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With the help of Women’s Head Soccer Coach Lacy Largeteau, Andrew Blake ’14 and Jenna Spooner ’14 led the organization of this years annual Soccer Without Borders camp at Skidmore College presented by Positive Tracks. Over a span of five days, forty of Jenna and Andrew’s teammates worked with 70 active kids from the surrounding community. Through suggested donations, Skidmore raised a whopping $3,945 dollars and also collected a lot of soccer gear. Way to go Thoroughbreds!!!

By: Moutaz Bdawi Moutaz is a player on the U18 Boys' team at Soccer Without Borders Greeley-Fort Collins. Through his participation in the program, his positive attitude, and outstanding soccer play, he has been offered a number of scholarships to play soccer in college next year. Here, Moutaz gives us a glimpse into his amazing story, and his experience with SWB: As a Soccer Without Borders player for the past two years, I have learned how to appreciate the game, coaches, volunteers, teammates, and the program in general. It feels like being in a family outside of the home. Working together and spending more time with the players in the program taught me much that I will remember. Of course, with the help of Amy Snider and Robb Ball, we've become much better players that can compete at almost any college level from now on. My dream in the United States was always to bring my love of soccer as a street player from back home in Libya and develop it under a great program of coaches and teammates from around the world. Truly, these experiences have given me so many opportunities to look forward to; not only in the game, but also in the chance to attend college and do what I love, soccer. SWB has provided us the chance to shine individually, and we've created better relationships with the help of the staff and coaches. I'm very thankful for what they have given me, and I'm looking forward to more memories and success for the rest of the season with SWB. #newcomer #refugee #Greeley

Collin Burks, Team Leader, SWB Granada Collin's time as a Team Leader in Nicaragua is partially supported by the generosity of the Jessica Jennifer Cohen Foundation. Check out Collin's midterm report to the JJC Foundation below. Here in Nicaragua, we hit the ground running in the new year! In the past month and a half, we have launched a school scholarship program, significantly increased our involvement in local schools, added a new soccer team, and hosted a group of U.S. college soccer players to volunteer for a special week of activities. Challenges have come with this growth, but we are working through them as an organization. The participants of Soccer Without Borders with a group of U.S. volunteers With the arrival of 15 female soccer players from the U.S. in early January, we held a weeklong camp for the girls in Soccer Without Borders. Each morning, we spent two and a half hours at the soccer field coaching dynamic and fun soccer drills to the girls. After a break for lunch, the girls came back to our office for an afternoon of team-building activities. The week culminated in a trip to Managua, where the college volunteers, as well as myself, played a friendly soccer match against the Nicaraguan women’s national team in their national stadium. It was a great chance for our participants to see female athletes playing competitively; we make an effort to show our girls as many female role models as possible. After the camp and before the start of the girls’ school year, we began the application process for a school scholarship program in which Soccer Without Borders pays almost all of the costs associated with attending a public or private school. Our vision has always been to encourage education, but we are excited now to finally be able to offer direct educational aid to 14 of our participants! Three Nicaraguan staff members are taking on increased responsibilities in leading this scholarship program. Over my time here, it has been incredible to watch the Nicaraguan coaches continue to develop professionally and take on larger leadership roles in the program. I also have been able to develop during my time here. As a soccer coach, educator, and mentor to a group of adolescent girls, I have practiced and improved my skills in communication, motivation, and problem-solving. In large group situations, I have learned how to be a dynamic and engaging leader, while in 1-on-1 interactions I have grown as an empathetic listener and mentor. When I am not coaching or teaching my group of girls, I am involved in community outreach, including visiting schools, homes, and organizations. I have learned how a grassroots community organization works and developed skills in organizing community events and building community partnerships. Next year, I will start medical school and am confident that the skills I am developing in leadership, mentoring, Spanish, and community outreach are skills that I will carry forward with me into medical school and beyond. But for now, I am happy to have four more months in Nicaragua to improve my skills and to coach, teach, and have fun with my girls!

