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Soccer donations are a kick; Equipment Colleted sent to L'Athletique d'Haiti

MARY ELLEN PEREIRA

October 15, 2006

During the past three years, Jacklyn Sullivan, a seventh-grader at Jonas E. Salk Middle School in Levittown, has collected more than 1,300 items of gently used soccer equipment for Passback, a foundation that collects soccer equipment for teams in underprivileged areas. "I collect mostly cleats, but also some shin guards and knee pads," Jacklyn said. She has spoken at school and town board meetings, and e-mailed coaches and parents. With help from her dad, she drops off boxes and signs at different fields before soccer games and tournaments, and returns later to pick up donations.

The equipment is sent to L'Athletique d'Haiti, an organization that sponsors educational and recreational programs in Haiti. To donate, e-mail sully49@optonline.net. Jacklyn, who played soccer for town leagues for many years, is planning to take a course to become a referee. At school she sings in the chorus and is a member of the Drama Club.

"This year, we are putting on 'Oliver,' and I will be an orphan," Jacklyn said. She volunteers at Maria Regina Church in Seaford. Last year, she received a Town of Hempstead "Make a Difference" award. Jacklyn, 12, lives in Wantagh with her parents, Donna and Steve, and siblings Christine and Michael.

"I want to be a seventh-grade social studies teacher or a congresswoman," she says

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L'Athletique d'Haiti, an organization that sponsors educational and recreational programs in Haiti

In a dusty field on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, the sun scorches the earth as a throng of boys tumbles from the back of a battered, open-back wagon. They move as one to the changing room, which rings with the shouts of excited children. It's a typical Thursday at L'Athletique d'Haiti, a football and athletics academy run by Bobby Duval, ex-political prisoner and human rights activist.

The training ground is located next to Haiti's notorious slum district, Cite Soleil. Roads are poor, water supplies rudimentary and often polluted, and sanitation is basic. Many of the students live in Cite Soleil.

The academy provides training, medicine and food for 650 pupils from some of the poorest sections of the community. The average annual wage in Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, is $371. Although education is compulsory, it's a luxury enjoyed by only 40% of school-age children. Students at L'Athletique d'Haiti must attend regular classes, and Duval subsidises this

Duval says he wants to foster social improvements in Haiti through sport. "The most important thing is the friendship, the solidarity. They come here and grow up and learn the skills, but they learn how to live with each other in groups. They learn how to respect

each other, they learn how to work with each other. They learn how to fight with each other, and that's a good learning experience, too,"he laughs.

His motivation is simply to encourage sport, which he sees as a key catalyst for social change and cohesion. "I've always been involved with the social and political movement, but I didn't want to be just advocating human rights and social change. I wanted to put to the

test some of my own beliefs. In real terms," he says.

Duval was imprisoned by the Baby Doc Duvalier regime in 1975, in the harshest conditions imaginable, in the Fort d'Inoche jail in Port-au-Prince. The jail was used by Duvalierist forces to eliminate dissidents through starvation or summary executions with clubs. He was released after Amnesty International included him on its "urgent action" list.

After 20 years of media activism and human rights work, Duval returned to his first love: sport. The school opened in 1995, with just 12 students. The land was previously used as a bottling plant's dumping ground. Duval arranged the removal of thousands of cubic metres of broken glass, fenced the area off, and created pitches, an athletics track and basketball courts. He later had administrative offices built along with showers, changing rooms, dormitories, a kitchen and a large dining area.

L'Athletique d'Haiti is funded by voluntary donations of cash, goods and services - at a cost of $20,000 US per month. The academy's success rate is high: 20% of players in the national league are graduates of l'Athletique d'Haiti, which receives no funding from FIFA or other international sporting bodies.

But perhaps the greatest success is the children's dedication to the school. Schneider le France, 11, says before he started training here, he used to play in the street. "I play football here with Bobby. I am a centre-forward. I like it here because I like football, and I want to become a good player. Ronaldo is my favourite player in the world. Because when he plays, I feel so happy. I want to be like him."

The project's future, though, looks uncertain, as local political and business factions are unhappy at Duval's success. A business conglomerate wants to take back the land it claims to have loaned Duval in 1995. He says they only want the land now that he has rendered it fit for use. The conglomerate plans to build a factory on one quarter of the field. It will produce trinkets and artisan products for the tourist market. It is possible that some of the children from L'Athletique d'Haiti will end up working there.