It is a relatively recent phenomenon that soccer is numbered among the favorite sports of youth in America, particularly for girls. It has taken us some time, but the United States has finally learned to speak the world’s language. In a world of increasing globalization, ways to bridge communication and culture gaps are necessary to pursue philanthropic ends. Soccer can bridge those gaps.

Approaching sustainable development through a political, economic, or religious lens  can be perceived as imperialist, elitist, or evangelical. Stand in the street and juggle a soccer ball in nearly any community worldwide, and your intentions are clear: come play with me! Clothes, food, hairstyles, music, television shows, style, and even language and symbols are all particular to certain places and certain times. All of these can be easily misinterpreted and misunderstood. They are particulars, and particulars often fade. Soccer, amazingly, is as close to universal as you’ll find in this world. Juggling that ball, people know exactly what you're doing, what you're trying to accomplish, and how they can help.

Soccer Without Borders (www.soccerwithoutborders.org) is a relatively new enterprise. It seeks to use the language of soccer as a means to communicate with and empower young people to learn positive life skills. SWB creates an environment that focuses on team-building, conflict resolution, health education, non-violent communication, and mindfulness training, by creating sustainable soccer opportunities for communities. By educating coaches, organizing leagues, providing equipment, and engaging youth Soccer Without Borders aims to not only improve the quality of the sporting experience, but also raise consciousness about the benefits of sport.

From February 16th to March 31st, we will travel to Granada, Nicaragua as ambassadors for Soccer Without Borders. In the twenty years since Nicaragua was best known for its civil unrest, the country has worked to improve the quality of life for its citizens and improve its attractiveness to tourists. Unfortunately, despite growing tourism, the average family does not have the means to equip their children for sports, or pay an entrance fee for a league. Further, the working class public does not have the time or money to establish such leagues, hire coaches, build and line fields, or pay for referees. Apart from these monetary barriers, girls fight cultural barriers that tell them soccer is too dangerous for women, and their athletic abilities need not be supported in the same way as mens'.

Our goals for this project are both short and long term. In the short term we hope to challenge some of the cultural conceptions about women in sports. In addition to reaching out to young girls through camps, clinics, and life-skills training, we hope to act as living proof that women can compete at a high level, and, yes, even compete with men. Depending on the participation levels, we would like to form and equip teams, train coaches and, with enough interest, sponsor a girls' youth league.  Our long term goals are to create a yearly after-school camp in March that could act as a spring break service trip for U.S. college athletes, and to build a youth center to give the local community a space to hold life-skills programming and other sporting-related events, as well as offer access to shared equipment.

Our fundraising efforts include support for airfare, living expenses, equipment and printing costs, referee and coaches fees, and other miscellaneous costs. Projected costs range from $3000-$5000 depending on how many of our goals we are able to accomplish during these six weeks. We hope that you’ll consider contributing to this incredible (tax-deductible) cause in our names!

A BIT ABOUT US:
Mary is a bit taller than Molly and doesn't enjoy beans and rice nearly as much. She will probably be the first to sunburn herself to the point of unsightliness and tends to be very attractive to mosquitoes. Earning a B.A. in Philosophy from Dartmouth College in 2003, Mary competed for Dartmouth Women's Soccer before going on to play in the WUSA for the Philadelphia Charge in 2003. After the WUSA ceased operations, she went on to play for IBV in the Westmann Islands, Iceland before returning to the U.S. as an Assistant Coach for Lehigh Women's Soccer. She recently completed an M.A. in Sociology at Lehigh and has stepped down as a Lehigh Assistant after four seasons with the team.

Molly is much better adapted to living off the land, and has an extremely high tolerance for life without showering. A 2007 graduate of Lehigh University, Molly earned her B.S. in Earth and Environmental Sciences. A two-time captain of the Lehigh Women's Soccer team, she is well-known for her gritty defending and will battle for loose balls with any Nicaraguan, large, small, male or female!  After graduation, Molly returned to nature as a white-water guide in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for the summer and fall of 2007 before returning to Bethlehem to prepare for this volunteering adventure.

If you've made it this far, thank you for reading and thank you for your support!