Outreach

Heart of a Champion: Nicaragua

5v5 Tournament Scheduled

June 19-20

to benefit Nicaragua!

Click on "tournaments"

Nicaragua is regarded as one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. According to www.outofthedump.org, more than three quarters of Nicaragua’s population lives in poverty and nearly 70% of its citizens are unemployed. Approximately 43% of the country is illiterate.

In February of 2005, Ali Andrzejewski traveled down to Nicaragua and witnessed first hand the great poverty throughout the country. Ali visited small towns throughout Nicaragua that had little food and clothing and very poor living conditions. Children slept on dirt floors and families lived in houses that were pieced together by scraps of metal. Ali commented, "Despite the great poverty and terrible living conditions, the people I met on my trip were some of the happiest people I have ever known. They have a great love for their family and community, and great appreciation for the little they do have."

One thing that stood out to Ali was that the children of every town LOVED soccer (futbol). While embarking on her 6th year of successful training and 4th year of successful camps and programs Ali has decided to take Champions Soccer Camp to Nicaragua in April and August of 2008. "Champions Soccer Training has had great success in the Baltimore area. It's time to take the fun, smiles, and love of the game to communities without the opportunity that my players have."

Ali Andrzejewski and her Washington Freedom teammate, Anabel Jiminez, traveled to Nicaragua in March of 2008 to meet and establish a good relationship with the local leadership. Ali and Anabel worked with the children from 5 different communities playing fun soccer games, scrimmaging, and sitting down with the kids to talk about the importance of faith, hope, friends, and community. Champions Soccer Camp can be something for the children to look forward to each year and hopefully over time it will lift the spirits of the people.

Ali traveled to Nicaragua again in January of 2009 to run a full camp for the youth in Nicaragua. The church was able to bus in 130 kids ages 13-19 for a week long camp that included classes on AIDS, Global Warming, Ecology, and Gender Equality. After class the youth were able to spend the rest of the day building fellowship and friendships by playing soccer. At the end of the week the representatives from the church and youth presented Ali with token of gratitude and said that they look forward to this camp all year because it is an opportunity for them to have fun with friends and take a break from their tiresome work. The goal of this camp is to give the kids the knowledge of world issues to teach to their community and the soccer gear to be able to continue playing the fun games from camp with other kids in their community.

CST is currently raising money to bring the children in Nicaragua as much equipment as possible. We would like to bring soccer balls and t-shirts and if we can raise enough money, shorts as well. All contributions are greatly appreciated!

If you would like to donate to Champions Soccer Camp NICARAGUA click on the DONATE button on the left. All donations are greatly appreciated!

Nicaragua January 2009 (Ali's Journal Entries)

1/5

What is the most important thing in life? The question seems very easy for me. BUT, acted out... I don't think the answer would be reflectedin the lives of most people. Do what you LOVE, LOVE what you do... always aspire to happiness. It seems to that the most important thing is relationships. The interactions you have with others greatly affect your outlook on life and the quality of your life.

I think this week will be a great opportunity to do what makes me happy and for me to create some strong relationships that will hopefully affect change in others lives and my own.

While its really important to focus on the relationships we create with the Nicaraguans, I also want to make sure that we keep our group tight. So throughout the week we are going to have group meetings covering a range of different topics and issues.

So far this trip has not had a dull moment. When we arrived in Nicaragua Alberto, from the church, was there to pick us up. Our first stop was at the gas station for water. The water where the camp is located would be unsafe for us to drink so we needed to stock up while we had a chance. When we got to the camp I was very excited about the set up. There are girls and boys dormitories... not like summer camp in the US but, still, nicer than I expected. There is an eating area, meeting/church area and a soccer field. The field is pretty rough but we will make due. We had some food when we got here and then there was a very long video on ECOLOGY and the care of the environment. When we finished the video Sergio, Denis, and I sorted all of the gear and set everything up for the teams. The plan is to play 1 fun game and then start the tournament each day. We have 4 girls teams and 6 boys teams of 6 players each. We have a few more teams that are not competing in the tournament and a few kids who are not participating in the soccer. Each team will play 3 games- today, Wed, and Thurs, and then Friday will be the 5th, 3rd, and Championship games.

Once we got the gear and schedule settled we went to shower only to find out that there was NO WATER! Baby wipes, my entire body- maybe not the best way to get clen, but the only option.

