"Chicas Unidas"
Keyla and Heyssell stand under one tree, Wendy and her cousins under another, and some of the original Chicas
Unidas players sit in the van. On the surface, this does not seem like a united soccer team, but if you understand that they all come from
different communities and that this may be the first time some meet, you may sympathize.
So began
the girls' soccer team's past season, divided, with each group playing on their own, not as the team they were. However, by the end, progress
in bridging this divide, even animosity, which can exist among any neighboring communities, in Nicaragua or at home, had been made with these girls
from Cedro Galan and Chiquilistagua. In the van on the way to and from games, the girls would squish together to fit in more players, laugh,
joke around not only with friends from their community, but with everyone else, and plan for upcoming games. On the soccer field, they began to
coalesce into a real team, one that understood that there is no "I" (or "only my friends") in "team" and went on to surprise even the league favorites
in the championship game. Although I did not expect it at the outset, great strides were made in proving that a common goal can help overcome
local differences and prejudices. In joining together to win the league, the girls truly lived up to their team name, "Chicas Unidas."
Maria Domanskis, MPI Member, 2005-2006
Maria begins her first semester at the University of Michigan School of Law this fall.
"A Universal Game"
Have you ever thought about the shape of the universe? Scientists have been puzzling with that
question for years. Now they have come up with a theory that says the universe may be shaped kind of like a soccer ball. The theory also says that
the universe is finite, meaning it has boundaries. Using new information from a NASA satellite, scientists say that old beliefs about the shape of
the universe may be wrong. Before, people thought that the universe was flat or shaped like a circle or a saddle. Now scientists say that it could be
a dodecahedron (doe-deck-uh-HEE-dron). A dodecahedron has twelve sides. Each of those sides has five sides of its own-like the black and white patches
on a soccer ball. Next time you play with a soccer ball, remember that you could be kicking a tiny model of the universe! (National
Geographic News, 2003)
For a full story about soccer in the world, published in June, see http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0606/feature1/index.html
MPI Program Update: Soccer
The MPI Soccer Program began in the fall of 2004. Mayker Bantz and Matt McPheely coached a guy's team in Cedro
Galan, while Tori Purcell and Jessie Faith started an all-girls team after requests from girls in the area. The Unidas Chicas team, as the girls go
by, have played in a Managua league for three consecutive seasons, reaching the finals last fall and winning their championship this past July by a
score of 5-1. The boy's team, which Mayker continued assisting until his departure this spring, grew in number and greatly improved their skills, as
Coach Bantz tells us. They now are self-sufficient, providing themselves with cleats and uniforms. Mayker continued his support with referee and
inscription fees.
There is
also a younger boy's soccer team begun by short-term volunteer Austin Webbert. He coached the guys for three months, and helped get them
motivated to practice and to enter a league. They entered themselves in the league, MPI paid their inscription and referee fees, and they are
currently in season.
Most
Unidas Chicas practices this past year took place on Tuesdays and Fridays in the mornings from 8 to 9 a.m. As coach Maria Domanskis describes,
interest is high, with girls from Cedro Galan, Chiquilistagua, Barrio Solano, and Cuajachillo playing. A central location to practice has been the
most difficult aspect to the program. Games, guy's and girl's, usually take place on Sundays.
In Fall
2005, the girls team had an incentive program where they earned points for attendance and participation to receive shin guards and soccer socks. "All
the girls who received soccer socks and shin guards were very proud of them," Maria says. "Although they laughed at the Kelley green color of socks,
the cheapest I could find, which is why they are that color." As of this summer, 17 girls were listed as participants in the girl's soccer program.
Two
important Nicaraguans to the girl's program are team captain, Aracelly Salinas Lovo, a 23-year-old mother of two from Cedro, and Julio, a coach from
the Chiquilistagua area who's been helping with soccer for 3 years. Many of the male family members of the Chicas Unidas play on the men's and boy's
teams. Futbol runs in the family.
Program
costs include referee payments of 75 cordobas per game ($4-5), a league fee of 250 cordobas ($15), a 60-cordoba no-show deposit, yellow- and red-card
penalty fees (15 and 30 cordobas), and chalking the field for 30-45 cordobas. Other than those costs, equipment like cleats, shin guards, jerseys,
shorts, and soccer socks comes from several places such as US donations, volunteer purchases, and local stores. MPI is always open for more equipment
to pass along to the players.
New
seasons will begin this fall with our 2006 set of year-long program directors joining the teams begun by first MPI group. "We hope to get more
involved with the teams as new program directors here find their groove," Dan Bain informs.
Good work guys. Keep it up.
|
Address Change - MPI's new address is P.O. Box 121052, Nashville TN 37212.
MannaMail - Thoughts, stories, or photos to share with
the growing MPI? Send to taylorbruce@mannaproject.org. Also, if your email inbox blocks
this MannaMail graphics, simply click the button at the top to see an online version. ¡Gracias!
The Land Project - Looking to do more than donate? MPI
Nicaragua offers more. Visit the webpage below for our idea. A full proposal awaits to tell you the whole story about MPI, Chiquilistagua, and
the future. The Land Project will be a great movement!
Visit www.mannaproject.org/community_center/ or email wade@mannaproject.org for specific interest.
Sponsor a Child - MPI's child sponsorship
program provides nutritional food and necessary healthcare for the most malnourished children in Managua. Among other ailments, lead poisoning,
respiratory problems, and skin diseases plague the kids. In Cedro Galan, where MPI teaches pre-school and English classes, many sponsors help fund a
child's educational costs. Already, MPI partners with 33 donors like you in the U.S. To get to know Nicaragua through one child, see www.mannaproject.org/sponsor/. |
