UVM Alum's Video on Grassroot Soccer Featured on YouTube

Lusaka Sunrise, a video about the Grassroot Soccer HIV/AIDS prevention education program in Africa, was a "Featured Video" on YouTube this week. The short was filmed and produced by Silas Hagerty, founder of Smooth Feather Productions and former student of a University of Vermont travel-study course to Batey Libertad.

The Fútbol para la Vida program at Batey Libertad, Saman, and other partner communities in the Dominican Republic is part of the international Grassroot Soccer network. The first GRS-inspired film produced by Silas and 'lil Jon Erickson entitled Freedom for a Day highlighted the university's pilot project of the GRS curriculum with the community of Batey Libertad.

Below please enjoy both Lusaka Sunrise and Freedom for a Day below. Congratulations Silas!

Lusaka Sunrise


Freedom for a Day

Libertad Fellow and FPV Volunteer named to 2008 All-USA College Academic First Team

Libertad Fellow and Fútbol para la Vida regional coordinator Zak Kaufman was recently named to the 2008 All-USA College Academic First Team in recognition of his work with Fútbol para la Vida on HIV/AIDS education in the Dominican Republic, and fundraising and capacity building with Grassroot Soccer. Zak was one of 20 students recognized nationwide by USA Today's annual honor to outstanding undergraduates.

Zak is majoring in health and society in Latin America and the Caribbean at Dartmouth College and is writing a thesis based on a formal evaluation of the Fútbol para la Vida program. Zak has also raised over $100,000 for AIDS awareness and prevention in Africa through the organization Grassroot Soccer, and founded the campus group Dartmouth Ends Hunger.

From an interview with Dartmouth.com, Zak says, “I think learning really only begins in the classroom. The most rewarding times have been when I can connect classroom work with service and research.”

During 2007 as a Libertad Fellow, Zak worked with the communities of Saman, Batey Caraballo, and Cabarete to establish a Fútbol para la Vida program on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. He also worked with Project Esperanza in Puerto Plata, a service-learning program of Virginia Tech, to create a Fútbol para la Vida camp for street kids in the DR's third largest city. This March, Zak and fellow Dartmouth student Elise Braunschweig will lead a service-oriented spring break trip with other Dartmouth volunteers to build a community center and park at Saman, a Haitian barrio in Montellano that is leading the expansion of the Fútbol para la Vida program in bateyes throughout the Puerto Plata province.

Congratulations Zak, and keep up the good work!

Evaluation of Fútbol Para la Vida HIV/AIDS education program

A formal evaluation of the Fútbol para la Vida HIV/AIDS prevention education program was recently completed by Zak Kaufman of Dartmouth College. Zak developed the FPV program in the Montellano region of the Dominican Republic together with the communities of Saman, Batey Caraballo, and Cabarete, and is currently working for Grassroot Soccer on various capacity building projects. The following is an abstract summarizing this research.

Background: The Dominican Republic´s HIV epidemic is disproportionately concentrated in bateyes, predominantly Haitian communities, where prevalence rates are five-times the national average. This study evaluates an adolescent-targeted HIV prevention program in six bateyes in order to determine whether it significantly improves adolescents´ HIV-related knowledge, self-efficacy attitudes, and personal communication patterns. The Fútbol Para la Vida (FPV) program uses Grassroot Soccer´s sports-based HIV prevention and life skills curriculum, which has been shown effective in Zimbabwe, Liberia, Sudan, and Ethiopia.

Methods: From July through December 2007, structured interviews were conducted with 139 adolescents (65 females; 74 males; mean age = 13.8 years) prior to, immediately following, and four months following FPV interventions. Within this sample, 98 adolescents made up the intervention group, while 41 made up a matched control group. Participant Observation was conducted during five programs, each consisting of ten hours of instruction. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with Trainers and local HIV/AIDS experts.

