously sponsored by the Latter Glory Church from Paterson, NJ. For pictures of the three-day co-ed tournament, check out our album!
Destra clinic
Next, our team hit the ground running for another mobile clinic in our most rural daily site, Destra. Destra is a fishing village without electricity, running water, paved roads, schools, or clinics. Access to healthcare is extremely low, and we are lucky to have an incredible partnership with the Klinik Lasante Leogane, funded by the Delaney Bay Fund, that allows us to address this community's needs through mobile health clinics, training seminars, supplies, and more. Thanks to the volunteer medical team staffed by InterVol, the clinic treated 157 people! To see more photos of our mobile health clinic at Destra, check out our album.
Nadege's son, "Tonton," agrees - it was a great month!
Last, but not least, InterVol and the Klinik Lasante Leogane created a first-ever three-day first aid training for our staff members and team captains. This unique opportunity was an invaluable investment in our team to increase their impact as community leaders to help even more kids in need.
Stay in touch all summer long!
As always, we love hearing from you! Check out our Facebook page and Twitter feed for fresh updates, new photos, and fun videos on a daily basis.
Thank you for your support!
GOALS is now on Catchafire!
GOALS Haiti is now partnered with Catchafire! Catchafire's mission is to provide talented individuals with meaningful pro bono experiences in order to build capacity for social good organizations.
Learn how to get involved
GOALS' first Catchafire partnership was a Bookkeeping Project. This project is now closed - a huge thank you to James for volunteering and making this partnership possible!
Our second opportunity is a Salesforce Database Customization project. To learn more, please check out the project details here.
Words to Live By: GOALS' New Staff Credo
Here at GOALS, we like to say that we are not a traditional aid agency. We don't believe in top-down charity, but we do believe that all of our programs should be driven forward by community engagement, strong local leaders, and players' enthusiasm.
Last month, our Board of Directors met in Leogane to visit our sites, discuss activities, and review our progress to date. One of the results of this meeting was a new Staff Handbook developed by our talented in-country team. The Handbook is an important new resource for our site coordinators to be the strongest leaders they can be, and for the first time, we formalized our Staff Credo, the beliefs that we believe each of our incredible leaders should embody.
We wanted to share our Credo here with the wider network of Team GOALS, and as always, we hope you'll stay in touch with us by visiting our Facebook page for photos and news, following us on Twitter @goalshaiti, and dropping us a line at contact@goalshaiti.org!
Our Board visits Destra
The GOALS Staff Credo
- I am passionate about GOALS’ mission to engage youth in football to improve their quality of life and develop their leadership.
- I believe in the “GOALS Principle”: we don’t do handouts, we do exchanges based on merit to create a new, different kind of development that is powered by community engagement, unity, and hard work.
- I am a role model for kids, parents, and community members and I will represent GOALS and be the strongest leader I can be every day.
- I develop myself as a community leader, set goals for myself and my community, and work hard to meet these goals.
- I communicate truthfully and transparently, and I always act with integrity.
- I protect, help and empower girls and boys equally.
- I am always on time, responsible, and professional.
- I am creative and effective, and make the most of whatever resources or materials are available to me.
- If there is a problem, I know even if it is not my fault, it may be my responsibility.
- I go above and beyond to excel at my job and be the best I can be. I will always try to strengthen myself, my community, and GOALS so that we can do better!
Highlights from the Field - Karate, Creole & Clinics!
GOALS is always busy, and never more so than when we’re lucky enough to have incredible volunteers visit us in Léogane. Volunteers allow us to take on big projects, reach more children, and maximize our impact to change more lives through soccer. We’re extremely grateful for their contributions here on the ground, and want to highlight some of their recent work:
- Ben Wiselogle and Melissa Watkinson, who spent a week with us in February, helped tackle a warehouse full of donated equipment as well as launch an intense monitoring and evaluation phase. GOALS is testing all our players on their literacy levels and progress in English class. This feedback will be crucial in determining what we have achieved so far and what we can do better in the upcoming year. Following her trip, Melissa wrote:"...after witnessing the impact that GOALS has on young people and the community, I believe in GOALS' collective ability to engage, empower, strengthen, and educate the Haitian community."
- Connor Ashenbrucker spent two weeks in Léogane leading martial arts workshops, administering evaluations, visiting sites, and helping GOALS with capacity-building projects. The kids loved the karate lessons, and even postponed soccer practice to learn more moves – definitely a first! Connor also led special English lessons for senior staff members – who taught him Creole in return – and did outreach work in the mountains outside of Léogane. See pictures from Connor’s karate workshops here!
- Joelle Julien led an incredible “Mother Tongue” Creole book-making project for our kids in Destra over the course of a busy five days. Dream Team leaders each helped their groups of younger children develop stories, illustrate them by hand, and present them to their peers as skits. These stories – now laminated and bound – will be treasured by our participants for years to come.
