I'm running the Windsor Half Marathon on 24 September 2023 and want to use this opportunity to raise funds and awareness about Children Change Colombia charity. The charity's newly launched Football for Peace program helps kids in Chocó, Colombia to develop fundamental life skills and prevent forced recruitment into illegal groups and gangs that continue to impact children's quality of life and opportunities.

Chocó is one of the poorest and underserved departments in the country. It was controlled by the FARC guerilla group for decades until 2016 when a peace deal was signed. Unfortunately, peach deal only disbanded the FARC, it did not remove other threats, so the area continues to battle against illegal groups and gangs.

As many of you know, I consider Colombia one of my homes. I was raised in the US but my parents are Colombian. As such, I have been traveling to Colombia my whole life, and I've made it a point to travel beyond just the Eje Cafetero, where my family is from.

I traveled to Bahía Solano, Chocó in 2021 (one of the tourism hubs in the department) and witnessed first-hand the poverty and lack of infrastructure that exists. I can only imagine that the conditions are more challenging outside of the tourist hubs, which I didn't feel were safe enough to travel to yet. I have traveled extensively throughout Colombia over the years, and I've never seen an area so neglected like this one.

Consequently, the children in the Chocó remain at risk, which is why I'd like to raise funds for this vital project. Every child deserves the same same opportunities as those growing up in more developed states, regions, countries.

Donations will help fund training to local sports coaches to teach children about peace-building, gender equality and to develop their social-emotional skills, with the aim of protecting them against forced recruitment. It will also raise funds to provide football (soccer) kits and the restoration of football pitches.

£30 will give one child a full football kit and boots.

£215 will train 5 teachers on the prevention of child recruitment.

£450 will give a whole team of children their football kit and boots.

£1,000 will restore a football pitch.

I would greatly appreciate your support, no matter how small the amount.

Thank you,

Carla

Additional information about Football for Peace and Children Change Colombia:

The project is taking place in the Pacific region of Colombia and aims to support 200 children from 9 communities of the Afro Colombian Council Acadesan and will help them develop socio-emotional skills, promote gender equality and improve their capacities against forced recruitment and gender-based violence. Sport will help children and young people develop socio-emotional skills and improve their capacities to participate in peace-building processes, towards the prevention of forced recruitment. Above all, they will have a safe space to just be children.

Chocó, located in the pacific region of Colombia has historically been inhabited by Afro-descendent and Indigenous communities. For decades they have dealt with the presence of armed groups and thus children and young people are at risk of being forcibly recruited which has had a negative impact on education, with 26% of children in Chocó not attending school. Women and girls are the most affected with armed groups using sexual-based violence as a method of intimidation and coercion.

In order to achieve the goals of the project, we have partnered with the German development agency GIZ. We are implementing the GIZ sports for development methodology and care routes to prevent sexual violence. The methodology helps children and young people to learn values such as respect and teamwork through sport. GIZ trainers have travelled to the project area to train 30 teachers and mentors and monitor the implementation of the methodology in the practice of football. The training aims to certify 5 of the participants to become trainers themselves thus ensuring the replication of the methodology without relying on third parties like GIZ in the future. Teachers will be trained in children’s rights, leading football sessions with focus on values like empathy and discipline and recognising, preventing and denouncing cases of sexual violence.

Children Change Colombia websites:

https://childrenchangecolombia.org/why-colombia/

https://childrenchangecolombia.org/what-we-do/

https://childrenchangecolombia.org/football-for-peace-project/

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