Projects

The project is being managed by a young couple that has worked in the past on other ColombiaCare projects - Efrain and Diana. They know the area, Commune 18, and their culture very well. Efrain is a Physical Education teacher in a local school and Diana works in Fundacion Jera, who has been our partner in most of our projects. Last summer we saw them interacting with the children in the summer camps (see previous reports), and we felt confident they could lead a ColombiaCare project.

Diana and Efrain with the girls in their first "big outing".

 

 

Project: Sport for Girls 2009-2010

We believe that girls are the weakest link in the cycle of poverty that exists in the area we work with. Girls are the most affected by the family's displacement and precarious financial situation.

If both parents work, the girls become responsible for the household chores, including cooking and taking care of other siblings. It is not unusual to see girls as young as five or six years old doing some of these chores. In addition to all the natural dangers that these chores bring, like accidents, fires, etc., the lack of adult supervision exposes these girls to all kind of other dangers. Abuse by male family members or neighbors, taxi drivers, or other young men is very common. This environment, combined with the fact that motherhood is the only role model these girls see, results in a high pregnancy rate among very young girls. It is not unusual to see girls who are only thirteen and fourteen years old pregnant or with babies of their own. The saddest part is that many of these young girls feel that this is their destiny and are resigned to accept it. As a way to give these young girls alternatives and motivate them to look for other horizons, we started this year a pilot project that focuses only on girls.

This project, Girls-Sport , trains teams of girls to play soccer. The training is three days a week. This project seeks to give girls self-esteem, discipline, drive, rewards and sense of setting objectives for themselves, through sports. See the girls in action at this link Girls game

The project started in January 2009. Currently, there are 35 girls from 10 to 16 participating in the soccer project. The girls love to go to the training sessions and games. Some of them have to walk one hour each way to go to the training and it is very rare that they miss one. In fact, there have been occasions when they cannot come due to some family situation, and they would call asking for help to solve their problem so they can go. For example, one day that we went to see them training, a 10 year old had called crying that she couldn't go to the training because she had to stay home and take care of her two younger siblings. Fortunately, at least for that day, the coordinator was able to arrange for a neighbor to help out so the girl could come to the training.
	As part of the project we took the girls to an outing. The place we took them is a recreation center located two hours from the city. For many of these girls this was the first time they had gone on this kind of trip. The place has several swimming pools and a restaurant. It was clear that again for most of them this was a first. The joy expressed and the behavior of these girls that day is something that we will never forget. These girls that have so little are mature beyond their age, very well behaved, enjoying every little thing. “… the best day of my life..” “this is like the ocean..” (there was also a lake, but most of them have never seen the ocean),..”I never had so much fun..” “thank you so much for given us this day..” those and many similar comments came from them all day long. It was a humbling experience to share this day with them.
We couldn't be more impressed - not only with their soccer skills, they are playing very well - but with the dedication and maturity of these girls. They know that this is an opportunity for them and they are taking full advantage of it. It is very obvious that they are developing a sense of pride, team work, and drive that wasn't there when they started. The attrition rate is very low; only three girls have dropped out because their families moved to another place. This project is one for which we can say without any doubt that we are meeting our objective and that it is having a very real positive impact in this group of girls. We hope to continue with this project and expand it to more girls. The budget for this project in 2009 was $8,500.

We started in January 2009 by socializing the project with the community leaders and parents. It is very important to obtain their “buy in” to ensure support of the activities and to ensure the girls are allowed to participate. We also obtained the authorization to use the facilities of a local school and started the recruiting process. The community as a whole was very supportive and enthusiastic with the project.
First day of training - creating expectations
Getting ready for that first game	It is important to notice that there are several “sectors” in the area where we work. In many cases there are rivalries between the children and youth of the various “sectors”. It is a challenge then to work with children that belong to different sectors. But that was part of the objective.  It was interesting during the recruiting process to learn about some of the individual situations of these girls. It confirmed our rationale for targeting this project to only girls. Some of them appear to have been abused at home; many have come from the country side, running away from the Colombian conflict violence. Talking to them it becomes obvious that they don't have anybody to look up to, nor ambitions for a productive exciting future.

The ages of the girls recruited are between 10 and 16 years old. The objective was to have 35 girls. Through the recruiting process we signed up 25 girls. However, after the first week of training, the enthusiasm of the participants was such that many more wanted to join in. There was no problem then to register the other 10. In fact, we had to turn girls away. We ordered the uniforms from the women who have been trained in sewing in the Vocational project, which made it a win-win for everybody.

The girls were split in two groups based on their ages. Initially, as expected there were difficulties among the girls from different sectors. However, throughout the training and playing, little by little those barriers are being eliminated. Now they all have fun and support each other. Just four weeks into the training, there was an opportunity to play against a team from another location. The girls were very excited, even though they lost 2-1, they were very happy that they could play as a team, see other facilities and learn that they could have fun even if they lose some times. They displayed their new acquired skills, discipline and team work. Since that first game, there have been others sometimes losing very badly, 5-1, and others not as bad. However, the spirit and enthusiasm continues to be very high. A measure to know how much the girls like this Project is their almost perfect attendance. This is remarkable since some of them have to come from far in the hills, some have to walk long distances to arrive on time.

Their first "big trip" In early April there was the opportunity to travel to another city, a port, Buenaventura . This was the high light of the project until now. Buenaventura is two hours away from Cali . They played in a real stadium and as a bonus were able to see the Pacific Ocean !. For most of the girls this was the first time they have ever traveled away from Cali . For all of them this was the first time they have seen the ocean. For all of them this was the first time to see a real stadium, let along play in it. They were very nervous but they did very well. You have to see the pictures and a short video of the girls. The joy you can see in their faces makes any effort to help them more than worthwhile.
They can hardly contain their enthusiasm	Getting ready for the big game!