Just concluded another great trip to Haiti to continue our work with the children providing soccer camps and activities.  This trip was another partnership with the Haitian Initiative and included The Sanneh Foundation and HotFutbol.  We arrived in Haiti on Feb 16th and prepared for the first day which was happening in the local Delmas neighborhood park, Parc Izmery, in the afternoon.

Day 1 – We had approximately 100 kids in the camp.  We had several stations, including Brazilian Circle, Heading, and a foot-skills session with the U17s.  We had a great team here with Tony Sanneh, Boro Sucevic, Jim Sinkoff, and the rest of the team.  The kids worked extremely hard in the afternoon sun and was a great day.

Day 2 – We had about 100 kids show up this morning – we setup the same sessions, as these were a new set of teams looking for training.  It is amazing how great these kids hustle, in a blistering heat and humidity, and are craving for this type of training.  The kids love soccer and eat this up!

Day 3 – After a night of torrential rain, we hit the pitch and find almost 100 kids waiting with an unplayable surface.  In a moment of adaptation, we created a futsal tournament on the concrete basketball court with two pop up goals and about 15 teams.  This lasted several hours and was broked up into three age groups U12, U15, U18.  With another local non-profit – Konbit Mizik, we provided some entertainment for the kids, and later in the evening a music festival with local live acts.

Day 4 – Sunday was a rest day – no soccer.  Some of the groups went to the beach, some stayed back and just de-compressed.  A re-energizing day for the next few days.

Day 5 – This training day was with a team from Cite Soleil – a gritty neighborhood by the airport, and the local clubs from Delmas.  We switched up the training a little, with the Brazilian Circle, Passing Squares, an Agility Course, and short sided games.  The afternoon ended with several matches on the big field.

Day 6 – Last day of training with local neighborhood teams from Delmas and Jacquet.  We kept the training the same as we had different kids, and still used the the Brazilian Circle, Passing Squares, an Agility Course, and short sided games.  We also had two matches with the U15s and U18s.

All in all this trip was a major success.  Almost 650 kids over the course of the trip, between all three organizations.  We had lessons learned and almost doubled the # of kids staying in one location rather than moving between cities.  As we continue this project, we will be adding additional groups who will be in the other cities, St. Marc, and Leogane and will allow us to simultaneously hold camps in three locations and maximize our reach.

We are already planning our next trip in May 2012 and look forward to coming back to helping more kids and coaches.

Passing Hope is proud to announce its official expansion into the African Continent through a new partnership with Sole Hope, a non-profit that provides hope by teaching the trade of shoe making to men and women in Africa, and providing shoes to children. As many of us who work in these struggling nations, many children perform their daily activities and play sports, such as soccer, with bare feet. Because of this they risk serious ailments stemming from parasites (jiggers or fleas) that enter the skin through the many cuts and cracks that are a direct result of their lack of closed toe shoes. These ailments can include infections, paralysis, and even amputation. Sole Hope provides all of the materials and trains locals in each community to manufacture these shoes that are “96% recycled, 100% handmade, and 110% cool” in order to provide proper foot protection to the children that need it most.

Passing Hope has been instrumental in providing shoes and soccer cleats to children in Haiti and have been working to find the right partner to begin its expansion into Africa. We fully believe we have found the right organization to do so.

Between now and April, Passing Hope will provide soccer cleats and gear to approximately fifty (50) children at an orphan school in Ndola, Zambia, whose children regularly play soccer barefoot on dirt or rock fields We will continue to provide soccer gear to this school, as well as to the children in the other location’s where Sole Hope works in Uganda. As we continue our partnership, future joint projects might include:

- Training children in Zambia and Uganda through Passing Hope soccer camps
- Providing coaching and medical clinics to the children, schools, and teams that have worked directly with Sole Hope, and
- Implementing the Sole Hope initiative with the children and people of Haiti.

We are definitely excited at what our partnership can become and look forward to seeing the children in Ndola as they play their first game with their new cleats and soccer gear.

For more information about our projects, visit www.passinghope.org - or visit our Projects Page.   For more information about Sole Hope, please visit their website, at www.solehope.org.

Passing Hope is proud to announce its partnership with the Eddie Pope Foundation, as we will be part of the upcoming 2012 LaCroix Youth Initiative which will begin in February 2012.  This partnership will not only include working together on joint projects in Haiti, but also on projects in the US as well.

This project will be completed in three phases, including:

Passing Hope Board Members, Chris Campasano traveled back to Washington DC and Haiti, between Oct 19th-24th, which will include two key segments:

1) Oct 19-20 – Washington DC – Passing Hope met with DC United and their foundation to discuss potential partnership between both organizations which could include soccer camps in the DC market, as well as possible ways to partnership in Haiti and was graciously hosted at their final match at RFK Stadium vs. the Portland Timbers.  We had a meeting with the US Soccer Foundation, and began discussions on projects in which we could work together in 2012.  There will be some exciting things that will happen because of these possible partnerships.

2) Oct 21-24th – Passing Hope returned to Haiti to co-host the first ever, Congres football de la Jeunesse (Youth Soccer Conference), which had organizations and non-profits that work with soccer to collaborate and share ideas.  The over 15 organizations present included:  GOALS Haiti, Pax Christi, & FONDAPS and are all dedicated to help those youth and disabled play soccer.   The outcome of the meeting was that we could provide coaches training and assistance in coordinating tournaments and running youth club organizations and our next event would include a coaches training for those coaches affiliated with these organizations.   Passing Hope also worked with the Haitian Amputee National Team and held a training camp/practice at Parc Izmery in Delmas.  The team had almost 20 players participate and provided a great opportunity for 5 new players to be part of the team.  The team is still lacking equipment and crutches, which we will be working to assist in providing.

Passing Hope will be raising funds to help with these projects which will include:

1. A one time donation of $5 or higher  - you can make this donation to the right.
2. Become a sponsor for one of our Amputee Team Players – $100 will provide a year’s worth of practices, transportation, and all food and water on practice days for one player.
3. Make a $35.00 donation for one pair of sport crutches.

To help raise the needed funds for our upcoming trip to Washington DC (for an amputee soccer event with Wounded Warrior and members of the US National Amputee Soccer Team) and Haiti on Oct 18th. 2010

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To help raise the needed funds for our upcoming trip to Washington DC (for an amputee soccer event with Wounded Warrior and members of the US National Amputee Soccer Team) and Haiti on Oct 18th. 2010

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To help raise the needed funds for our upcoming trip to Washington DC (for an amputee soccer event with Wounded Warrior and members of the US National Amputee Soccer Team) and Haiti on Oct 18th. 2010

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To help raise the needed funds for our upcoming trip to Washington DC (for an amputee soccer event with Wounded Warrior and members of the US National Amputee Soccer Team) and Haiti on Oct 18th. 2010

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To help raise the needed funds for our upcoming trip to Washington DC (for an amputee soccer event with Wounded Warrior and members of the US National Amputee Soccer Team) and Haiti on Oct 18th. 2010

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To help raise the needed funds for our upcoming trip to Washington DC (for an amputee soccer event with Wounded Warrior and members of the US National Amputee Soccer Team) and Haiti on Oct 18th.

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