6th Tournament of the Batey Libertad Coalition

On Sunday, November 18th, a University of Vermont class together with the Batey Libertad Coalition (BLC) held the 6th BLC Soccer Tournament at Batey Libertad. Special guest Emmanuel "Manno" Sanon -- World Cup Footballer and Haitian Athlete of the Century -- was in attendance to give the Batey Libertad men's team a pep talk that carried them through the finals, where they held on to a 1-0 lead against "Plantaciones del Norte". Many of the UVM students hadn't found their "Haitian stomachs" just yet, illing from some home cooking the day before, but three Vermonters did take the field. Father-son duo Lucas and Gary Hawley joined forces in the final, and UVM medical student Ryan Sexton helped Batey Libertad reach the finals with a penalty kick during a qualifying round shoot-out.

The Batey Libertad Coalition is a partnership between Haitians, Dominicans, and Americans to use the sport of soccer as a catalyst for social change at Batey Libertad and the surrounding communities. The BLC was founded by a group of University of Vermont students and soccer players from Batey Libertad whose shared love of the "beautiful game" has helped to organize community resources, inspire the next generation of community leaders, and break down racial prejudices between Dominicans and Haitians. Batey Libertad has both men's and women's soccer teams, as well as programs for young boys and girls. Today they are a soccer powerhouse in the Esperanza-Mao-Santiago region, and have helped organize and outfit other teams in the surrounding area with equipment collected by US soccer clubs and school programs. BLC Vermont partners include Essex United Soccer Club, Capital Soccer Club, and Far Post Soccer Club, and during 2007 benefited from equipment drives at high schools and universities in New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Illinois.

For more information on the Batey Libertad Coalition, how to organize a soccer equipment drive, or raise money for Batey Libertad programs through annual juggle-a-thons, please get in touch with John Antonucci of Capital Soccer Club, UVM alumni and co-founder of the BLC.

World Cup Footballer, Manno Sanon, Visits Batey Libertad

Over the weekend of November 17 and 18, the community of Batey Libertad was treated to a visit from a Haitian national hero ... in fact ... the Haitian Athlete of the Century! Emmanuel "Manno" Sanon -- who lead Haiti to the 1974 World Cup -- shared his coaching and playing experiences with the soccer teams, attended a graduation of a "Futbol para la Vida" HIV/AIDS education program, and hosted a soccer tournament at Batey Libertad. Footballers and fans alike spent hours with Manno, discussing soccer, autographing t-shirts, or just reflecting on the future of Haiti and the powerful voice of the Haitian diaspora in the Dominican Republic.

Manno's name was forever preserved in soccer lore when he scored one of the most memorable goals in World Cup history against Italian keeper Dino Zoff. Scoring nearly half of the national team goals during his four years playing with Haiti, Manno went on to play professional soccer in Europe and the USA, has had an illustrious coaching career in the USA, and most recently coached the Haitian national team in the 1999-2000 season, including their first CONCACAF Gold Cup appearance. Manno today lives in Orlando, Florida with his wife Susi, and has been busy running the Foundation Emmanuel Sanon (FONDESA), a 501(c) non-profit and charitable organization that provides activities for youth of North American, the Caribbean, and Europe. Manno has recently become the ambassador for Futbol para la Vida, our HIV/AIDS prevention education program with youth of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Together with a University of Vermont class, Manno hosted the 6th Soccer Tournament of the Batey Libertad Coalition. The tournament included Batey Libertad and three teams from neighboring Haitian communities. Fighting through the rain (at times torrential) the Batey Libertad men's team won the tournament, with Manno presiding over the team trophy presentation. Vermont players included the father son duo of Lucas and Gary Hawley, and UVM medical student Ryan Sexton, who scored a critical goal during a qualifying round penalty kick shoot-out.

Read more about the illustrious career of Manno Sanon at:
http://www.haitifoot.com/manno_sanon/manno_sanon.php.

For more about the work of his foundation, see:
http://www.haitifoot.com/fondesa.php.

And relive Manno's infamous goal at the 1974 World Cup by clicking Play below:

Oct. 25th Benefit Concert and Silent Auction, Burlington, Vermont

On Thursday October 25th from 8pm-12am, Magnolia's Bistro of Burlington, Vermont opened its doors to the community for a concert and silent auction to benefit Futbol Para La Vida. Futbol para la Vida (soccer for life) is an HIV/AIDS prevention education and youth leadership program in the Dominican Republic. FPV developed from a 2005 pilot project between the community of Batey Libertad, the University of Vermont (UVM), and Grassroots Soccer. You can read more about the program at the September 2007 posting on this blog, or listen to a National Public Radio story at Only a Game.

The evening was a huge success, with money raised at the door and through a silent auction directly benefiting HIV/AIDS prevention education in the Dominican Republic. A huge thanks goes out to July and Shannon of Magnolia's for great food and hosting the event, Kelly Ravin and friends (of Lucy Vincent) for some fantastic music, Tristam Coffin of UVM for organizing and advertising, the November '07 UVM travel-study class for collecting items for the auction and getting out the word, many Vermont businesses for auction items -- including Smuggler's Notch, Magnolia's, University Mall, and Magic Hat Brewery -- and of course everyone who showed up (in spite of missing the Red Sox game).

