Soccer + Life Skills for 1,000+ Youth in Cameroon

Our youth are participanting and their confidence in leadership skills is growing!

When we re-launched PLAY4PURPOSE last year,  there were about 330 boys registered in activities in 4 neighborhoods in Kumba. Today, that number is up 65% to about 550 youth, ~500 boys and ~50 girls, in 7 neighborhoods (2 regions - Southwest & Northwest). Despite the on-going unrest and insecurity, our team is there for our youth.

Now, we're seeing the impact of the lessons and experiences that define PLAY4PURPOSE. Before the last season kicked off, we surveyed our participants and learned that youth involved in our activities for more than two years*:

• have 13% greater confidence in their leadership skills
• are 40% more likely to have completed community service projects
• and 30% feel a greater sense of responsibility for community

*when compared to 1st year participants 

Youth in the 4 new neighborhoods completed surveys over the last two months and we're currently analyzing the results to include in our next quarterly report.

Support our Participants

Pictured above, youth in Bamenda complete surveys before PLAY4PURPOSE league kicks off earlier this month.2018: A year of growth and accountability

We continue to track our progress each week to make sure we achieve our goal of providing the highest quality experience for youth participants and their families. Highlights from the last few months include:

4 new jobs for community leaders, including 2 past participants (Bidias and Collins)
9 community events since July
12 new goal posts manufactured locally (each one funded by a supporter in Wheeling or Pittsburgh)
18 educational soccer sessions per week
24 youth councilors elected by their peers
170 additional youth spectators attending recent community events
300 parents attending recent community events
1 college athlete in the U.S. (David)

None of this would be possible without support from people like you!

Support our Growth

Pictured above, youth in Bamenda set up one of the goal posts on the field ahead of the first PLAY4PURPOSE league launching and community event.

Last year was our most successful year ever and we intend to continue the momentum to achieve even greater things in 2019. If you're inspired to stay involved; consider making another investment in our activities to see results!

Many thanks,

Justin Forzano, Founder and CEO

Support our Missio

We're gearing up to launch another round of PLAY4PURPOSE leagues in a total of 7 neighborhoods in Cameroon! The focus of this upcoming season is Leadership & Governance and features several topics on personal development and community service. To support this recent growth, we hired 4 new community leaders to join our team and continue to mentor and educate younger kids in their neighborhood. 

Njuki is one of the new neighborhoods where we're growing our PLAY4PURPOSE leagues. Over the past several weeks, the new community leader there, Maurice, has been mobilizing kids to participate in our educational soccer programming. We expect more than 50 youth to participate in the first edition of PLAY4PURPOSE in Njuki... on top of about 400 other youths in the 6 neighborhoods where CameroonFDP now has a presence.

Maurice grew up without his father and his coach stepped in to support him while he was a teenager, so he personally knows how beneficial a caring soccer coach can be to a young person. Looking back, it was the kids in the neighborhood who convinced Maurice to be their coach in the first place. He began training them a few months ago with no other intention other than to give them somthing positive to do. When he learned that we were looking to add a few new neighborhoods to our network, he jumped at the opportunity. We're so proud to give Maurice a job as a community leader because he is so committed to youth in his community.

All of this is possible because of your support! Thanks for helping us achieve our mission to improve lives of youth in Africa through soccer. 

Links:

• Check out this video highlighting Maurice's story