A special girl clinic, with help from the Dream Team
Our Dream Team students, who receive high school scholarships thanks to the Child Survival Fund, have been key in helping these volunteers and leading additional community projects. For International Women’s Day earlier this month, our Dream Team girls helped manage a special after-school health clinic for approximately 100 adolescent girls from Léogane in collaboration with Klinik Lasante Leyogann. For our players who are interested in medicine, taking an active role in leading health outreach is an invaluable way to gain experience in the field as high school students. To see photos of the clinic, check out the album here.
These are just a few of our favorite moments from the past month. Every day has been full of soccer, community service, classes, special projects, and much more. To keep up with our daily updates from the field, don’t forget to visit us on Facebook and Twitter! There you’ll find albums like “Falling Down, but Having Fun” from our Leogane sites, and special opportunities to attend our upcoming event with the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
As always, thank you for your support, and get in touch anytime by writing us at contact@goalshaiti.org!
GOALS Loves Jolinda! Ode to a #1 Volunteer
Dynamic duo! Jolinda and Emilio doing evaluations at Destra
An important landmark for GOALS passed quietly a couple of weeks ago. Jolinda, who is a full-time in-country volunteer, celebrated her one year “GOALS-iversary.” Jolinda has been a one-of-a-kind addition to our team in Leogane and has made an enormous impact over the past year. She leads on-the-ground activities in Haiti in addition to public outreach efforts, and in a recent staff “visioning session” led by PwC consultants from the UK, she was often cited as one of GOALS’ key assets.
Jolinda is a powerhouse. In the past 6 weeks alone she has:
- Organized a mobile clinic with United Nations doctors to provide care for over 100 people in Destra
- Created evaluations to measure literacy, progress in English class, and how GOALS has affected players’ self-confidence and well-being
In addition, Jolinda has coordinated volunteer projects, taught her regular English classes, and is now working closely with Klinik Kominotè to organize a special health clinic for adolescent girls on March 7!
Visiting the Citadelle in Cap Haitien!
Highlight's from Jolinda's first year with GOALS! The real timeline is much longer, but here are some of my favorites:
- January: Jolinda joins GOALS and promptly makes an impact on the ground as Chatuley’s primary English teacher, GOALS’ designated PR guru, and a much-needed extra pair of hands. In addition to all her special projects and responsibilities, she has continued to work closely with Chatuley’s coaches and players, leading English classes there twice weekly.
- April: Jolinda helps mastermind and coordinate GOALS’ second-annual Vin Jwe – Come Play! tournament in Cité Soleil, taking on the particularly challenging task of making sure all 300+ participants get fed. Her PR efforts for the event result in a wave of new attention from the general public and in online magazines.
- July: GOALS is awarded Beyond Sport’s Best New Project Award in London, a grant that Jolinda developed, wrote, and submitted. Jolinda represents GOALS in London and accepts the award on behalf of our team in Haiti, which leads to invaluable partnerships with Coaches Across Continents and PwC.
- August: After GOALS’ communities are battered by Hurricane Isaac, Jolinda serves as a key leader in Leogane, rolling up her sleeves to help clean up family homes in Bossan.
- October: For our third annual Global Hand Washing Day tournament, Jolinda forms a new partnership with the local United Nations mission (Sri Lankan battalion) to promote hygiene and public health through soccer. Later that month, Sri Bat and GOALS team up again as first responders to assist badly flooded communities affected by Hurricane Sandy
In short, GOALS loves Jolinda! She truly is incredible and has elevated our programs in Léogane to a higher level. She has helped magnify our impact, empower our staff, and increase the difference we can make in kids’ lives. On behalf of our staff, our kids, and Team GOALS – mèsi pou gran sevis ou, Jolinda!
Hat Tricks, Juggling, and New Friends
GOALS coaches play a CAC game that teaches children about safe spaces
It’s just one month into 2013, but GOALS is off to a running start! We’ve just spent an incredible two weeks with Coaches Across Continents with our staff in Leogane. Our coordinators and coaches spent mornings in workshops on the Chatuley soccer field, and used afternoons to begin implementing the new activities in their local communities. The partnership, formed under CAC’s “Hat Trick Initiative,” is a component of the winner’s package GOALS was granted in July 2012 for Beyond Sport’s Best New Project Award.
Soccer brings people together and is one of the best ways to tackle tough subjects, develop leadership, and learn life skills. The Coaches Across Continents workshops, led by founder Nick Gates and Harvard soccer players Marie Margolius and Cheta Emba, promoted communication, responsibility, disease prevention, gender equality, and much, much more. 15-20 GOALS coaches participated daily and we also welcomed local Leogane coaches to extend the impact of the workshops beyond GOALS’ sites.
The coaches had an amazing time in the trainings. From learning new skills (“Ronaldo 1! Marta 3!”), to designing their own exercises, to inaugurating CAC’s “Juggle Across Continents” initiative, they had a blast. “De Leogane,” a local professional goalkeeper and one of our very own Bossan coaches, juggled a One World Futbol 585 times on his first try! We know that Team GOALS will be making a BIG contribution to CAC’s goal of reaching 1 million juggles in 2013.