By Katy Nagy, Team Leader at SWB Uganda Last week, Sara and I traveled to western Kenya to visit two of SWB Uganda’s fellow Streetfootballworld East Africa network members. After meeting them at the Streetfootballworld conference in Rwanda last September, and we were fortunate enough to have volunteers from SEP and TYSA join us during our Youth Festival in January. After hearing so much about the incredible work that SEP and TYSA are involved in, we decided that it was our turn to visit them. Our first stop was Oyugis, Kenya to visit Society Empowerment Project (SEP). We were welcomed with open arms by the Young Leader (and our good friend), George, who was excited to introduce us to the rest of the SEP staff and to show us what SEP does. During our visit, we helped run a training at the Nyahera Girls’ school, we spoke to the girls about the way lessons that are learned on the pitch can be tranferred into their lives off the pitch, and we helped to plant about 200 trees on SEP’s farm during Earth Hour (now called “The Soccer Without Borders Forest!”). The best part of the visit to SEP, though, was the opportunity to talk to the staff and participants about the organization, to learn more about all that SEP does, and to feel welcomed as if we were already part of the community. We spoke to participants who have benefitted greatly from SEP’s programs. We spoke to participants who would not be able to go to school without SEP’s support. We spoke to participants who have gained coaching skills and are now able to coach younger participants. It was impressive to hear about the impact that SEP has had on the community, and to know that its influence in the community is only growing as the organization grows. After 3½ days at SEP, it was time to say goodbye to our friends in Oyugis and to head to Kitale to visit the Trans-Nzoia Youth Sports Association (TYSA). Again, we were reunited with our friends who we met in Rwanda and at our festival in January. The TYSA staff was immediately welcoming, and we were eager to learn all we could from them. The two days we spent in Kitale were filled with visiting schools, playing games, talking to staff and participants, learning about the amazing work that TYSA does, and enjoying our time with our friends. TYSA is currently in the process of expanding its reach by partnering with many schools in the area. We had the opportunity to visit some of those schools and to play games with the students. Those visits made it very clear how important TYSA’s work is. One school that we visited was a government-supported primary school with over 100 students in each class. We also visited a secondary school and joined a meeting of parents, students and teachers. We listened to the students speak about the difficulties they were having with their studies, and we were able to speak to them to give some advice. At the end of the second day, we visited a children’s home to play some games with the kids. After the owner gave us a tour and explained the way poverty, illness, drug abuse, and other factors in that area create a need for the children’s home, we organized some games and activities for the kids. The home is simple, but it is so important. It was further proof of TYSA’s impressive reach and commitment to the communities in the area. Throughout our visit to TYSA, it was clear that the organization’s inspiring work is made possible by its leadership and staff. Gichuki, the program director, places much emphasis on empowering the staff to take ownership and become leaders. It is clear that that has become part of the organization’s culture, as their goal is to train teachers in the schools to lead the soccer/physical programming on a daily basis. It is this emphasis on sustainability and empowerment that most impressed and inspired us while we were in Kitale. We left Kitale and headed back to Kampala after a week of learning and a lot of fun in Oyugis and Kitale. We were sad to say goodbye to our friends at SEP and TYSA, but we are also excited to take what we have learned back to Soccer Without Borders. Each of the organizations taught us so much, and we have gained an appreciation for the value of partnerships and networks of organizations that exist across borders and cultures.

SWB has recently teamed up with One World Futbol Project, makers of the innovative, indestructible soccer player. Learn more about the partnership benefiting youth in Oakland, CA and Kampala, Uganda here: http://www.oneworldfutbol.com/2013/05/using-soccer-to-help-refugees-and-immigrants-transition-and-succeed/ We look forward to continuing to collaborate with our friends at One World Futbol Project, and thank them for their support!

By Allie Horwitz, Team Leader, SWB Granada Here at Fútbol Sin Fronteras, we just wrapped up our first week-long taller (workshop) of the season. We kicked off a series of workshops themed “Healthy Me, Healthy World” with a week focused solely on nutrition and a healthy body. On Tuesday, we received an awesome nutrition lecture and presentation from the head of agriculture from a nearby technical school, Opportunity International. Saúl presented the food pyramid and explained what foods are best to eat as female soccer players (No milk before practice, grains give you energy!). He then led the girls through several dynamic grouping games, which they raucously enjoyed! On Thursday, we began the activity with a fun review game of the pyramid. We quizzed the girls on what they had learned Tuesday, and if they answered the question correctly, they had to place one of six food items in the correct section of the food pyramid on the wall. It turns out that cucumbers are actually a fruit! Next, we had our own mini-market. At each stand, we explained a different fruit or vegetable. We talked about its nutrients and benefits and then offered the girls an opportunity to taste the food in some delicious form. In small groups, girls rotated around the room to learn what each station had to offer and tasted each food excitedly (minus perhaps the beets). To finish the night, each girl received a bean in a cup as they left that they are now growing in their homes and giving it plenty of sunlight and water! To cap off the week, we took a short trip to the nearby Diria Mirador where we enjoyed a short hike. Saúl accompanied us and explained a little bit about the flora and fauna that flourish in and around Laguna de Apoyo. This final activity gave a grander perspective to our nutrition taller. We interact with our natural environments in what we eat and in everything we do, Saúl explained to the girls. The hike provided for a physically active opportunity, of course another important element of a healthy body. The girls enjoyed learning not only about healthy foods, but also a bit about agriculture and growing something of their own. They learned several useful ideas for making healthy meals and snacks with their families. And finally they experienced how everything we eat is connected to the greater natural environment. A healthy you is a great first step to contributing to a healthy world!