1/6

When we woke up this morning I'm sure we could not have guessed tha the day would have turned out as well as it did. We came in for the Devotional which was much like a service and really beautiful. I enjoy the music here. The background is always guitar and sometimes percussion and the front is a ton of beautiful voices blaring whatever song, knowing all the words with no guide. After the service we ended up going to Catalina where you can see 2 of Nicaragua's beautiful lakes from the top of the mountain. The distant one is one of only 2 lakes in the world that has Great White Sharks! It was a nice trip, nice breeze with beautiful scenery. The girls (and I) were able to do a little shopping (I needed pants for the devotionals) and we ate Carne Asada at a restaurant overlooking the lakes. Oddly enough there were a ton of Americans in Catalina. After Catalina we stopped at the supermarket and got some nourishment (fruit and vegetables).

By the time we returned the youth were finished with their lesson on spirituality and were ready for some FUTBOL. We ended up playing 5 games that were extremely fun and intense! Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. People were chanting/cheering from the sidelines, players were working their very hardest and I, of course, as the ref was persecuted. After all the points were put up on the board we got our stuff together to shower. The shower was amazing.

After showering we walked out to find everyone in the church area with several groups of 4-5 people sitting outside on the grass holding candles. The groups outside were praying for each other and the people inside were praying one at a time with the Pastor. They would go up individually to tell her about a family member who was suffering withsomething. After Katia listened to the problem she placed both hands on the person's head, put their heads together and they prayed together. Each time when the person left they had tears streaming down their face. I decided to grab a candle and start praying and invited the girls to come. I told them they didn't need to do anything that made them feel uncomfortable but they both decided to come. After the prayers there as a very short service where we shared the peace in the end- that was just AWESOME. When Nicas share the peace EVERYONE hugs EVERYONE. "La Paz." It was pretty cool. Then we all, with arms around each other in a circle of almost 200 people, sang together. It was definitely a really neat experience- bringing us closer.

1/7

While the youth learned about Gender Equality today we went to the market with Don Carlos. He needed to get food and the girls needed to contact their parents. While we were in the market the girls got their first taste of coke in a bag. A nice cold coke was exactly what I needed this morning- a caffeine boost! We also got to grab some boot-leg movies- movies that were out in the theaters at home!

Now we are sitting inside in the shade with a small breeze to make the intolerable heat barely tolerable. Sergio is leading a follow-up discussion on the morning topic of gender equality. Everyone has their notebooks out taking notes. It's kind of like a big classroom/lecture style. Oh no, the breeze just stopped. Here comes the sweat.

Soccer was awesome today! Everyone is really into the tournament format. The youth leaders are called the "Veteranos" and so far they are undefeated.... but that is the game that everyone gets pumped for- especially the kids playing against them! I'm so glad I don't understand the spanish slang getting yelled at me the entire tournament! haha.

1/9

Breakfast was great today. We sliced a cantelope and pinnaple and they made some awesome scrambled eggs. After breakfast we came over to the devotional. The topic today is HIV/AIDS.

The Veteranos lost today! They aren't going to play in the championship game! Since this is the last night we all have togheter we through a HUGE talent show which was a blast (I was forced to perform but got a good laugh out of everyone- maybe I'll post the video of it soon) and then we had a HUGE dance party. Nicas LOVE to dance.

1/10

Today is the last day. We are starting off with a short devotional before the tournament. Now everyone in camp is supposed to write about a friend they have made in this camp. I think I've made a lot of great freinds here. I've become closer to Denis and Sergio and I have had a great time. I wrote my letter to Sergio. For his support before in planning the trip and his support throughout the trip. I'm so sad to have to leave so soon.

The tournament was phenomenal. We had the huge speakers blaring fun music the entire time and the kids had a blast. After the tournament we all jumped in the bus and after a few trips got everyone down to the lake. The lake was awesome- we all went swimming (not the lake with the great white sharks- although that didn't stop everyone from scaring each other).

When we got back from the lake we ate dinner and showered. After showering we had the trophy ceremony for the camp MVPs, Golden Boots, and the championship trophy. It was so fun!

People in Nicaragua do not need to be FIXED. I think Americans have a perception of third world countries as underprivelaged and destitute. They might not have much food or clothing but Nicas live a very RICH life. They are happier than any Americans I know because their entire life is focused on friendship and family. They may not always have running water (which seems bad to us) but its totally normal to them and it's not a big deal- it's just a part of their lives. We get to come down here and allow the youth some fun away from their constant work. We get to offer them organized sports with equipment. This is somehting they do not have but means a lot.