Our coaches contribute to the "Juggling Across Continents" goal of 1 million juggles!
We had high expectations of these seminars, but even so, I was astounded about the changes we saw in our local coaches and coordinators over the course of two weeks. Their confidence, skills and effectiveness grew by leaps and bounds. Coaches Across Continents made a fundamental difference in how our GOALS coaches work with our players and integrate social issues into daily practice.
By the last day, not one of us was ready to let the Coaches Across Continents team go. Our last site visit was to Bossan, where an average 75 children come to the program each day. The site had never looked better: each coach was using CAC exercises to run focused, targeted drills with their teams. Each player was completely engaged: alternately serious, laughing, and pushing themselves to do better.
Moments like these show just how powerful sport can be in the lives of children. Seeing how the players were working together, giving it their all, and flourishing with the strong leadership of their coaches reminded me that having fun and accomplishing big things can go hand-in-hand.
Children at Bossan learn a fun new CAC drill
We are so grateful for our time with Coaches Across Continents. With so much achieved in just two weeks, we’re excited for our next big projects for 2013!
With love from Haiti,
Kona
For more information on Coaches Across Continents, please visit their website. For great photos and videos of their time with us in Haiti, please visit us on our Facebook page and Twitter!
Cheta works with children at Destra
"I Like Chicken!" Special Guest Post from Coaches Across Continents
The following post was written by Cheta Emba and Marie Magolius, of Coaches Across Continents, about their first week spent here with GOALS Haiti in Leogane, Haiti. Cheta and Marie, along with C.A.C. founder, Nick Gates, are leading a special two-week training for our site coordinators and coaches as a part of their Hat Trick Initiative. GOALS was introduced to CAC through Beyond Sport and we've had a great time using One World Futbol's "virtually indestructible" soccer balls for the seminars!
Check out our Facebook page and Twitter feed for more pictures and news from the field. A big thanks to the CAC team for their post, and for their huge contribution to GOALS' coaches and players!
It’s hard to believe that it has already been a week since the three of us landed here in Leogane, Haiti. Even though just last Saturday we were at home in the US, the sounds of the early morning clatter here at camp and the moto horns blaring on the nearby road seem normal. Our week has been packed with morning sessions with the coaches followed by afternoons playing with the kids at the 4 GOALS Haiti sites.
Every morning here we gather for a brief meeting with 15-20 coaches about the day’s games and what we learned at the session prior. The coaches have really committed to the messages about conflict resolution, gender equity, health and wellness, and skills for life. A lot of it has been an on-field discussion about how GOALS Haiti coaches can make a bigger impact through their roles as mentors and coaches for the kids here in Leogane.
The level of soccer here is competitive. With or without shoes, boys and girls dazzle with their grit and share of flashy moves.
In the first week we’ve taught more than 20 games during which the coaches have learned the difference between coaching soccer and coaching soccer for social impact. The GOALS coaches play a large role in the kids’ lives, and the games they are learning from Coaches Across Continents are helping to make their influence a hugely positive one. The biggest compliment the CAC team received was passing by the soccer fields and seeing that the GOALS coaches have already chosen on their own to use the games they’ve learned in the morning sessions during their afternoon practices with the kids.
These games do more than just build soccer skill; they teach the kids and coaches life and thinking skills. One coach, Gatuso, told Nick, “You have given me my brain”. Gatuso, along with other coaches, appreciate and enjoy that the games stimulate their problem solving skills, creative and responsible thinking, as well as teach lessons that are much more fun to talk about on the field than in the classroom.
On Friday, the coaches taught the group of Adebayor against HIV games, including Condom Tag, Can You See HIV?, and other games that encourage making smart choices to avoid the virus.
This session had a real impact on the coaches and opened their eyes to the ways in which they can have these types of educational conversations on the field in a fun and safe setting.
Yesterday, we got the chance to sit in on Jolinda’s English class with one of GOALS Haiti girl groups. It was fun being able to ask questions of them and vice versa, singing silly songs, and reviewing past lessons. Our favorite song of all was “I Like Chicken” during which the girls yelled “I LIKE CHICKEN! I LIKE CHICKEN! YES I DO, YES I DO! DO YOU LIKE IT?” over and over again. Don’t be fooled by the lyrics, the tune was super catchy. (See GOALS' videos from the field here!)
In other musical news, the local coaches have added “Barbie Girl” to the long list of nicknames they have for Marie. With Nick and Jolinda’s encouragement they began singing “I’m A Barbie Girl” to Marie during Fridays session. Cheta primarily goes by “Sauce” or “Chantel” while Marie is typically called “Bubbs” or “Rice”….get it? Sauce and Rice?
The accommodations here are very nice, wooden huts, outdoor showers and electricity for parts of the day and Jolinda and Kona are taking good care of us. Except for the spider the size of Nick’s head in Marie and Cheta’s bunk house last night, everything is clean and very pleasant here at camp. The devastation and poverty in Haiti is heartbreaking of course, but the country itself is beautiful, the kids and coaches are awesome, and Nick’s immature jokes and fun games are keeping them all entertained and learning. We will be very sad to leave this place and these people in a week’s time. See you back in the states then!
