Dear friends,
A little later than usual, here is a round-up of the exciting happenings at FL HQ last June and July...
We kick things off with big news! We are teaming up with Toby’s Sports, the country's leading sports retailer, to give consumers the chance to support the Girls Community League (GCL).
The ‘Get the Chain, Let them Play’ campaign includes the availability of special UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Keychains across 15 of their stores, including their flagship store in Bonifacio Global City (BGC).
The announcement is an important step as we continue to seek sustainable ways to provide even more girls with access to equitable participation in sports and education. For more information on how you can become a champion for the ‘Get the Chain, Let them Play’ campaign, click here.
On the subject of the Girls League, July saw the inaugural season of Cebu GCL culminated as Labogon FC was crowned champions. During the course of six months that the league was active, 240 adolescent girls aged 15-18 played over 160 futsal matches and benefited from 75 hours of developmental support from young coaches.
We see every day the impact that these purposeful play and education sessions have on girls and boys. Last month, GCL Tacloban player, Nikki, shared ‘why she plays’ and what she aspires to be once she graduates school.
In June, we teamed up up with Gawad Kalinga’s SipagG, to start our ‘Play for Peace’ initiative in Northern Mindanao, which will support communities through on-going support to children affected by conflict. We are excited about the collaboration and look forward to sharing more in the coming months.
Meanwhile, in Tacloban, the city’s first Arsenal Soccer Clinic took place, attracting new children to take up the sport while interacting with parents about the benefits purposeful play has on children. Arigato Al and Oscar!
And all these small steps add up. Just ask Coach JP, who, with a spectacular assist from our friends at SSH, was given the opportunity to travel from Tacloban to Chicago and enjoy the CONCACAF Gold Cup final alongside FIFA Vice President, Victor Montagliani. You can the detailed story of JP's journey here.
The month also saw a new teammate join us as the SOL Foundation committed to supporting our work in Tacloban and Cebu. We are looking forward to working with their committed team over the coming months.
As we look ahead to GCL Season #2, we are encouraged that our team gets stronger, our dreams start to become less audacious and our calls for equal global opportunity, less unreasonable.
In full colour,
FL Team
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Dear Friends,
Here is a quick update on what your contributes has allowed us to achieve;
March kicked off with the origins of our work shared to a global audience on FIFA.Com (check it out if you haven’t do so), our players on the ground were busy preparing for International Women’s Day.
The globally celebrated date of March 8th presented an opportunity to showcase the continued efforts by everyone at FundLife to ensure the universal aspirations for gender equality are being manifested into concrete actions in the communities serve.
With support from our global change partner, Coaches Across Continents, and supporting IWF’s message of #BalanceForBetter, FundLife worked with public school teachers, community social workers and FFLA players to deliver play-based workshops and awareness building.
The IWD activities complimented our 4th Match-day of the Girls Community League for the UN Global Goals, our dedicated female empowerment programme that aims protect, educate and empower 21,000 girls by 2021 – an ambitious target that you can help us reach – More on this later!
March also bought great news with FundLife signing an MOA with the Australian embassy in Manila, to extend the GCL to reach an additional 300 girls in Cebu. The project will work with girls from communities that have some of highest risk human trafficking and poverty rates in the province We’re proud and excited to begin this new chapter with a committed supporter on board helping us champion protection and education for all girls.
April began with FundLife delivering a ‘Play for Peace’ Capacity Building seminar for teachers and youth leaders. Led by FFLA’s Senior Coach, Rhobs, the seminar introduced the concept of Football 3 to educators and delivered key techniques for the use of sport for social impact, bothin schools and in communities.
The seminar coincided with the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP). The day marked a double celebration as it was announced FundLife was awarded the 2019 Sport and Active Society Commission development grant, a global initiative led by the International Olympic Committee. The grant will allow FundLife to launch crucial interventions in Northern and Central Mindanao, supporting children affected by the Marwari conflict and those from vulnerable communities in Iligan, Butuan, Malaybalay City as well as the wider Bukidnon region.
April also saw the culmination of the first leg of the GCL, crowing our first Tacloban champions and paving the way for the GCL Summer League, which will commence next month – providing structured play for students during the summer months.
We can't wait to share updates on May and June during our next report!!
In meantime, don't forget to check out and follow our facebook pages for Girls Community League, Football for Life and FundLife.
Hello FFLA friend,
Happy New Year! Fingers crossed for a successful, meaningful and impact-driven 2019!
Yet another quarter has passed, and we are happy to get in touch with you and walk you through all the exciting stuff which has happened recently.
Sama-Sama Games: epic success!
