CARE - a non profit organization whose mission is to mission is "to serve individuals and families in the poorest communities in the world. Drawing strength from our global diversity, resources and experience, we promote innovative solutions and are advocates for global responsibility" - has partnered up with Nike to help promote women's sports in Rwanda.

The idea is to encourage sport in play in a country largely impacted by poverty.  Women of Rwanda can become empowered and build necessary communication skils through sport.  Other partners in this effort include Women Win, and CARE ambassador Sheila Johnson, the President of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA)- and the FIRST ever African-American female to own a professional sports team.

I found a video on YouTube made by Rwanda women, some of whom are disabled, and who coach other Rwandan women in various sports.  Though this video is not directly related to the program sponsored by CARE and Nike, you'll find it just as inspiring to watch these women building strong coalitions through sport and play.

25-year-old Drew Chafetz and business partner Alfredo Axtmayer aren't in the business of making money. Instead, the young social entrepreneurs have chosen to dedicate their time, energy, and social resources to helping kids play.

Their organization, love.futbol, works with impoverished communities across the globe to construct football fields and provide safe, accessible spaces where children can play soccer. Thus far, love.futbol has helped to build three low-cost, sustainable soccer fields in Guatemala. The organization provides funding and resources for each project, but also relies upon volunteer participation, both in organizing projects and in on-site construction work.

"I am immeasurably grateful to the beautiful game and determined to give back. It is a privilege to share the inspiration in my life with children who share my passion yet face great challenges to playing soccer." —Drew Chafetz

Just another great example of youth-led initiatives making a difference and helping us play :)

Yesterday, our L.A. regional team here at PlayCity put on a flash mob of Urban Bowling event on the streets of Santa Monica.  The shindig consisted of using 5-foot-tall bowling pins and an exercise ball to re-create the milieu of a bowling alley.  For each 10 pins that people knocked down, YouthNoise/PlayCity donated the equivalent of one can of soup to the L.A. Mission, a center in L.A. that provides services and food to homeless people in the area.

Though things got off to a funky start when staffers had to move the event from Promenade to Ocean/Santa Monica Blvd., overall the event was successful, as told by Anne Marie Herwig of PlayCity.

"Imagine ten of us running around Santa Monica with ten oversized bowling pins, a huge yoga ball and over 100 cans of food. It was hilarious and we had a really great time.  There were about ten of us putting on the event and we probably had over 50 participants.

Everyone who joined in had a really fun time.  The bowling proved to be more difficult than we thought it would, but our athletes really gave it their all and we were able to donate over fifty cans of soup to the LA Mission."

Cool stuff!

It sounds like folks had a great time while helping out in the community.  Hopefully there will be more flash mobs of Urban Bowling to come!

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Blogger Note: Tomorrow I'll be heading to L.A. to cover the Nike/Human Race.  Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to run the race while covering the event at the same time.  I want to bring you some great images and video *fingers crossed* so doing this requires me to retire my running shoes – just for tomorrow though.

Stay tuned!  

Today I’d like to recognize a collaborative sports effort that pushes for gender equality, teaches about AIDS/HIV prevention, builds life-skills for at-risk youth, and provides educational opportunities for women and girls in Kenya.

The team began with a few primary players: CARE (a humanitarian organization that fights global poverty) and their Sport for Social Change Initiative, Nike Let Me Play (a youth-directed program to fight global poverty and oppression through sports), and the Mathare Youth Soccer Association (dedicated to empowering impoverished youth in Kenya through sports and community service projects).

Once these three players got together to kick some ideas around on the playing field, they realized that they were unstoppable. They chose a team name—the Kenyan American Soccer Exchange, or KASE—and scored goal after goal empowering women and girls in Kenya.

The KASE Girls USA Tour brought Kenyan teams to the States to build relationships and play soccer. KASE also hosts workshops to train Kenyan coaches, build political and economic support for women’s sports in Kenya, and assist Universities in developing women’s sports programs.  

* also check out my previous post detailing MYSA's amazing program in Mathare, Kenya 

Once again, I’ve stumbled upon another sweet soccer program that builds communities and addresses social justice issues. Last week I wrote about women’s soccer in Rwanda. Now move about 500 miles East on the globe and you will witness the wonders of girls’ soccer in Kenya.

This morning I read a story about a couple of New England coaches who recently took a trip to Kenya to help out with community soccer programs. According to the article, it is still socially unacceptable for girls to play sports in many regions of Kenya. Some girls hide their participation from family members but continue to play.

Thanks to cool organizations like the Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA), kids in Mathare (one of the poorest regions in Kenya, near Nairobi) have a support network to keep them on the fields and off the streets.

This article by the Population Council describes how MYSA’s efforts have helped to further gender equality in Mathare. MYSA also works to improve kids’ lives in other arenas; they teach about HIV/AIDS prevention, help children find educational opportunities, give kids a chance to travel abroad for soccer tournaments, and require that their soccer players donate service hours to improve their communities.

All around, it's an amazing program that's doing just the kind of work we like to see here at Play City.