Letter from the Executive Director: GOALS to Expand, Seeking Country Director
Dear GOALS Supporter,
I’m excited to share some big news from Haiti. In the two and a half years since GOALS began offering programs to children and families in Léogane, Haiti, we have increased our impact to over 600 children a month. To build on this momentum and prepare for long-term growth, we are now hiring a new Country Director.
Filling more executive management positions has long been a goal of mine. The Country Director will monitor and improve current programs, develop new initiatives, and work closely with our staff to continue our track record of community-driven development, organizational transparency, and exceptional results.
A new Country Director will allow me to focus on specific initiatives as Executive Director. In the upcoming year, I will be refining GOALS’ programs, model and strategic plan; generating the additional support necessary for GOALS to continue growing; and developing partnerships to strengthen our organization.
It’s a privilege for GOALS to continue expanding, and we couldn’t be more excited for this new phase in our growth. We are grateful to have the support and resources in place to do this. By developing our staff’s capacity, we will be able to better serve Haitian communities and reach even more children throughout Haiti.
Sincerely,
Kona Shen
Founder & Director
5 Easy Ways to Support GOALS this Holiday Season
Happy holidays from GOALS!
Team GOALS stretches around the world, and we are lucky to count students, families, professionals, and soccer fans among our supporters, to name a few. All year, GOALS fans ask how they can get involved, support our daily soccer-for-development programs, and make an important impact to help kids’ lives in Haiti.
There are more reasons than ever to support our soccer programs in Haiti. GOALS’ programs have continued to grow and improve, making deeper investments in children's health, education and well-being in rural Haiti. Outreach to players' families has grown thanks to new partnerships. We now reach over 600 children per month and now grant 27 high school scholarships to hard-working, ambitious young leaders who form our Dream Team.
Here are five easy ways that you can join Team GOALS and make a difference by helping kids in Haiti. If you’re thinking about donating, don’t forget that every donation is tax-deductible, and 100% of your contribution goes directly to fund our daily programs to help kids in Haiti.
- Like Us! A great, free way to join Team GOALS! Like our Facebook page to receive photos and news from the field quickly and easily. This is the best way to check on how we’re doing, view recent photos, and keep in touch with GOALS Haiti. Click here to visit GOALS' Facebook page.
- Follow @goalshaiti Another great way to keep in touch with our busy programs in Haiti! Follow us on Twitter to see videos, read interviews, and follow press on GOALS to learn about how we tackle on-the-ground development in Haiti.
- Organize an Equipment Drive Equipment drives throughout the country have made a HUGE difference to helping kids in Haiti this year! Supporters as far as Seattle, Pittsburgh and upstate New York have helped us provide our soccer players with cleats, shinguards, socks, uniforms, and soccer balls. Thanks to these donations, GOALS has been able to help more and more kids throughout Haiti with our soccer-for-development programs. Every collected item helps a kid in Haiti!
- Make an In-Kind Contribution GOALS has a wish-list of materials and in-kind services that will help us make a bigger impact in 2013. If you have unused computers, frequent flier miles, office supplies, books, or other materials suitable for youth programs, please write to contact@goalshaiti.org to have your items picked up or shipped. These contributions help us keep our programs running strong throughout the year in Haiti.
- Donate! Thanks to commitments from GOALS’ Board of Directors, 100% of your donation will go directly to support our daily afternoon soccer programs for kids in Haiti. Through these programs, boys and girls benefit from improved soccer training, leadership skills, education, health and nutrition. Every dollar of your donation makes a big difference on the ground in Haiti: a donation of $25 supplies a classroom with notebooks and pencils, a donation of $50 provides the seeds and tools for a community to plant a vegetable garden, and a donation of $100 gives 25 children food and water at soccer practice for one month. Click here to make your donation.
Thank you for your support!
Happy holidays from Gabelitha!
Soap and Soccer: GOALS' 3rd Annual Global Hand Washing Day Tournament
GOALS' 3rd annual Global Hand Washing Day soccer tournament was a huge success this year! It was a day-long event filled with food, music, dancing, soccer, prizes, and, of course, plenty of soap and hand washing! Global Hand Washing Day is UNICEF’s campaign to raise awareness about the importance of hand washing world wide. In Haiti, like much of the developing world, death by diseases of hygiene – cholera and diarrhea in particular - are far too common, especially in children. And, since it’s often young women who are taking care of their younger siblings at home, they’re the most critical audience when it comes to hand washing. That’s why we decided that this year's tournament would focus on girls.
Getting ready
Our next door neighbors, the United Nations Sri Lankan peacekeeping battalion, MINUSTAH, offered their support to make the day an even bigger success for the community. The soldiers woke up early to set up a small stage, a Haitian flag and, most importantly, a hand washing station, where kids could wash their hands before eating and throughout the day.
