FROM CAMDEN KIDS                                                             TO HAITI KIDS

Camden Soccer Club and Kings Bay Soccer Club collaborated with www.SoccerLifeLessons.com to collect 200 soccer jerseys and assorted coaching materials for five community schools in the tent cities around Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti. 

Like so much of Haiti, the Croix-des-Bouquets area was devastated by the recent earthquake.  The Haiti Empowerment Project from Ohio State University is working to provide materials, resources, and training to organize and support community schools.  The average annual income in Haiti is $400 and the literacy rate is 53%.  This contributes to the fact that only 67% of Haitian children attend primary school with teachers often who have little educational preparation.  As part of the relief efforts, the staff is working to create a soccer league for the children of the community.  The Haiti Empowerment Project brings together the resources of Ohio State University faculty and graduate students with Haitian counterparts to assist in the development and implementation of culturally relevant professional training.  The project has been operating for the past 4-5 years in close collaboration with Haitian colleagues and is grounded in the realities of Haitian schools.  While survival and shelter is currently on the forefront of those working in Haiti, education is the venue through which substantive and sustainable change can take hold in this country. 

 GOD BLESS THESE KIDS!