Soccer in Honduras - Community Service

My name is Stephen Wilson Swanger and I am a teacher and a coach dedicated to making a difference in the world through sport.  I am interested in networking with other individuals and organizations with the same goal.

One organization that I supprt is La Liga Menor de Futbol Intibuca in a town in rural Honduras called La Esperanza. Esperanza means hope in Spanish, and I hope to bring youth clubs and schools to play competitive soccer and take part in community service projects and by which create an equitable exchange program.  In La Esperanza, Honduras I want to work closely with Soccer for Life, a non-profit organization, and La Liga Menor de Futbol, the youth soccer league to provide life-changing experiences to children through soccer. I want to assist individuals, groups, and teams from the United States to perform community service in the form of organic farming, teaching, and helping the league build its soccer complex and to give scholarships to honduran youth to attend bilingual schools so that they can in turn come to the US to study and play soccer.

Soccer for Life website.
http://www.satglobal.com/liga.htm

Officials for Soccer for Life and La Liga Menor want to build the “Intibucá Youth Soccer Center.” According the Soccer For Life the center i5 is designed to serve aa a soccer learning center for children in Intibuca who do not have the resources to play soccer and cannot afford the resources needed for a quality education. The center will also serve as a health center where local doctors can work with families to promote nutrition and sanitation. The main focus will be soccer training, but will also develop a school for elementary and high school youth.

Going to school in Honduras costs money. Poor children cannot afford to go to the free elementary school because they need uniforms and shoes. Officials are already in the process of pooling resources to buy some property outside of town so that they can at least get a field built that they control, pay no municipality fees, and can even rent to local adult leagues who have been know to take field time from La Liga Menor.

Granted, student-athletes from the United States may be more culturally connected to European countries and tour companies that market the high-priced athletic tours. However, these programs offer only a  fair exchange  in goods in services with economic patners of the same ilk. 

I propose an exchange program that not only engages itself in fair exchange, but also promotes equity by placing value on community-service. Community service is an important way to promote empathy and value in ones life. 

The return from this investment will be represented by  the value placed on the concept of community in US youth and greater investment into the local infrustructer in La Esperanza. There will also remain for the long term an investment  in La Liga Menor’s scholarship program. Soccer for Life will add revenue to support their worthy cause with the monies earned from hosting such a large group to local children in need of not only academic supplies, but also investment into sustainable and marketable products.


From the experience of serving and competing in La Esperanza, Honduras US Student-athletes will:

· Recognize and relate economic, cultural, and social truths
· Describe the conditions and circumstances by which young people live and how soccer players train.
· Illustrate how they are making a positive difference for the children of La Liga Intibuca and Honduras.
· Compare and contrast the experience of Honduran student-athletes to the US or European Union experience.
· Design a similar program in another part of the world or in the US with similar circumstances.
· Compare other soccer travel experiences from US and EU, differentiate their strategies, and propose alternatives.
· Evaluate the experience and develop critical opinions about economic equity and soccer in the world.


Currently I am working with ACIS travel to provide insurance for a group to travel to Honduras.

According to Soccer for Life and La Liga Intibuca a trip to La Esperanza can include:
Pick up at the Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula airport and transport of La Esperanza and back to Tegucigalpa airport

Bus transportation throughout stay in Honduras

Participate in friendly matches and tournament play

Local Honduran family home-stay for duration of camp

Socials, nature visits, dances, BBQs with Honduran family, fellow Team Members and other Host families

home stay or lodging

Cultural Tours

Professional Game Tickets

Sample itinerary:
Day 1

Arrival at San Pedro Sula or Tegucigalpa Airport, pick up in bus of Liga Menor, travel by bus to La Esperanza. Team check-in at the Hostel or living quarters. Light evening training session. Dinner will be served at the hostel.

Day 2
Breakfast, followed by morning training with local players / to pre-Columbian site.

Day 3
Breakfast, followed by training session with young children, tree planting and an afternoon friendly game # 1 vs local club. After the game, you will meet with community members for a banquet.

Day 4
Day of service and optional sightseeing tour to Copan Ruinas, pre-Columbian Mayan Temples and City
Day 5
Breakfast, followed by light morning training in preparation for afternoon friendly game against local selection. Dinner and evening at leisure.

Day 6
Breakfast, followed by Light morning training / with afternoon against a professional youth team from San Pedro Sula. Early Evening at leisure. Dinner served at hostel.

Day 7
Morning training with professional coaches. Afternoon community service.

Day 8
Morning training, trip to local ecological reserve for community service.

Day 9
Drive to Tegucigalpa or San Pedro Sula in bus. play youth professional side at stadium site.

Day 10
Depart Honduras

Given that Honduras is a developing country the question of safety is a legitimate topic of concern. Fortunately La Esperanza, Intibucá lies off of a well paved and lightly traveled state road built with international engineers and money. However, one does need to travel along the oft times treacherous Pan-American Highway for about hour up to the turnoff for La Esperanza. Arriving on a Sunday afternoon is the best option to avoid any major traffic along the PAH. Intibucá is approximately 2 ½ hours from the airport at San Pedro Sula. San Pedro Sula is also host to the closest medical center for acute traumatic care and disease, so in the case of any major emergency care there would have to be some delay. However, there is a hospital with emergency care as well as specialists available for consultation. Dr. Argueta who is one of the officials of La Liga Intibuca, is well connected with the medical community and can secure “favorable” accommodations for students if necessary. The safety against tropical diseases tends to be minimal in the highlands of Honduras where temperatures remain moderate year round. However, typical inoculations against Hepatitis and being careful of eating are still important.

The world of football in La Esperanza, Intibucá is full of enthusiasm, but the economic circumstances leave far too many who burden for daily subsistence to lose hope. Indifference will not change that. It will take the courage of people who believe that the biggest part of global outreach on behalf of Independent schools isn’t just discovering culture through our equals in Europe, but on a field of dreams in the town called “Hope” in Honduras.

If a trip to La Esperanza is of interest to you, and you would like to discuss further the possibility of leading a trip, or you would like to help organizing such a trip, please feel free to contact me at any time.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Awesome! fantastic topic, but will this really work?