The festivities kicked off with everyone - girls, coaches, soldiers and GOALS staff standing at attention for the Haitian national anthem and a salute from the MINUSTAH commander. Each of the team captains introduced themselves to the commander and he wished them all luck for the tournament. The girls were a bit shy, but he was excited to meet them and shake their hands.
During the matches, a volunteer read hygiene messages, in between excited cries of “GOOOOAAAL!” and cheers from the gathered crowd. In between matches, the Chatulet girls’ team presented a hand washing dance set to music from Beyonce. They had been practicing their routine after hygiene-promotion lessons on the field in the weeks before the tournament.
GOALS’ scholarship kids, the Dream Team, proudly donned their yellow GOALS t-shirts and helped out with everything that needed to be done, from hanging posters to distributing soap to the crowd. After lunch, they circulated the field with a trash bag to make sure no litter was left behind.
Amongst the many highlights of the day was a hand washing relay race for the younger kids. With huge grins and full of intention, they ran across the field, washed their hands, and ran back as fast as they could. Hilarious!
Relay race
Another highlight was a friendly GOALS and MINUSTAH soccer match. With intermixed teams, GOALS coaches and kids played alongside Sri Lankan soldiers who took off their boots and changed out of their fatigues for the occasion. MINUSTAH has a tenuous relationship with the local community, and rumors of the match had kept the onlookers curious all day. They wanted to see the soldiers playing soccer, and wondered if they were any good!
Nice save!
At the end of the day, Destra’s girls’ team won in a final face-off against the Chatile home team. The girls went wild when they saw the championship trophy and the prize: a beautiful set of brand new official Team USA jerseys, donated by Olympian and US women's team goalkeeper Hope Solo. The winning team also received a certificate of appreciation from the Sri Lankan battalion, sealing the rapport that had been building throughout the day.
Victory!
Thanks to UNICEF, every single one of our soccer players received a bar of soap, so they could literally take home the message they learnt at the tournament. But besides reinforcing the critical message of the importance of hand washing, the goodwill established between hundreds of soccer players and fans and the UN peacekeeping forces at the tournament will leave a lasting impression.
GOALS’ successful Global Hand Washing Day tournament once again proves that with a soccer ball and a little push from behind, anything is possible.
A huge thank you to volunteer Michael Shroyer for the beautiful photos. Visit our Facebook page to see more of his photos from the Global Hand Washing Day tournament, or visit his photo blog to follow more of his travels in Haiti.
Hurricane Sandy Floods GOALS Communities in Leogane
While the US gears up for "Frakenstorm," Leogane is recovering from Hurricane Sandy's damage from last week. Heavy rains and strong winds caused widespread flooding, blocked roads, and loss of life and property. Families evacuated with what they could carry. The damage seems to have exceeded anyone’s expectations. MINUSTAH helped GOALS reach flooded rural communities, where we distributed UNICEF hygiene kits and some bread. The need in these areas remains extremely high.
GOALS hit the road Friday morning to visit Carrefour Croix and Destra, which were hit the worst. There was water everywhere. Rivers, canals and fields that are usually bone-dry were overflowing. Flash floods are one of the main ways that people die because of storms in Haiti.
Because of Haiti’s deforestation, the water was brown, full of top soil and silt rushing down from the mountains. In Destra, the water was chalky and pale from water gushing down from the mountain’s lime quarry. Banks of stream beds and canals were crumbling due to the water’s force. More trees would help with this problem, as the roots grip the earth and help canals stay intact. But the rain and wind were too forceful for many of the trees that do exist; in some places, trees were falling, blocking the roads, and dragging down makeshift power lines.
The fields of crops on the way to Destra showed the storm’s strength. The sugar cane was flattened, fields flooded and banana trees uprooted. The water also carried away goats and other livestock that people depend on. In many places, the road was completely covered in water. We managed to make it through in pick up trucks, but the water came up high above the wheels.
Jolinda, Sri Bat and UNICEF hygiene kits (by Chris Baird)
Driving around Carrefour Croix, Terasonson and Destra, there was a lot to take in. A young woman used a small bucket to bail out her flooded home. A little boy caught a fish in an over-flowing stream, and held it up proudly to show off. In our case, a UN vehicle filled with Sri Lankan soldiers and GOALS’ mixed crew of Haitians and Americans only added to the spectacle.
Emilio, Jean Kendy and Shelove on the way back to Leogane
People were grateful for the little help we could provide. Showing up to check in with people and see how they were doing seemed as important as the hygiene kits and food. We walked around to see the damage in Destra, slogging through rain and mud and getting soaked to the bone.
Amazingly, the kids at Destra struck up an impromptu “animasyon,” and led us around on the visit chanting, singing and dancing. Their enthusiasm was infectious, and I think everyone in our group was thinking about how much we need to help.
Recovering from this storm will be a long process, combining reconstruction, environmental conservation and cholera prevention projects. The work we’ve done in these areas has helped, but there’s a lot left to be done before families aren’t quite so vulnerable to natural disasters.