Nicaragua March 17-21, 2008

Below is my journal entry from our trip. Click on "Photo Gallery" in the left navigation to see some pictures!

Day 1
As soon as we stepped off the flight in Nicaragua a drastic temperature change was very noticable... from 40s at home to the 90s. We got our bags and were immediately picked up by our Nicaraguan Liason, Annie. We loaded up the truck and went to Batahola Sur to drop our bags off. Batajola is a part of the city of Managua. Batajola is where several of the members of the Fe y Esperanza Central Chuch live. After dropping our bags off we left almost immediately for the first soccer camp. We went to a field close by in Managua and met with the bishop and a group of kids ranging from 9-15 years old. We had no idea how it would go- we wanted to do the Bible study with the kids but we were in the middle of a dirt field with no real area to sit down and this first group seemed a little rough- like they wouldn't really be interested. We started with what would eventually be our set practice format for the week: ladders, knowck out, sharks and minnoes (Tiburones) and then a big scrimmage. The kids seemed to really enjoy all of the drills but our spanish was a little rough so it didn't go as smoothly as we would have liked- but it was fine. The scrimmage was a lot of fun- the kids seem to like the pinnies. We ended the scrimmage and had to wait for the bus to come pick up the kids- when we got back to the house we were covered in dirt. The fields this week were so dusty and dirty. I think I have a pound of dust residing at the bottom of my lungs.
Anyways, it was time to do what we found out about earlier and were totally dreading- BUCKET SHOWER. In Batajola they turn the water off at 5:00pm- which, of course, is before we would return back from camp. It was just me a bowl and a bucket of sitting but clean enough water. Eww. Actually, it wasn't too bad- I got the hang of it. We were very delirious after our showers at this point because we hadn't slept much the night before and the travel day was long... but our delirium and tiredness came second to our stomachs so we went to a "carne asada" place to eat. There are many restaurants in Nicaragua that are just houses that serve food on their front porches. The portions were so big that we shared a plate of rice, platanos fritos (plantain chips), and carne asada (some kind of cooked meat). After we ate we headed back to the house and Anabel and I passed out immediately!

Day 2
The next day we had to wake up very early because the town we were visiting was 3.5 hours away- Somotillo. The ride was pretty smooth until about 30 minutes left when we hit the very bumpy dirt road. We picked up some rice and beans to give to the people since they were cooking for us and then headed to the place where they lived which was just outside the small town. 2 Germans who work for the church came with us- Jacob (Yaco) and Christof- and they helped us with everything. From the very beginning things went very well. We arrived and introduced ourselves to the people who were there. It was 2 small brick buildings with dogs, puppies, chickens, roosters, ducks, and chicks all running around. We broke the younger kids (10-20) up into 2 groups- one with Anabel and Jacob and one with Christof and me. My bible passage was "La Tempestad" (The Storm) and Anabel did the "Buen Samaritano (The Good Samaritan). It was amazing that my group did NOT know the story! It's a good thing that I had a spanish Bible with me. WE read the story and then asked the group several questions. When we asked if anyone in the gorup had faced any storms in their own lives 2 people shared- a very young huspand and wife (21 and 18) who had already been through quite a lot. The husband said that he used to be addicted to drugs and with his faith has now been clean for 6 months. The wife shraed that when her family gets sick they don't have the money for medicine so they have to rely on their faith. It was very moving. Every time I looked over at Anabel's group they seemed to be very engaged- Anabel had the Pastor in her group and said that the Pastor helped a lot. After about 20 minutes we brought the groups together in a very big circle and had the groups explain what we had talked about to each other without help from the group leaders. By the time the discussion ended both Anabel and I were very very hungry (which is a state that we became very familiar with on the trip) but ehy said that some of the kids had not eaten anything yet and we should paly soccer first so that they could go home and eat after. So we headed over to the field which did not have a single blade of grass on it. In fact, the top layer of the ground was about an inch of loose dirt which eventually created a huge dust bowl. In addition to being a soccer field it was also apparent that this field was a path between two areas of town... so many horses kept going back and forth and of course there were horse droppings everywhere. We used the same format with this group as the last group. They seemed to LOVE the ladders and were very excited about knock out and Tibornes. I was very excited to see the scrimmage go as well as it did. We had a perfect number of kids (22) and all the kids were really trying during the game. Meanwhile Anabel and I played with the small kids on the side line. When it was over we felt like we really accomplished something- the Pastor thanked us for coming and said that she wished we could stay for longer. After a long and smelly 3.5 hour car ride home we bucket-showered and then our host family cooked us dinner. After dinner, Anabel and I were so exhausted that we went straight to bed.