"Lose the Shoes" Soccer Tournament and Fundraiser at UVM

On Sunday, October 14th, the University of Vermont (UVM) hosted a "Lose the Shoes" barefoot soccer tournament and fundraiser for "Futbol para la Vida", Libertad's HIV prevention education program in the Dominican Republic. Although temperatures we're in the low 40s, more than 100 UVM student's turned out to play. FPV is part of the international Grassroot Soccer network, and "Lose the Shoes" tournaments occur throughout a network of U.S. colleges and universities in support of Grassroot Soccer and affiliated programs through the College Kick AIDS Campaign.

This Fall's tournament was organized by the November '07 UVM travel-study course to Batey Libertad. Twenty-five teams competed in a 3 v. 3 format on the green of Redstone Campus, with prizes and raffle items donated by local Vermont businesses. For more information on this event, or to help with planning future UVM soccer fundraisers, please get in touch with tournament organizer Lena Forman at lena.forman@uvm.edu. Thanks Lena for an awesome event!

Team "Uno Mas" ... team spirit award:

Goal!!!!
The winning team sporting their new Batey Libertad Coalition shirts:

Sep. 29th Burlington AIDS Walk and Fundraiser for Futbol para la Vida

On Saturday, September 29th, University of Vermont students, faculty and friends marched in the annual AIDS Walk in Burlington, Vermont. Organized by Vermont CARES, our team walked to raise money for the "Futbol para la Vida" HIV/AIDS prevention education project of Fundacion de Libertad. Futbol para la Vida is a member of the international Grassroot Soccer network, and includes programs that are currently running in dozens of bateyes in the Dominican Republic, run by peer educators from the communities of Batey Libertad and Saman/Caraballo (see September blog below). With much support from the upcoming November travel-study class from UVM to Batey Libertad, and with a huge thanks to Vermont CARES for letting us ride on their coattails, we raised over $2000 ... and still counting.

Thanks so much to our dozens of sponsors and to everyone who showed up for the walk on what turned out to be a perfect fall day in Vermont!

Here's a tally of what we've raised so far, with links to our secure fundraising page if you're interested in contributing.

Community Gardening in the DR ... info. meeting at UVM

Community Gardening in the Dominican Republic
PSS 196, 3 credits, Jan 2-13, 2008
University of Vermont
Instructor: John Hayden

Are you interested in traveling to the Dominican Republic and having a life changing experience working alongside Dominicans and Haitians in a service learning class geared toward sustainable agriculture? Want to find out more? Come to an informational meeting on October 3 at 7 pm in 105 Aiken.

In this class students will work on gardening/farming projects while getting to know two different communities in the Dominican Republic. We will start with 3 day visit to the small mountain town of Rio Limpio and work with an organization called "CREAR" (Centro Regional Estudios de Alternativas Rurales).

This organization trains people in sustainable agriculture techniques applicable to small scale landholders. They have introduced organic agriculture and conservation farming as an alternative to the slash-and-burn practices of the region's farmers. We will attend workshops on "double digging" and "composting" and work on projects near the village of Rio Limpio. We will also visit organic and biodynamic farms in the area.

Our next project will be at Batey Libertad, a community in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic. The Batey is settled mostly by migrant Haitian workers or people of Haitian descent. There they struggle with nutrition, health and environmental issues within their community. A group of individuals are interested in starting a community farm to improve their nutrition, health and economic situation. We hope to help "jump start" their project by supplying seeds, tools and elbow grease.

Our final visit in the DR will be at a shade grown organic coffee plantation where we will learn more about the ecological, social and economic benefits of sustainable agro-forestry techniques.

Please join us Wednesday October 3 at 7 pm in 105 Aiken to find out more about this class!

University of Vermont Service-Learning Courses and Network

The University of Vermont (UVM) hosts annual travel study classes to Batey Libertad and other communities within the Fundacion de Libertad alliance. Trips are organized around service-learning projects that have emerged from community priorities and in cooperation with NGO partners such as Grassroot Soccer, the Dominican DREAM Project, and the Batey Relief Alliance. The first class in January of 2005 initiated the Grassroot Soccer HIV/AIDS curriculum and raised money to help build a local health clinic and school/community center at Batey Libertad. Subsequent classes completed construction of "el local", created a computer center for teaching basic computer literacy, provided laptops to high school and college students who are sponsored by Education Across Borders, supported activities of batey women's groups, organized community health clinics, built homes for families at Batey Libertad, and helped to expand the Futbol para la Vida HIV/AIDS prevention education program to many new communities.

The UVM program also supports other service-learning initiatives in the DR, including a June 2007 trip from Urbana High School of Illinois who built a family a home at Batey Libertad; a July 2007 HIV/AIDS program for street kids in Puerto Plata organized by Project Esperanza of Virginia Tech; and an upcoming March 2008 alternative spring break trip from Dartmouth College that will be building a community center in Saman (the north coast center for Futbol para la Vida HIV/AIDS education programs).

The 2007-08 academic year will include three new UVM service classes. During the November 2007 Thanksgiving break, Jon and Pat Erickson will lead a trip to Batey Libertad to support new HIV/AIDS programs, a community health clinic, the formalization of a language literacy and tutorial center, and the beginnings of a new community gardening project. Over the January 2008 winter break, John Hayden of Plant and Soil Sciences will lead a trip to establish community garden plots at Batey Libertad, leaving behind a student volunteer to coordinate a community farm and literacy program during the spring semester. Then over the March 2008 spring break, McKew Devitt of the Department of Romance Languages will bring a group of students to work on the literacy program, a new community library, and replace more "tin can" shanties with ventilated block constructed homes.

For more information on service-learning trips and community collaboration opportunities, please contact Jon Erickson at jon.erickson@uvm.edu, or 802-656-3328.