Dear Friends,
I hope this finds you all doing very well! As a soccer-filled summer comes to a close, I wanted to share some news and photos from our project sites throughout the world. Below you'll find our top photo highlights and news briefs from the summer's work in the US, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Uganda. I hope you enjoy them!
If there can be a theme to the summer's work, it is the broadening of perspectives through new experience. From youth leaders Chepe and Cesar getting on a plane for the first time and traveling from Granada to the U.S., to the nine long-term SWB interns leaving the comforts of their lives to spend ten months working in collaboration with their new communities, to a group of recently arrived refugees having the chance to play soccer in an 80,000 seat stadium in Baltimore, or simply a girl in Solola having a consistent and safe place to express her athleticism and to learn, it has been a memorable and action packed three months.
Thank you all for reading and for your continued support. I wish you all the best!
Sincerely,
Benwww.soccerwithoutborders.org |
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SWB Youth Leaders Chepe and Cesar Travel to the US from Granada, Nicaragua
Chepe and Cesar in Boston  | Getting on a plane for the first time is always a memorable and exciting experience. Thanks to support from past interns and volunteers to the girls program in Granada, Nicaragua, we were able to bring two of our program leaders from Granada to the the U.S. for three weeks. In July, Chepe and Cesar traveled to Dartmouth College where they observed and helped at an Elite Residential Camp, and a Youth Day Camp. The trip gave them a chance to work with some of the best college coaches in the nation, explore a new culture, connect with past SWB volunteers/friends. |
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Long Term SWB Interns Come to Bay Area for Training; New SWB staff for Guatemala, Nicaragua and Uganda programs
2010 SWB Long-Term Interns: Left to Right: Brittany Larson, Larkin Brown, Heather Luboff, Courtney Bell, Julie Colhoff, Adam Nagy, Lindsey Whitford, Ava Murphey, Reese Boge  | From August 4-8, SWB held its first long-term intern training for nine incredible people who have committed to spend the next ten months working alongside local staff at SWB project sites in Solola, Guatemala, Granada, Nicaragua and Ndejje, Uganda. The training and orientation was combined with the Oakland Refugee Community Soccer Camp, giving the interns some direct experience working with youth. Afternoons and evenings were spent studying coaching and teaching methodology, learning more about SWB's overarching goals and vision, investigating the culture and customs of their new homes, and framing their upcoming experience in the larger context of sports for youth development. |
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The 4th Annual Oakland Refugee Community Soccer Camp is a Success
Yoga Day!  | For the fourth year in a row, SWB held the Oakland Refugee Community Soccer Camp at Oakland International High School. Through out the week, more than 100 youth participated in soccer, team-building, health and yoga activities, with an average daily attendance of 73. Ages 5-18 were included in the camp and youth came from Liberia, Ivory Coast, Burma/Thailand, Bhutan/Nepal, Iraq, Russia, Afghanistan, Tibet, Eritrea, Ghana, Uzbekistan, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico. One of the best parts of the week was that the Older Girls (ages 12-18) group was consistently the largest of the five groups, averaging 25 players per day. Visits from former US National Team player John O'brien and FC Gold Pride players Kim Yokers and Kristen Grazyck added a special component to a great week. A special thank you to partners Oakland International High School, The International Rescue Committee of the Bay Area, Refugee Transitions and the Oakland Unified School District Transitional Students and Families Unit who made this possible. |
Goal! Soccer For A Better Future: US State Department Documentary features SWB
Goal! Soccer For A Better Future is a 26 minute documentary made by the U.S. Department of State. The documentary shows how six organizations use soccer to engage and empower disadvantaged youth in South America, South Africa and the United States. SWB in Oakland was featured in the documentary as well as in an article by the US State Department. Watch the video here and read the article here.
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Girls Program Underway in Solola, Guatemala
Hands in!  | The SWB program in Solola, Guatemala continues to make great progress under the leadership of Luis Palacios and a great group of interns this Spring and Summer, including Ali Weis, Jon Brooks, Klaudia Sapieja, Hailey Bird, and Carey Averbrook. SWB staff has begun recruiting girls for soccer and educational programming by traveling to local schools in Solola. As connections with community leaders deepen and our presence becomes more continuous, and with the arrival of long-term interns Reese, Julie, Ava and Brittany, the program is poised to really develop this fall. We expect to see more and more girls out on the field learning, playing and developing confidence together. |
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New Program in Baltimore, MD begins; Expansion Planned for the Fall
Members of SWB Baltimore Playing on Raven's Field  | This summer in Baltimore, MD, SWB teamed up with the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees, the International Rescue Committee and Baltimore City Community College to provide soccer programming to a group of 35 refugee student-athletes living in the Baltimore City Area. The program brings together youth from Iraq, the Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Bhutan, and Nepal. Some of the players are shown here playing at the Ravens stadium before the Inter Milan vs. Manchester City game, a special day for the players and a great way to kick things off! The volunteer-run program initiated by Jill Pardini, a graduate student at Johns Hopkins University, replicated some of the success of SWB programs in Oakland and NYC while adapting to the Baltimore community. Currently, the group is planning on forming a formal team and entering league play this Fall! |
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Ndejje, Uganda Youth Center Lights Up
Getting ready to play  | In Ndejje, Uganda this summer, things really started to roll as the SWB Youth Center added electricity and furniture, readying itself for expanded educational programming. SWB Interns Deb Benakis and Chris Granger spearheaded the effort, and have recently handed the torch to Adam Nagy, Courtney Bell and Heather Luboff who will work alongside local staff to keep the momentum going. In the coming months, the SWB Uganda team will be working to continue developing a broader program out of the Ndejje Youth Center, built by SWB partners Skidmore College Soccer, Soccer Silicon Valley Community Foundation, and the Rotary Club of San Jose. To date, SWB Uganda has enjoyed a strong partnership with the HOPE School, a school started by refugee families, and hopes to continue that partnership while expanding our reach to other local community members. |
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