Results: From pre to post, the intervention group (n=98) significantly improved on responses to six HIV knowledge questions (t=13.80, p<.0000) and three self-efficacy questions (t=11.22, p<.0000). Moreover, the proportion of participants who reported speaking with a friend or family member about HIV increased from 35 to 56 percent and 24 to 53 percent, respectively. With few exceptions, these improvements were sustained over four months. No significant improvements were found for the control group (n=41). Quantitative data, participant observation, and in-depth interviews all suggest that the sports-based model is optimal for adolescents aged 12-14. See figure below for overall correct response rates by group.
Conclusions: Following participation in the FPV program, adolescents report feeling greater control in protecting themselves from HIV, while demonstrating greater knowledge about HIV transmission, testing, and risk reduction. Communication data suggests that adolescents' new knowledge is being shared with both family members and friends, such that the programs influence extends beyond the individual participants. This study suggests that the Grassroot Soccer curriculum could effectively become incorporated into larger-scale prevention programs in the Caribbean.

The full research results can be downloaded at: http://grassrootsoccer.org/docs/Kaufman_Thesis_Final.pdf

2nd Annual Magnolia's Burlington Benefit Concert, Thursday, Feb. 28th, 8 p.m.

Please join us on Thursday, February 28th, 8 p.m. at Magnolia Cafe and Bistro in Burlington, Vermont for our second annual benefit concert and fundraiser for Batey Libertad [map & directions]. This year's fundraiser is being organized by the March '08 University of Vermont service-learning class to the Dominican Republic, and will feature the music of UVM's very own McKew Devitt and the Hit Paws ... yes, the professor leading the trip!

The March class is raising money to build this family a home at Batey Libertad. UVM service-learning classes have been working with the community of Batey Libertad since January 2005 on infrastructure needs, including other family house projects as well as building a community center, health clinic, and literacy center. Home building extends the work of Education Across Borders, an NGO that has been helping with house projects for a number of years, as well as sponsoring local students to finish high school and attend college. The March '08 class will be working with EAB students to formalize a language and computer literacy program at Batey Libertad geared toward school-age and adult learners alike. The students will also be rolling up their sleeves and continuing the work of the January '08 class on a new community farm.

A little bit of fundraising can go along way. Below are some before and after pictures from the March '07 house project completed with Batey Libertad and UVM students. Please turn up at Magnolia's for some music, food, and good company and help us with another happy home.

Before:

During:
After:

FPV Ambassador Emmanuel Sanon

Futbol para la Vida ambassador Emmanuel "Manno" Sanon passed away today in Orlando after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Manno was born on June 25th, 1951 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, son of Darius Sanon, from Jacmel, and Cherisna Fortune Sanon, from Kenscoff. A schoolboy football sensation at Don Bosco, he made his debut for the Haitian national team at 18 years old in the 1970 World Cup qualifying, and his goal scoring exploits over the next decade left him as Haiti's career top goal scorer. He had a successful international career in Europe and the USA where he played against the top football stars of the day.

Manno's goals in the 1973 CONCACAF tournament helped Haiti become the first Caribbean nation to qualify for a FIFA World Cup. At the 1974 World Cup in West Germany Manno scored goals against Italy and Argentina, with the first goal voted as the goal of the tournament. His goal against Italy was well remembered and replayed frequently during the festivities at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and France Football named him as one of the Top 100 World Cup players. His autobiography "Toup Pou Yo" recorded the 1974 World Cup from a personal angle, and he was named the Haitian Athlete of the Century in 1999.

After retirement in 1983, Manno coached youth teams in San Diego, Texas, and Orlando, as well as the senior Haitian national team. He started the Foundation Emmanuel Sanon FONDESA, dedicated to empowering young people to reach their potential by supporting community-based programs promoting health, education, and welfare. He also worked with other international humanitarian organizations, most recently visiting Haitian bateyes in the Dominican Republic in late 2007 with Futbol para la Vida, an HIV/AIDS prevention education program of the international Grassroot Soccer network.

Emmanuel Sanon is survived by his wife and four children. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to FONDESA at mannosanon@aol.com.

Obituaries can be found at:

Sports Illustrated
USA Today
Miami Herald
Charleston Daily Mail
Fox Sports

Call to Dominican presidential candidates to address rights of Haitian migrants

A February 7th article in Dominican Today highlighted a recent request by the Jesuits Refugees and Migrants Service to presidential candidates in the Dominican Republic to address the rights of Haitian migrants.

The article argues that although the country benefits from cheap Haitian manual labor, "the State doesn’t assume its responsibility to guarantee a dignified treatment in its territory; much on the contrary, it has chosen to leave the Haitian immigrants in a state of irregularity and unprotected."

The plight of Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic has received much international press over the past two years, including articles in the New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, and Science.