Last weekend, Dartmouth Women's Soccer tabbed their Sunday match vs. the University of New Hampshire as "Soccer Without Borders Day." The team wore commemorative t-shirts during warm-up and hosted a skill-clinic with local youth after the game. From the smiles of 5 year-olds learning their first "pull backs" to the matching facepaint on the girls from Lebanon High School, it was an enjoyable day for everyone involved! SWB would like to thank Dartmouth Women's Soccer and all who attended! You can read more about the event on Dartmouth's website here.

Two way reflections: Looking back and ahead By Mary McVeigh - Program Director Our girls never cease to amaze us. Their energy, enthusiasm, and courage inspire us to build as many avenues to opportunities as we possibly can, so that they can maximize their incredible potential. 2013 was quite a year for Soccer Without Borders in Nicaragua, a year of firsts and of milestones. For example, 2013 was the first time that... 5 of our coaches ever flew in an airplane or visited the U.S. 64 girls participated in their first ever season as a member of one of our teams all participants had the chance to meet the full Nicaraguan Women's National Team and the President of the Nicaraguan Football Federation- FENIFUT our oldest girls' team recorded a league win over a boys team 2013 marked the... 5 year anniversary of the program largest girls soccer event in Granada history, with a 17 team Peace Cup on September 21st inauguration of a new dedicated field space expansion to four teams, including the nation's unofficial youngest team, las Mariposa Juniors ages 7-9 formalization of a partnership between SWB Nicaragua and fellow Streetfootballworld member Seprojoven in Costa Rica. In the year to come we have lofty goals, but our girls and coaches are determined to keep pushing the boundaries by: implementing a new education program, including access to school uniforms and school supplies for all participants, and the opportunity to apply for secondary school scholarships expand the program to 1-2 neighborhoods outside of the city center to regularly reach girls who are not within walking distance attend the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup youth festival hosted by partner Seprojoven in Costa Rica expand to a 5th team, the Caterpillars, ages 7-8, allowing the Mariposa Jrs. to become more age-specific build on the momentum of the Peace Cup, Day of the Girl, and International Women's Day celebrations to expand our reach outside of Granada implement an 8 week gym class curriculum to expose more girls to the program and encourage healthy, active choices If you'd like to see some pictures from the past year, check out the highlight film that the girls watched at the opening event of 2014 at the link below (warning, major amateurism!). Thank you for your continued support and for following our girls in Granada! Sincerely, Mary McVeigh Links: Highlight video 2013

By Allie Horwitz On Saturday we finished our week of celebrating Day of the Girl. The very foundation of our program is built upon the principle that girls have the power and potential to affect change and advance our world. As such, there is no better cause to celebrate than the Day of the Girl. Full of moments of learning and powerful interactions, the week was truly amazing. We began the week by learning about inspiring girls from all over the world. We learned about Malala from Pakistan (just in time for her interview on the Daily Show). We were awed by Bethany Hamilton from the U.S and her story of perseverance. And we were truly wowed by Thandiwe from Zambia who, as an 8 year old, rallied 60 peers to march for education rights. Afterwards we engaged in conversations about why education is important to us and why it is important to have dreams. On Friday, the Day of the Girl, we watched (and loved!) the new SWB video about our site and a short slide show, as a way to get the girls thinking about what the program has meant for them. Then each girl was paired with a girl from a different age group. They interviewed each other about their past, present and future and decorated pictures about who they were as children, who they are now and who they want to be. They discussed some of their proudest moments and biggest fears and shared their dreams of going to university, playing on the national team, and becoming successful professionals. On Saturday we went out to the field and completed a number of super fun field day activities. Split into four teams of mixed ages, participants completed tasks like cross “lava” together on a sheet, a technical soccer skills ladder, an egg toss, and a wheelbarrow race. It was a blast, of course, but what made the events really special was that after each station, each team had to find a different quote from girls around the world, inspired by the Girl Declaration. At the end each team had collected seven quotes about the dreams and hopes of girls just like them. We then decorated posters with the quotes. Girls also added their own hopes and thoughts. “We have a right to play and a right to study,” wrote one girl. “Girls are strong,” wrote another. The week in its entirety was all at once reflective, fun-filled, forward-looking, and most of all inspiring. It brought light to girls’ stories from all over the world, it bonded girls of different ages within the program, and provoked each participant to think about what is important to them, both right now and in their futures. It seemed that participants finished the week feeling empowered by their individual and collective strength as girls.

