Ask For Choice

For 2018 we have made a commitment to staff development including leadership training. Last week we held a week long coaches training with Coaches Across Continents (CAC). We have partnered with CAC for the past 6 years and we use their curriculum daily on our fields.

The focus of this years training was the third and final phase of the Ask For Choice curriculum which focuses on equity, gender equality and sex education. The mornings were spent in coach learning and discussion around the games and social issues they seek to solve. It was helpful to hear what worked and where we can improve on getting the message of the games across.

The afternoons were spent with our coaches taking what they had learned and working with their teams in practice. When I asked one of our founding coaches, Nadege, if she had seen a difference since the inception of this curriculum she said she had. Communities now embrace girls taking part in sports and it has opened up other possibilities for their inclusion. 

Thank you to Charlie and Pedro from CAC for working with us and sharing their expertise. Pedro wrote about his experiences with us in Haiti and you can read about it in this blog post. To see more images from the training check out our Facebook album.

 

United With Haiti

Last week, the day before the 8th anniversary of Haiti's devastating earthquake and at a time when most were in mourning, Haitians (along with Africans and El Salvadorians) learned of insulting and hateful remarks by the President of the United States.

This is yet another example of discriminatory and stereotypically ignorant commentary on Haiti.

At GOALS we work hard to instill values through our sports for good programs that help teach kids in rural Haiti they can go after dreams, that they can value themselves and that they can value each other.

We are fortunate to have a staff, coaches, Board of Directors and supporters that come from a place of compassion and caring. We will continue to stay united with Haiti. And we will continue to encourage love over hate, inclusion over separatism, and equality over divisiveness.

The Haitian writer Edwidge Danticat wrote an eloquent response to the remarks and it is a recommended read.

 

Happy New Year - Bon Ane!

Wishing all of you a Happy New Year! January 1st in Haiti is also their Independence Day. This year marks the 214th anniversary of Haiti’s independence from France when she became the first black republic.

The picture above is of a statue located in the capital city of Port- Au- Prince and is called “Neg Mawon”. It commemorates the landmark slave revolt that took place in 1804 when Haiti broke free from the French. It remains an icon of Haiti.

The sculpture is a powerful piece – the left leg extended with a broken shackle at the ankle denoting the hard-fought freedom, a machete in the right hand showing the strength to fight, and the conch shell at the lips harkening to the calling of the masses.

This statue stands strong and unbreakable.  As we celebrate the new year we also celebrate the strength and beauty of the Haitian people.

We look forward to the new year and look to carry the momentum of a great 2017 into our efforts for 2018. Thank you to all who gave to our matching campaign! We reached our goal and raised 24K which will sponsor one whole team for the year. We still have teams that need sponsorship. You can join us in supporting them by checking out our ways to help.

Our 12 teams will be getting daily soccer practice, playing in tournaments, pursuing education opportunities and giving back to their communities through volunteer service projects. We will be partnering with Coaches Across Continents and The Third Half this year.

Our award winning literacy program will be brought to two new communities and our tree nursery will continue to not only produce much needed vegetation but also teach out kids the importance for caring for our environment.

Our Impact Director Kathy McAllister has been promoted to serve as our Executive Director. Kathy along with Country Director James Louis-Charles will work with our Board as our leadership team guiding GOALS. Also playing a critical role will be our community members that have shaped our programs from our inception. It is the Haitian people that know best what their communities need and the road to get there. We are facilitators along that path.

If interested here is a great article op-ed from Haiti’s U.S. ambassador which appeared recently  in the New York Times.  It emphasizes  the importance for treating our Haitian neighbors with dignity and respect.