In early December, we came together to celebrate unity and opportunity through our annual festival Sama-Sama Games in the city of Cebu. This time, we were blessed with the great support extended by Generation Amazing who share the same vision with us. An overwhelming number of 588 children aged 7-18 from 26 marginalized local communities participated in the Games. As part of the festival, Generation Amazing Ambassadors Coach John Paul and Coach Jhean facilitated the “Be Amazing Workshop” with 24 children, 12 male and 12 female, with the support of the other FFLA coaches and staff from Leunthai Football School and Davao FC. Read more about this epic festival here. Continue with checking some cool photos here. And here is this video for dessert, don’t forget to check it out, too!
Cebu Women’s Community Futsal League finally kicked-off
A press conference was also held for the Sama-Sama Games and the launch of the Cebu Women's Community Futsal League where FundLife, Generation Amazing and Giuseppe Community Football Club shared their vision to promote social and educational development through football with the launching of Cebu Women's Community Futsal League (CWCL), where sponsored communities would hold regular futsal games in a structured league format. Stay tuned as we properly unroll this new initiative!
Outcomes and impact: let’s hear some FFLA stories
In 2019, our flagship project – today known as Football for Life Academy – is turning 5 years old. The project started as a mere emergency response effort back in 2014 but from the very start we knew we were into this for the long haul! We hoped that if the project ran well, it would evolve into a holistic educational project with a long-term goal to give the marginalized children a fair shot in life and their respective communities a chance to develop. Today we look back and we are thrilled to witness that the positive change is indeed taking place. Have a look at the story of Kem who shares how he transformed from being a socially withdrawn and hard-headed kid to becoming a courageous learner who looks at life and its challenges more positively. Let us also introduce to you Juliet, one of FFLA's best players, who wrote about her experience on how FundLife's programme improved her life and encouraged her to excel more in her academic activities.
It’s stories like these which keeps us going! Hope they will brighten up your day, too!
Truly yours,
FundLife Team
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5 Years Since Haiyan: We Need to Do More
Dear FFLA friend,
Greetings from the Philippines!
November 8 marked the 5th anniversary of the world’s strongest storm, Typhoon Haiyan. For the many who were in the Philippines on that day, it is a date that we will never forget. Manila was dark, tress swayed violently as the rain fell. It was adverse, but nothing that prepared us for what was happening in Eastern Visayas. The destruction Haiyan left behind was horrific; over 7,000 deaths, 16 million affected and over 1 million houses destroyed. Today, over 5,000 families who lost homes still wait to be rehoused and replaced. As Jack Sim would say, ‘bureaucrazy’!
On November 8 five years ago FundLife did not exist. We were nothing but a vision to champion greater opportunities and education for the hundreds of thousand children living in the slums of Manila. That day changed everything. We suddenly became naïve experts. For a brief moment, as is true for any global calamity, the world cared. Tacloban and other affected areas were given unprecedented financial aid. All too often, this aid never reached the communities, never gave agency to those who continue to rebuild their own lives. Never offered anything more than brief respite.
Five years on, long after the media and the international NGO’s left, FundLife is still in those very communities. We have seen what is possible when we invest in children, in communities, in educational opportunity. When we remove politics. We hope that we are able to learn from the devastation of Haiyan, and ensure we do better. We must change the way we respond and how we account for aid.
When we learn how to give agency, local organisations far better than FundLife can change the entire landscape of their communities. But they need opportunity – not aid. Five years after we started; our work is just beginning. Dreams are just starting to be cultivated – and these dreamers are no longer just the dreams of Haiyan Survivors – they are the dreams of the forgotten. Today we remember – not only those who lost so much five years ago, but also those who continue suffer every single day as we idle by.
But more than remember, we must act – if we do not, who will.
FundLife collaborates with Genesis Project from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)
FundLife programme director, Marko Kasic and former Arsenal in the Community Coach, Etienne Digout, visited BiH to conduct a seminar organised by Genesis to promote the use of “football and play” as a tool for inclusivity and peace building. The seminar, to foster and promote positive role models through sport, was delivered to 12 female and 12 male school children and 16 educators from across Central BiH.
Taking place in mountainous town of Jahorina (one of the venues used in the Sarajevo 84’ Winter Olympics), the seminar included the introduction of football 3 methodology to school children instructing them how football can be used to promote gender equity, inclusivity, respect and fair play. Read more about the newly acquired partnership here!
Partnership with Giuseppe Football Club in action
In early August we reported that a new partnership had come to force – between FundLife and Giuseppe Football Club. We are happy to follow up on this on conclude that the partnership has been developed as strongly as we had hoped for!
To achieve our mutual goal, both GFC and FundLife came up with the Girls Community League to identify girls’ teams, whether they are playing football or futsal, and see how they can help them. Currently, GFC and FundLife are holding a futsal training program at the Sisters of Mary School Girlstown in the city of Talisay, Cebu, after finding out that they have a team but has not yet received formal training. Catch more details on this exciting project here.
