When we launched our 32 Panels program, one of the things we felt was key to really making it a success was the involvement of the community. We asked for all of you to help us by identifying organizations that could use the donation of soccer balls. Since we launched this a little over a week ago, we have received a number of emails from people with ideas about where we can send soccer balls. It’s been incredible to read some of the emails and engage with those of you who have been sending them in. I wanted to share a little bit about one of those emails here.
One of the first emails we received about the 32 Panels program was from Dan from Engineers Without Borders. Here is some of what he told me.
I recently read about your new 32 panels initiative and I think it is a great idea. I am a soccer player, fan and I agree with your goals for the program. I am also a member of a non-profit organization called Engineers Without Borders. The organization works with poor communities around the world helping them develop their local infrastructure for basic improvements such as running water and waste removal that we as Americans take for granted every day. Our chapter here in Chicago does most of our work in Central America where soccer is by far the favorite sport of the young people we get to meet on our projects. I would take a guess that 99.99% of the communities we have worked with have a local soccer program that rarely have the basic soccer equipment to develop their players. We have actually been helping a community in Honduras raise money for jerseys, and on our last project (a bridge) we donated some of our time to help them put in new goal posts.
The village is called Canchias, located in the state of Comayagua, Honduras. It is a very poor, rural area in the central mountainous region of the country. The town is actually centered around a school and the soccer field that you see in the pictures. Our most recent project was the construction of a vehicular bridge connecting the village to some developing farmland. During our trips to build the bridge this spring our members took time to play soccer with the team and meet other members of the community. We donated our backhoe for a few hours one day to allow them to build a small retaining wall to keep the edge of the field from falling into the road. We also donated lumber and cement so they could build new goalposts. The new goals are not in the pictures, unfortunately. We are also raising money to donate some new jerseys.
One of the toughest things we do when we enter a new community is to gain the support of the citizens and get them excited about our projects. I see soccer as being a great way to find common ground among very different cultures.
These are the types of stories that are happening all around the world. People and organizations getting involved and giving back. Doing their part to help improve the lives of people around the world. And the fact that soccer can help play a part in all of this is pretty powerful. Thank you for the email Dan, we are looking forward to working with you and the EWB Chicago chapter.
We also look forward to continuing to hear from more of you with your ideas for other organizations, schools, clubs, etc that we can work with.