By Jill Flockhart After weeks of traveling around the world in Life Skills class, discovering new cultures, and learning about different places, SWB Uganda celebrated International Day of Peace! On Thursday, September 19th, we held an SWB Day of Peace at our center. The participants, on 6 different teams, put on a theater show about how they would peacefully solve a problem that we presented them with. Between the great acting performances, dance routines, and amazing vocals, it was a very entertaining show. The next activity was a dramatic trivia game show where a variety of questions were asked regarding world geography. Each team discussed the answer before writing it on a note card and turning it in to be checked. It was a very close contest, but in the end Team Uganda was crowned the trivia champion. The whole day was centered around ways to live peacefully, and each participant was given the opportunity to place their handprint on the Peace Banner as their own way of pledging to live peacefully. The banner turned out beautifully, and we look forward to putting it up as a reminder of our pledge. On Saturday, September 21st, SWB joined forces with Kampala Kids League to celebrate International Day of Peace. Together we held the first ever Global Peace Games Tournament. Each organization traveled about 70 children to Kampala International School of Uganda to play a Football3 style tournament. The majority of our participants are refugees from Congo, Rwanda, Sudan, and Burundi, and the majority of players from Kampala Kids League are Ugandan natives. The tournament intermixed all participants, including both boys and girls. In a Football3 format there are no referees, forcing the players to call their own game and act as peacemakers on the field. Before each match, the teams decided on two rules for the match. After the match, the teams came back together and awarded the opposing team points according to how well they followed the two rules. The focus of Football3 is for players and teams to resolve all conflicts in a peaceful way on the field. It was an incredible thing to see, especially on the International Day of Peace! Overall, the first-ever Global Peace Games Tournament was a tremendous success. Children from both organizations were not only playing great soccer together, but were also resolving conflicts on the field peacefully-- without help from coaches and referees. Despite many of these children coming from different backgrounds, cultures, countries, and speaking different languages, they worked together as a team. The day concluded with smiles and new friends for all. Happy International Day of Peace from Soccer Without Borders Uganda!

Five years of Futbol Sin Fronteras Granada By Mary McVeigh - Program Director Five years of FSF Granada To celebrate the program's five year anniversary, the coaches had organized an activity called "Past, Present, and Future", with each floor of the FSF oficina representing one of those points in time. For the past, a video highlight reel and photo timeline, with each girl asked to sign the timeline at the point she came into FSF, and caption her favorite photos. For the present, a chance to snap a photo and write a letter for a time capsule, capturing the current moment to look back on in another five years. For the future, a mosaic of dreams for the program, with each girl asked to imagine her ideal Futbol Sin Fronteras in 2018 and contribute a square. As if the sheer artistry weren't enough, the imagination and dreaming was overwhelming as the girls showed off their depictions of FSF in the future. The art was beautiful; there were elaborate drawings of the world with players from all over holding hands and donning FSF uniforms. There were captions: "I've graduated school" "I'm attending university" with pictures of pencils, teachers, schools. There were drawings of the National Stadium, with our Mariposa team in the starting lineup. More common than anything else, though, there were representations of team, with full hearts and hands linked, revealing the shared hope that this common bond will still be here for the girls in five, ten, twenty years. Love and friendship- born in a safe space where a girl is free to be herself, to become herself- are the foundations on which the rest is built. One of the reasons I was drawn to Soccer Without Borders in the first place was its commitment to authenticity: honoring the value and voice of local stakeholders to shape the direction of the program. As one of SWB's three core values, my understanding of authenticity has evolved tremendously over the last five years as we have worked alongside the community of Granada to build this program. I've learned that creating a program that authentically addresses the most pressing needs of the community is not as simple as providing resources and materials, training local leaders, and stepping aside to see if change grows out of the norm. Authenticity is neither stepping aside nor standing behind, it is a lengthy process of evaluating strengths and weaknesses, hopes and challenges, and working together to have them align: an authentic collaboration. Addressing longstanding challenges to forge new paths requires an authentic collaboration of stakeholders with different ideas, talents, backgrounds, resources, and understanding. Parents, city leaders, coaches, teachers, artists, researchers, men, women...and most importantly the girls themselves provide critical input as to how to work within the cultural system respectfully yet open the door to new opportunities. As with any collaboration, maneuvering through language, experience, opinion, ego, belief systems, and stereotypes from all sides can easily derail the process. To have reached this milestone of five years, and to see the mosaic of dreams for FSF that the girls created, says that this collaboration is one that the girls, the coaches, and the community have embraced. Together, we are ready to bring that mosaic to life during the next five years. Thank you for your part in supporting FSF to forge these paths in the community of Granada and beyond. Sincerely, Mary McVeigh ps. The Anniversary celebration was preceded by the Inter-American Women's Soccer Exchange, a State Department sponsored initiative that is looking to expand our work beyond Granada. Check out the links to read about the trip! Links: SWB Granada featured by ESPNW Feature in the Nicaragua Dispatch SWB Granada Facebook page- Follow us!

