BCD Students Raise Money to Bring Soccer & Equipment to Port-au-Prince, Haiti

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Children in Port-au-Prince, Haiti are learning and loving the game of soccer thanks to the money and equipment donated by the BCD community and other high schools in the Berkshires

LENOX, MA (05/17/2007)(readMedia)-- Children in Jacquet, a community in Port au Prince, the largest city in Haiti and one of the poorest communities in the poorest country in the western hemisphere, will be spending their summer learning the game of soccer and playing it with soccer cleats and the proper equipment thanks to the efforts of the BCD community, led by John Evans, BCD’s school psychologist, and former BCD student Nick Whalen, now a photojournalist living in Haiti and freelancing for such organizations as the United Nations and Associated Press.

Nineteen year old Whalen was first introduced to this region of the world in January of 2004 when he traveled to Haiti with Sister Eunice Tassone, director of COTY Haiti Plunge of North Adams, to take pictures. The experience stayed with him and in the middle of his senior year, Whalen left BCD to pursue his fascination of and love for the people and culture of Haiti.

Whalen approached the BCD community for its help back in October 2006. He wanted to do something for the many children in Jacquet that wanted to play soccer but could not due to the lack of resources. In response to his appeal, the BCD community embraced the effort and not only donated used soccer equipment but held student run fundraisers to raise money to pay for the shipping of equipment. The effort was then expanded and taken up by students from Monument Mountain Regional High School, Pittsfield High School, led by Coach Jay Sacchetti, and Wahconah High School and Coach John Kovacs, who showed their support by also donating equipment and clothing. With these donations, Whalen was able to form the Jacquet Stars Football Club in Part-au-Prince in the beginning of 2007, which today teaches approximately 80 young people to play soccer. Whalen then presented Evans with the challenge of starting a summer camp in Port-au-Prince this summer to provide even more community youths with the opportunity to learn to love and play the game.

Evans, who has been playing and coaching soccer for 35 years, will be traveling to Jacquet this summer with his college roommate from Holy Cross - and fellow soccer fan - David Dutra, as well as with Nick’s mother, Maria, who teaches French at BCD, and Nick’s father, Tony Whalen, to take the project one step further. Evans and Dutra plan to not only develop a summer soccer camp for the youth players but also help train several local adults to become the coaching staff for the Jacquet Stars Soccer Club. Evans and Whalen anticipate between 80 and 100 children will be participating in this first ever soccer camp.

Setting up a program of this magnitude for so many children so far away has posed several challenges for Evans and Dutra. First, they needed to develop and bring a prepared soccer curriculum for three age groups that include training exercises, progressions, and competitive games that are universally employed in teaching "the beautiful game". Second, they needed to secure safe travel to a somewhat fragile political climate. Third, they needed to address the issue of bringing the structure and curriculum of a weeklong summer soccer camp to a community where most of the children have no shoes, let alone a soccer ball. Fourth, children need strength in order to play, and for that they need to eat. It's that fundamental.

”The whole project has had a positive feel from day one,” says Evans. “I sent out an appeal for money and equipment, and both are coming in. A copy of the e-mail hit a distribution list of 5000 soccer "nuts" and I'm hearing from many of them who are willing to lend support. This is one of those ideas that seem to take on a life of its own, and we are simply riding it, and trying to steer by saying "yes" to every positive increment.”

According to Evans, the latest effort is to find enough new or very lightly used soccer shoes, and feelers have gone out to a number of companies. Also needed are balls, shorts, shirts, socks, shinguards, and any number of soccer related items. If interested in donating equipment and finding out more about the Jacquet Stars Football, contact John Evans at jevansms.lmhc@yahoo.com or Berkshire Country Day School at 413-637-0755.