Still smiling! (by Chris Baird)
My favorite part of the day happened on a stretch of road on the way to Destra. It was pouring out, the entire road was badly flooded, and I wasn’t even sure if the truck could make it. But up ahead, you could spot children playing soccer on a drier piece of land. They were kicking a ball around happily, running and skidding in the mud, and getting completely soaked. It reminded me of children playing soccer amongst rubble after the 2010 earthquake here, and one of the reasons GOALS was started in the first place. It really is crazy how much children here love the game, but it’s a beautiful thing to see.
Nothing can stop soccer (by Chris Baird)
More Information
Nearly 11,000 people evacuated in Haiti. Read details on Hurricane Sandy in the UN’s short situation report
Updates and photos from the field on GOALS’ Facebook page
Get news and pictures as it’s happening in Leogane on Twitter@goalshaiti
Dream Team Program Grants 27 Scholarships
Dream Team 2012-2013
For the third consecutive year, GOALS has grown its Dream Team program, which provides full scholarships to high school students who stand out as emerging leaders at school and in their communities. This year, with full support from The Child Survival Fund, GOALS is providing scholarships to 27 young adults in Leogane, Haiti.
The acceptance rate in the program was 12.8%. For 5 available new scholarships, we received 47 applications. Students were chosen based on grades, community service, program participation, recommendation letters, and a cover letter.
All of the applicants were strong, but the new additions to the Dream Team were truly remarkable. Dinya and Josephene, for example, had 94% attendance rates, and Steevenson's grades were over 23% higher than the average Dream Team GPA.
Rose Mirlande
Rose Mirlande has been in the Dream Team since 2010, the program's inaugural year. She writes:
"I will never stop being grateful to you, because my mother and father didn’t have any way for me to continue school. I like biology and chemistry because I want to become a great doctor so I can help people that are suffering and people that are in need and don’t have a way to get care."
In the Dream Team, girls are a majority. In the Leogane communities where GOALS works, we have found that girls generally have stronger grades, higher participation and a greater need for financial support to finish school. Currently, 59% of our Dream Team is female, up from 56.5% last year.
Olsen
That said, we couldn't be prouder of the boys in the program! Olsen lives in an area that was devastated by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti; his community is still recovering and many people still do not have homes. In addition to soccer and service, Olsen has studied English with GOALS and has progressed an incredible amount. Here is part of his original letter, which he wrote in English:
"Thanks to GOALS, I have been on a grant for several years in my school. That relieved me a lot. And now, I am very glad ... thank you once more for everything you have done for me, for my parents. I wish you would never stop helping the Haitian people.
Yours sincerely,
Olsen"
These students will be busy in the upcoming academic year. The Dream Team will lead our health promotion and community service activities in Leogane. They’re already planning a new hygiene presentation for our third annual Global Hand Washing Day tournament next week. We promise to keep bringing you news from these students, as well as their own thoughts on GOALS, education, and their daily lives in rural Haiti.
Group Activities
September: Heartbreak and Hope
Like so many American girls, I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up. Whether it was due to the pink tu-tus or the glamorous make-up, this was my ambition for years. Growing up in poverty in Haiti, our GOALS teams haven’t had the luxury of such frivolous dreams (sorry if I just insulted any professional dancers out there!), but they do have serious ambitions. Most want a way to better themselves and their families and so, even at a young age, their dreams are more practical than mine were as a child. In this photo (at right), the Dream Team has each written their ambitions for the future. They read: I want to be a lawyer. I want to be an accountant, a journalist, a doctor, an engineer.
But these kids know they won’t get there without completing school first.
Over the past couple weeks, GOALS staff and a community representative have been sifting through the applications we received for scholarship spots on this year’s Dream Team. I’ve been tweeting a few quotes from the personal letters that were particularly striking, but I’d like to share a few letters in a bit more detail here.
Widlene (not her real name) lives far from the Chatulet soccer field, so sometimes she’s not able to make the trip. She’s got a shaved head, which makes her look tough, but, since she’s small for her age, not too tough. She’s the kind of young teenager that’s just barely bold enough to practice English with me, while enough of a joker to use it to try asking me funny questions.
Widlene’s mother died when she was a baby, leaving her dad to take care of her on his own. In her letter, she detailed the struggles she’s had, but always with a positive note:
"When things were better, my dad sent me to the best school. He wanted me to become the greatest person in our family, since I had already suffered so much. I ask God to always keep me hopeful. My favorite things are school and soccer, but you can’t have soccer without school...I don’t always find food, and my family isn’t together. I’m not a bad student. I always work hard in school. I usually sell charcoal on credit, but the money is only enough to buy what we need. I’m still selling charcoal because I want to go to school. I think about how I need to finish school so that I can study medicine."
Widlene’s coach says, “She always shows leadership, and does everything positively. She’d like to help her country by becoming either an international soccer star or a great nurse.”