FundLife participates in the Coaches Across Continents – Gawad Kalinga joint programme
FundLife and Coaches Across Continents (CAC) partnership goes way back – our CAC friends have come to the Philippines several times to conduct intensive trainings on football4good for our coaches. Today, we have grown our competence to a level when we can participate in CAC outreach programmes as equal partners. What more to aspire for!
Recently, our Community Impact Coach, Robelyn Villas, took part in a joint CAC-Gawad Kalinga programme. Read the wonderful story about her experience of working with Coaches Across Continents On-Field in the Philippines with CAC Community Partner, Gawad Kalinga, after the already exciting adventure of the FIFA Football for Hope Festival in Russia this Summer of 2018 in partnership with the World Cup!
Preparation for annual Sama-Sama Games is in full swing
In early December we are hosting our annual Sama-Sama Games in the City of Cebu. This will be the 8th event so far and it has been evolved a lot over this time period, however the main idea of the Games has remained unchanged: once a year we come together to celebrate unity and opportunity. This year, it is organized with the great support of Generation Amazing who share the same vision with us. Stay tuned for more information on how it goes!
Truly yours,
FundLife Team
Hi FFLA friends!
So… Two months ago, headquarters office of FundLife in Tacloban was buzzing with excitement and anticipation as we made our final preparations for the FFLA delegation's journey to attend the 2018 FIFA Foundation Festival in Moscow. As one by one we were ticking off items on our must-bring checklist; FFLA coach and mentor, Coach Rhobs, had already arrived in Russia, ahead of the entire delegation, to participated in the orientation and training for young leaders. Ever proactive and passionate, Coach Rhobs expressed how she wanted to share the most memorable moments of her trip including her first ever solo travel to Moscow, watching a World Cup match, and meeting other young leaders from different organizations coming from all over the globe to celebrate football as a catalyst for social change and development. So, here it goes, friends – the life-changing journey through the eyes of Coach Rhobs!
World Cup season has now come to a close. But even weeks after France (congratulations!) took home the World Cup Championship, we find ourselves still talking and reminiscing about Russia, the World Cup, and the unforgettable experience we’ve had at the Festival! Have a look at the snapshot of the festival here – a smile on your face guaranteed! What more – with the help with Vibe World team who travelled all the way from the USA, we’ve captured the heroes of this trip in a series of videos! How about you grab a coffee, sit down, relax and enjoy it! Teaser, Video abour Rhobs, Video about Nilda, Video about Daniel, Video about Yman, Video about Carl.
Amazing post-festival time: our own Mini World Cup and meeting with the Vice President of the Philippines
While the FFLA delegation was enjoying its time in Moscow, back at home our team supported by the Arsenal in the Community gave into the World Cup fever, too – and prepared for the Mini World Cup Tournament, which they pulled off brilliantly upon the return of the delegation to the Philippines. What a Cup it was! Congrats, Mexico and Japan, for the 2nd and the 3rd places, respectively… And the winner is… Well, find out the winning country here! :)
On August 2, FundLife International met Philippine Vice President Leni Robredo in a closed-door meeting in Salcedo Central Elementary School in Samar. During the meet and greet, FundLife founder and director, Marko Kasic, introduced the team, the coaches, and the FFLA players including two of the FFLA-Russia delegates to the FIFA Foundation Festival in Moscow. Exciting day by all means! Check it out here.
Department of Education and FundLife strengthen the productive partnership
On June 14, picking up from the success of the FFLA pilot implementation, FundLife International, in partnership with Department of Education (DepEd), resumed the programme’s second year of delivery in existing partner schools in and around Tacloban City. The secured partnership allows the FFLA programme to continue its work with students from targeted public schools in Tacloban City and across Leyte. Our progress with the DepEd is documented here.
FFLA Project Expansion to Cebu – thank you, Generation Amazing, for the trust and support!
Earlier in May, FundLife received confirmation that Generation Amazing will be extending their football for development initiatives to support the organization in amplifying the impact of its Football for Life Academy (FFLA) programme in existing partner schools and communities in Tacloban, and with new collaborators and beneficiaries in Cebu City. The set-up of the new project location took a couple of months and in early August, we launched the project in the City of Cebu during the 2-day Generation Amazing Cup! Read more about this fantastic event here.
Following the success of the Generation Amazing Cup held in Cebu, FundLife International and Giuseppe Football Club formalized their partnership through a Memorandum of Agreement. More details here.
We hope you liked a snapshot of our productive summer!
More good news to follow soon – stay tuned :)
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