Civics Blog

Teaching kids football in Haiti? You bet.

Teaching the Sport of American Football to Kids in Haiti

Pitch:

Football is a sport played in the United States and Canada mostly, but what people don't know is that it is played almost all around the world. Football is a sport that unites people together not through the competitive spirit, but through the love of the game and the sense of family that comes with the team. Bringing football to Haiti would be one of the best things that could happen to it, with the recent 2010 earthquake that destroyed schools, playground, hospitals and homes the sense of togetherness has fallen apart as well. Even though the world helped up with the clean up and rebuild, the country isn't back to the state of being together, and football can change that. The kids that were alive during the earthquake lost everything they had, everything that they thought was fun, was gone and my pitch to bring football to Haiti is my attempt to try and give that back to them, just to let them finally have some fun. This job would workout perfect in Haiti because of all the athletic kids, there is so much potential for them. For example two players in the NFL Washington Redskins, Wide Receiver, Pierre Garcon and New York Giants Defensive Lineman Jason Pierre-Paul are both from Haiti and have full Haitian background. Football in Haiti is a great idea and should happen soon because the people of Haiti need it, they need to be back together after being broken by the earthquake.

This here is a picture of Jason Pierre Paul and Pierre Garcon playing in the NFL. Both of them are from Haiti and have Haitian backgrounds.

Bringing Football to Haiti and the help from the NFL:

I will bring football to a town in Haiti called Cap-Haitian. Football in Haiti is extremely needed and there is people out there that are willing to help, such as the NFL. The NFL sees the quality of players that Haiti can produce with Pierre Garcon and Jason Pierre-Paul, and they want to spread around the world and seeing the athleticism in Haiti is nothing that the NFL can pass up because it would make the quality of players better and the games better for fans to watch so they would definitely help out with the project. Football in Haiti would get help from plenty of football leagues and players around the world because they all love football and want it to become a world wide played sport. The kids in Haiti have a passion for sports and since none of them play football, that would be a great way for them to learn sports and have a sense of team and a second family. 

Critical Need: 

The need for this project is because no kids in Haiti play football and this is a fantastic way for them to start learn about a way to become responsible and have a sense of a team and teamwork. Ever since the earthquake the whole country has been broken physically and mentally, and football can help heal those wounds left because it will give the kids such great joy and happiness. The parents can watch the games and be proud of their children and there kids can have a goal in life, a complete goal instead of staying in poverty their entire life. The amount of support in the world for this project is tremendous and the kids and Haiti will take advantage of it and take something out of it, not necessarily from football physically but it will give them fantastic character traits that they will have for the rest of their lives that will help them make better life decisions.

Benefits on the Global Level:

The benefits from this project on a global level is massive because if this goes completely as planned in Haiti then it can spread out into south america, then Africa, then Asia, then Europe, then Australia and the entire world! And that would have all started from this pitch to put football in Haiti. This can help in Haiti and all over the world because it makes the kids happy to be active and involved in sports, it will also lower obesity rates all over the world because of how active they are while playing football, and they wont even realize because it is so much fun. The global effect is huge because of the joy it can bring and all of the benefits that come with bring football to a different country and to all the kids that play.

Feasibility:

Timeline:

Duration: 4 months June 1st 2014- September 1st 2014

Construction Beginning:  June 1st 2014

COnstruction Ending: August 1st 2014

Teaching the kids to play: August 1st 2014- September 1st 2014

Sponsors:

• NFL
• CFL
• Dicks Sporting Goods
• Nike 

Project Expenses:

1 Turf Field, 2 Grass Fields- $1 Million

Footballs- $500

Helmets, Shoulder Pads- $100,000

Cleats, Thigh Pads, Knee Pads- $50,000

Jerseys- $20,000

Paint for the marking on the field- $2,000

Field Maintenance- $10,000

Grand Total Cost- $1,182,500 

Authors Note:

The author of this blog is myself, Nicholas Gardner. Every since I could walk I've wanted to play sports. I am 15 years old and attend Bill Crothers Secondary School and I am in my 2nd year. I've played a bunch of sports in my lifetime, but football was the one that stuck with me for all this time. Football showed me almost all of my character traits and that is why I am urging for this project to happen. Football can show everyone what its like to be a family and that is why I want to bring it to haiti. 

Sources:

"Haiti." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 21 Nov. 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

"Haiti 2010 Earthquake: Then and Now – in Pictures." The Guardian. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.

"List Of Haitian NFL Payers." The Haitian Internet Newsletter. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.

"Samuel Maxime." Haitian Sports. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.