Peterson, one of our team captains, signed his letter in English: “I love you GOALS for life”. Twice a week, if I show up to the field early enough, I’ll see Peterson holding a large trash bag and leading the rest of the kids in laps around the soccer field to pick up trash. He wrote:
"I don’t have a father; he died when I was 9. My mom worked hard to send me to school, but now she can’t work anymore. I want to go to school, because in Haiti, if you haven’t finished school, you’re treated very poorly. GOALS has done a lot for me. I can speak English, thanks to GOALS , so I thank GOALS for what you’re doing for Haiti."
It’s been a couple weeks of heartbreak and hope. Heartbreak as we read the personal stories of struggle to attend school, of lives turned upside down by disaster, poverty, and loss, and at the same time, a time of hope, as we know that the scholarship recipients we are able to help are not only renewed with their own hope, but will also have the opportunity at a better life.
Scholarships are awarded based on academic merit, commitment to local development, and financial need. Volunteer Jovan Julien has led the effort to shape, document, and fundraise for the program, while support from the Child Survival Fund allowed us to expand the program this year.
GOALS has high expectations of scholarship recipients. They’re expected to participate in each GOALS activity, including soccer, education and service programs and adhere to high standards of conduct and leadership. One of the unexpected benefits of the scholarship program, the parents tell us, is that the recipients inspire other students to work hard in school, so that they might be able to get a scholarship next year too. We’re proud of the achievements of last year’s Dream Team, and we look forward to reporting back with more news about this year’s amazing group of young people.
Sincerely,
Jolinda
Click here to visit our Facebook page, with lots more great pictures and program updates from the field!
Cleaning up after Isaac
As Hurricane Isaac drifted north of Haiti and the winds and rains died down over the weekend, each of our soccer teams reported that the damage in their area was minimal. However, Monday morning, when the majority of kids didn't show to the (albeit flooded and muddy) soccer field in Bausan as usual, we knew something was up. While the damage could have been much worse, the rising flood waters swept about a foot of thick, heavy mud through several of our Bausan players' homes, and those of their neighbors. Instead of coming to play soccer, they spent Monday trying to clean up the mess. With the ever-present threat of cholera, standing mud and water can be deadly.
Several of our kids lost their practice clothes and cleats along with their families' household possessions. While GOALS is still assessing how we can help replace lost or damaged goods, our kids have already joined together to help shovel the mud out of their homes and help their neighbors. Rather than respond with a distribution of tools and bleach kits, as a traditional aid group might do, GOALS decided to empower our youth to help their community on their own.
On Tuesday, Emilio, myself and the Bausan coaches and kids followed as Rose, one of our girls, led the way to a remote area near her house that was particularly affected. Armed with shovels, a wheelbarrow, brooms, buckets and lots of bleach, we trekked through the mud, alongside sugarcane fields and, eventually, out to the beach. It was quite a sight to see our rag-tag group of teenagers marching en masse through the rural villages, brooms and buckets in tow.
Finally, we arrived at Rose's house, where several of her neighbors asked us for help. We shoveled mud out of kitchens, homes and businesses, scrubbed them clean and poured bleach water across concrete floors.
In this area, "Anba Bausan" or "Inner Bausan", those who live in concrete homes or wood shelters escaped most of the damage, since having a concrete foundation raises the homes up off the ground. So most of the "homes" that needed help were little more than layers of tarps held up with a stick frame and topped with a tin roof.
There's an old Haitian proverb men anpil chay pa lou which means "Many hands lighten the burden". Removing a thick layer of mud is a burdensome task for just one person, but it's no match for a group of shovel-wielding teenage soccer players! One friendly neighbor hacked open fresh coconuts for our sweaty teams as a thank you. Lucky us!
As the sun got hotter, we trekked back to the Bausan soccer field. Along the way, just about everyone stopped to rinse the mud off their shoes by the beach.
Back at the field, the kids were rewarded (after the hand sanitizer was passed around, of course!) for their work with plenty of ice-cold water and a spaghetti lunch.
Community service is a core part the GOALS model. By providing a few tools and cultivating local leadership to drive forward projects, GOALS empowers communities to address their own needs. The best part of all? Working together on days like this is FUN!
For more reports and pictures from the field, visit us on Facebook and Twitter and please support our Indiegogo campaign.
Post-hurricane update: We're ok
Update: One of our Destra players lost her home to Isaac, but fortunately, her family had prepared by packing up their things, so they were able to save what small material possessions (cookware, toiletries, clothes) they had. Several other homes in the community of Destra were also destroyed. In Bausan, while no homes were destroyed, rising floodwater and mud swept away or ruined the belongings of several of our players. We'll follow up with more information soon. Hurricane Isaac has directly affected the communities in which we work here in Leogane, Haiti, but thankfully our teams, staff and their families and homes didn't experience too much damage.