Day 3
The next day we got to sleep in until 6:30! We left at 7:00 for our third town, Oscar Baltodono. It was about one hour away and as soon as we walked into the church the kids started singing to us! It was great! There were about 40 kids sitting in little choirs and standing and sitting on the floor. We introduced ourselves and broke into groups. Again, my group did NOT know the Bible passage! The Pastor worked with my group and the town's teacher worked with Anabel's group. In order to explain "personal storms" the young kids, the Pastor used the example of having to take an exam that you haven't studied for. I was amazed by this because it seemed like such an American idea. When we brought the kids together (5-13) they were a little shy at first but we eventually had a few kids step up to speak about their group. After we finished we all went to the field and it was actually grass! Up to this point I did not think there was grass in Nicaragua. It was a little rough and holey in spots and we shared the field with a couple of horses but we made it work! Again, the kids LOVED the ladders and this time I only played Tiburones since there were so many kids. I was very happy with my ability to communicate with the kids on these drills. I was worried that my spanish would not come back quickly enough but I was amazed at my ability to communicate after only a few days. After we finished the drills we played two big games- the little kids with me and the older kids with Anabel. The kids seemed to have a wonderful time. We were really able to relate with the kids in this town well- we did fish faces and taught them other funny faces that they had never seen before. Being able to joke around with the kids really helped our connection. After the soccer was over we went back to the church to eat. We had already figured out that the chicken we were eating in each town was probably killed when we were out playing soccer. Jeez. It was good- not a very big meal but enough to fuel us for a bit.
We got back into town we went to the church service that had Anabel saying, "I think I've seen it all." On the Wednesday before Easter, the Church has a service to bless the plants and animals. So anyone can bring their plants, pets or whatever. In her sermon the Pastor said that all animals are part of God's creation and she, for example could not tell a farmer that she would not bless his animals when they are his source of life. So people had a lot of dogs and cats and tehy would bring them forward and the Pastor would bless each animal individually by name. As if it was not crazy enough already, a man brought his parrot up to be blessed. The parrot was whistling to all of the hymns and sitting contently on his owners shouler. Wild.
After the service we headed back to our host family's home and there was still running water so I washed every crevice of my body 3 times- it was great.

Day 4
We woke up and loaded the bus a little after 7:00 for a fun trip to the beach. The jovenes (youth) leadership of the church are now in their late teens and 20s and they do a lot to contribute to the church... so instead of taking them to a local soccer field to play we decided to take them to the beach! It took us about two hours to get to the beach. It was supposed to be only an hour but there were police everywhere stopping the cars every 15 minutes or so because Holy week is like spring break in Nicaragua and safety is a big priority. The problem was that it was taking us about twice as long to get to the beach so we started singing "Alabare a mi senor" (I will praise my Lord) whenever we spotted the police and they would just let us go through. IT took Anabel and I a little while to catch onto the plan but once we did we joined into the song! Anabel and I decided to play with the jovenes since they were a little older and the goal of our day was to build relationships with our new friends. Playing soccer in the sand and at times in the water was so much fun... I felt like a little kid ... we were all laughing so hard and having so much fun together! I was glad to build such great friendships with the youth because these are the people that we are primarily working with in Nicaragua... they take us where we need to go, translate if need be, etc. Not only did we all have a great time but it was great to do something for the youth since they do contribute so much to the church.

Day 5
It was so sad to say goodbye. After the first day it felt like we had already been in Nicaragua for 2 weeks- we were tired and worn out and had already done so much... by the last day it felt like we had only been in Nicaragua for 2 minutes. There were still so many towns to visit, people to help, kids to impression. We had done so much this week but there is still so much to do. I can not wait to go back. We handed the soccer balls out to the kids at each camp but gave all the gear to the church to distribute to the poorest communities. We felt that this would be the fairest way to get the gear out. Some communities have clothes and the necessities while other communities have barely anything. I saw one kid wearing a piece of cloth wrapped up as underwear. Without the knowledge of who really needs it and who doesn't I am glad that the church is stepping in to distribute our donations especially to some of the communities that we didn't visit. I am so amazed by how much of a difference all of the donations will make.

"Waiting on the World to Change"
By: John Mayer

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