By Cathlene Webster, Team Leader, SWB Nicaragua For those who are counting, there are less than fifty days left until the men's World Cup in Brazil. However, did you know that the U-17 Women's World Cup was just last month? Seven members of Futbol Sin Fronteras Granada have just returned from the celebration of this amazing event in San Jose, Costa Rica. SEPROJOVEN, an organization that uses soccer as a platform to combat gender-based violence and oppression in San Jose, teamed with the National Women’s Institute (INAMU) to host The International Women’s Futbol3 Festival: The Field is Ours. The goal was to “live the world cup” and celebrate sport for development and women’s inclusion. Four FSF players as well as three coaches joined SEPROJOVEN teams from all over Costa Rica for a week of soccer trainings, women’s rights workshops, a bit of tourism, and finally the World Cup finals and semifinals. Futbol Sin Fronteras has a continuing relationship with SEPROJOVEN, and its participation in this festival marks the third in a series of cross-cultural exchanges between the two programs. However, the festival was the first time that players were able to travel across the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border to participate. After a huge effort by FSF director Josh Hardester as well as many of the coaches, Maribel, Hasly, Candida, and Maria Jose were approved for passports and travel visas and hopped on an eight hour bus ride to San Jose. After the inauguration and words of welcome from SEPROJOVEN director Roy Arias, the girls were able to mix and meet with other teams and began immediately to form new friendships. They joined girls from the “Indigenous Cup”, a league of girls’ teams in the indigenous villages in Costa Rica, as well as teams from the poorest and most violent neighborhoods of San Jose. They next day they divided by age for a morning of trainings in Parque Sabana, under the shadow of the National Stadium. A second soccer session later in the week was held in the Ricardo Saprissa stadium, where girls trained with coaches and players of one of the most famous professional teams in Costa Rica. The girls never played team against team, but rather mixed groups, which focused on the unifying effects of the game-those that drew together such a large and varied group of young players in the first place. After taking a spectator’s role in the soccer portion of the week, INAMU stepped forward to deliver a powerful presentation on the conditions and challenges that the players face as girls and young women. FSF participant Candida Espinoza commented that it was refreshing to see their reality discussed so frankly, and to see that the issues deserved a spotlight instead of being brushed off. Afterwards, INAMU facilitated a workshop called “We Have Rights”, to help the girls think about their own empowerment. The girls worked in small groups to write, draw, and act out their realities and ways they wanted to change them. One group summed it up perfectly, saying, “Our grandmothers weren’t allowed to play, so they fought to get our mother’s permission to play. They didn’t like when our mothers played, so our mothers fought to get us permission to play. And now we fight so that hopefully our daughters don’t need anyone’s permission to play.” The festival drew its strength from the combination of focused soccer play that celebrated the girls as athletes, as well as workshops to help them think of their worth as women in all aspects of life. The girls focused on discovering their own strengths and individuality, instead of feeling isolated in trying to navigate a world that so often seems against them. SEPROJOVEN Director Roy Arias noted, “Sport is so much more meaningful than just fun or physical health. It opens these girls' eyes to their own positivity, and it allows them to see their potential.” On the last night, all of the festival participants joined a completely packed stadium to watch the U17 semifinals and finals. Italy took on Venezuela for third place before Japan and Spain played for the gold. These teenagers were incredible athletes, from their touch to their technical game to their fitness. After Japan triumphed 2-0 over Spain, the night ended with a trophy ceremony and a large firework display. Japan took a victory lap, the girls took pictures with some of the star players, and we walked back buzzing with energy.Saying the final goodbyes after the games was hard. Girls who had awkwardly introduced themselves to one another only five days previously were now hugging and crying, trading information and promising to keep in touch. Costa Rica and Nicaragua are famous for having a rivalry, but that was the furthest thing from the minds of these girls who now had so much more in common than they could have imagined. The ties they now had to a new city, new friends and coaches, and a new organization will remain stronger than any of those that could keep them apart, and they left with a renewed sense of who they were, who they wanted to be, and the determination that no one would stop them from getting there. #Granada #international #Nicaragua