In the days leading up to Isaac's arrival, our Regional Coordinator Emilio personally visited each of our sites to speak with our kids about keeping themselves safe. Flash floods, falling trees and even falling structures are serious dangers when a storm system visits Haiti. Rising flood waters and storm surges can wipe out entire villages. At the moment, we're all a little soggy from leaky roofs and flooded and debris-strewn streets, but that's about it.
As the flood waters are slowly starting to recede, the aftermath continues: standing water means an increased threat of both mosquito-borne illness and exposure to cholera, and ruined crops will threaten food security for months to come.
Destra Girls Team
For now, we're grateful that all of our teams are doing ok, and our kids are planning on playing soccer first thing Monday morning as usual, at least on the fields that aren't still under water!
For more reports and pictures from the field, visit us on Facebook and Twitter and please support our Indiegogo campaign.
GOALS Awarded Beyond Sport's Best New Project Award in London
Our scholarship students and soccer players at Destra
GOALS is honored to announce that it has received the Best New Project Award at the Beyond Sport Summit in London, England! GOALS was recognized for its success in mobilizing communities to improve lives in the areas of health, environment, public sanitation and youth leadership.
Beyond Sport is a global organization that promotes, develops and supports the use of sport to create positive social change around the world. The Beyond Sport Award will provide a package of funding and business support to our programs in Haiti, allowing us to improve our impact and reach more children.
The award was presented to GOALS Haiti Program Officer Jolinda Hackett by former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair. Click here to watch a short interview with Jolinda on what this award means to us, and the great impact it will have on GOALS' programs!
Need to catch up on our recent GOALS news?
View our 2012 Annual Report
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Don't forget
GOALS needs your support to provide our players in Haiti with much-needed materials, clean water, and food. To help us reach our goal of $4,000 please donate to our Indiegogo campaign. Every little bit helps!
GOALS' 2012 Annual Report Now Available
GOALS' 2012 Annual Report is now available, and it is better than ever! Thanks to volunteer Emily Van Tassel, this year's report brings you news of our work in Haiti like never before.
Letter from the Executive Director
Dear Friends,
There is a lot to love about the game of soccer. Children feeling pure joy when they kick the ball. Teenagers embracing the camaraderie and discipline of daily practice. Communities coming out in full to watch youth matches, which are followed as passionately as is the World Cup.
Most of all, I love that on the field, nothing matters more than determination, teamwork, and heart. The constant obstacles that youth in Haiti face due to poverty are silenced, however briefly, on the soccer field. For a time, they are able to enjoy being kids.
As Haiti continues to recover from the 2010 earthquake, these moments matter. Children see that they can succeed on the field if they put in time and effort. GOALS takes these same principles and applies them to education, community service, and leadership. Over time, we believe that this work will help shape a new generation of young leaders in Haiti.
As Haiti marked its second anniversary of the 2010 earthquake and more organizations end their operations here, GOALS offers some of the only free, daily programs for youth available throughout the country. Even more unique, these programs are led by local leaders who are also focused on long-term, sustainable development in their communities.
Currently, over 600 children participate in our soccer, service, and education programs each month. We are wrapping up our second year of the Dream Team, which granted 23 scholarships to exceptional high school students. We hosted the second annual Vin Jwe! Tournament in Cité Soleil, which brought 12 teams together from around Haiti for a two-day competition.
Internally, our capacity to improve programs and monitor effectiveness has grown. We are exceedingly grateful that the number of supporters has tripled. Our players in Haiti have benefited from increased donations, equipment drives, and raised awareness about GOALS’ work.
Throughout a busy year, we have remained true to our values. We seek to work most closely with teenagers, who are old enough to rise to the rigorous expectations of our programs and take on responsibility. We work primarily in rural areas, where few or no other services of any kind are available, thus using our resources as effectively as possible. Through our outreach, we are able to bring entire communities out not only for soccer, but for public service as well. These are the core building blocks that set GOALS apart, and they keep getting stronger.
The incredible contributions from donors, volunteers, staff members, partners, and the Board of Directors have led to remarkable successes in two years. Your support, and the demand for GOALS throughout Haiti, show that we are on to something special. Thank you for your part in making this possible. As we look ahead, we will continue to work hard to improve our work, increase access to our programs, and spark long-term change in Haiti’s communities by starting from the ground up.
Kona Shen
Founder & Director
A different approach to rebuilding Haiti and a different way to support GOALS
GOALS superstar volunteer Jared has teamed up with social fundraising site Indiegogo to support our soccer, service and education programs in Haiti. When you support GOALS through Indiegogo, you're rewarded with various "perks". Fancy a GOALS t-shirt? Donate $50 and pick a color! Want a personalized letter from one of our soccer players in Haiti or perhaps a gift box with some goodies from Haiti? Browse on over to Indiegogo to check out the campaign!
Of course, even if you don't have cash to spare, you can always help support our programs by collecting gently used soccer equipment (balls, uniforms, cleats, nets) that can be re-used by kids in Haiti. Or, you can check out our online wishlist for some things we've been dreaming of...
Click here to visit our Facebook page, with lots more great pictures and program updates from the field!