FINDING YOUR VOICE
July 19, 2018. Coaches Across Continents Global Citizen, Rosa Morales, writes about her experience working on field with GOALS Armenia in Martuni and Gyumri, Armenia for the third year of the ASK for Choice partnership.
“I raise up my voice – not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard … we cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” – Malala Yousafzai
There are many individuals who have the luxury of being born into a privileged family, where they have little to no concern in regards to the realities those in developing countries face. However, although those in westernized countries do not face the hardships that are faced elsewhere, they are still battling for similar rights. Being a woman, no matter the location, is a constant battle and through my experience with Coaches Across Continents (CAC) as a Global Citizen, I have become increasingly aware that we must raise awareness and encourage the younger generations to fight for their rights through a voice that has been suppressed for centuries.
In Armenia, women have been suppressing their voices due to a culture that emphasizes the man’s power. Here, women are seen as weaker than their male counterpart, diminishing the power of their voice based on the outdated concept of their place being at home, in a kitchen. However, women and organizations throughout the country have taken a stand against this. One nonprofit organization, GOALS Armenia, has taken a stand.
GOALS, Girls of Armenia Leadership Soccer, an organization that “empowers youth to become leaders through the creation of safe spaces, speak their mind, and challenge social norms,” has primarily been focusing their largest impact on young girls. By targeting a younger audience, they provide the means to make an impact on social issues sooner than later – hoping to raise enough awareness for a more equal life for proceeding generations.
The participants that CAC worked with in Gyumri, Armenia struck me the hardest. The majority of these participants were women, attempting to make a difference in their communities. They were included in trainings and discussions that focused on methods to gain confidence in oneself, raise awareness on the many complex manifestations of discrimination in their country, and matters to make a positive, lasting social impact. Here, they were granted a voice that would usually be suppressed, allowing them to express the things that make them uncomfortable.
Topics ranged from gender inequality, inclusion, racism, sexism, religious views, and homophobia – each resulting in the group agreeing that educating and raising awareness within their communities will have the largest impact in regards to changing to a more progressive viewpoint.
As Malala stated in the quote above, we must raise our voice, not only for us, but also for those whom are denied a voice. By utilizing our voice to spread awareness on the inequalities and injustices that occur throughout the world, we raise awareness to allow for progression towards a more equal world. We must help each other to accomplish our goals, to progress as a human race. Thus, we must be compassionate and empathetic; we must remove ourselves from our comfortable, privileged homes and expose ourselves to the uncomfortable situations that millions of people experience daily.
While we are growing up, our parents tell us to “change the world,” to “make a difference,” but instead, we have been so focused on our personal growth that we forget that without others, we are alone. If we wish to strive for a world of opportunity, we must think about those who receive so little. We cannot change the world and make it a better place if we are working on doing so by ourselves – what would take us centuries to complete as individuals would take us far less time if we worked together.
As an individual in a more progressive society, we must forego our selfish nature and begin to focus on the “WE,” instead of the “I.” We can no longer ignore those who are crying for help from all around the world, but instead we shall join forces. Together, we can give a voice to those who have been voiceless, give strength to those who have been denied of their abilities, and allow their stories to be heard by those who have ignored them for so long.
Let us play: Congo Mothers Call for Parity
July 28th 2016. Our third year On-Field with Malaika through the eyes, ears, and words of SDL Coach and ASK for Choice Strategist, Nora Dooley.
“Tomorrow morning we will ask a group of about sixty Congolese men what they are going to do for the women and girls in their communities. What would you like me to tell them on behalf of you, the mothers of Kalebuka?”
—
It was Thursday afternoon and I was sitting in a circle with my teammates and twenty women, all mothers of children who play at Malaika’s FIFA Football for Hope Center near Lubumbashi, DRC. We had just finished the fourth day On-Field with a fantastic bunch of participants. The group was comprised mostly of returning coaches from the two previous years of CAC trainings, the vast majority being older men with clear experience in both playing and coaching football.
Now, to massively understate, I’ve led a few CAC programs where I am in the minority as a woman. I find confidence here – almost as if the strength of all the incredible females I’ve ever met or known is fueling me in this seemingly boundless male-dominated territory. But looking around the circle at these mothers… I’ve never felt so small. I let go of all personal doubts as to what I was doing there and dove in. I had to hear them – and not just because I was selfishly eager to know even a small part of their stories, but because all week long conversations about gender equity and women’s rights were sprouting up from men. It was past time for the woman’s voice to Mingle Mingle.
We laughed, we listened, we danced. And I carefully noted.
The intense week with the coaches charged my emotions in this session. In four days we had explored ideas about different cultural possibilities, different organized religious beliefs (or lack thereof), and new and different ways to venture into these types of vital discussions on the football pitch. The participants were given the opportunity to identify a specific social issue and adapt or invent a game that would create space to discuss solutions. We danced through the struggles and vulnerabilities of coaching for social impact that – in my opinion – inevitably produce more beautiful music. One of the key conversations was unpacking the coaching toolbox that the participants could make use of if they so chose. A particular tool that came up repeatedly on and off the field was the use of a coach’s ears. And how as leaders we have the option to lecture or listen. The movement from the former to the latter over the course of the coaches’ practical sessions was profound. Our model, demonstrated not forced: their choice.
They chose and chose and chose. And we listened. After two years of Child Protection Policy trainings (bearing in mind the bulk of returning participants) and the outspoken passion these men demonstrated as they brought up gender inequalities as problems, it was time to shake things up for some localized policy design.
The final day began with small group discussions:
Imagine a future where women and men are treated equally: what does that look like for you?
What is preventing this future from being reality?
What must we do to achieve this future? What would you include in a policy/action plan for gender equity – for the rights of women and girls in your communities?
They vehemently engaged, discussed, shared, listed, debated, agreed to disagree on some things, unanimously agreed on others. They had big ideas and some steps in mind to realize them. But there was still an essential missing piece. I told them about our meeting the previous afternoon with the mothers. I told them we had something to add on behalf of those women. I asked the men if they wanted to listen.
They chose, once again, to use those brilliant ears and I was given a most humbling and thrilling honor of channeling the voices of these Kalebuka mothers, echoing thousands (millions?), as I read aloud their call for parity.
“We women have all the same rights as you.”
“Come with us, men and women together, into the community to share knowledge about girls’ and women’s rights.”
“Let us play! You need to create space and opportunities for us and our daughters to play. If you get two days on the field… we get two days!”
“Encourage us, and include us!”
“We are strong, too.”
And if I may be so bold to add… We are women, and we ASK for Choice!!!
Passion Transformed Into Action: The Story of ASK for Choice in Perú
May 17th 2016. CAC’s ASK for Choice leader in Lima, Daniela Gutiérrez, tells Peru’s ASK for Choice story as if it is 2026.
Although in English words don’t seem to rhyme
When a woman expresses ideas like this,
People see it as a crime.
We were born without apple,
with snake,
chained by the past,
shorn of the present.
In this world social classes are an illusion,
only from our mind confusion.
We are all unique and necessary,
Universal Rights, Humanitarian Rights.
Let’s make this life a “Choice party”
Bring our nation to the heights,
the indifference and inequality that women suffer,
makes no man tougher.
Over the years, we’ll tear down those fences.
Crush the status quo.
Nothing justifies the intolerance of our differences.
It all started with a group of brave, enthusiastic women, they were not sportspeople, some of them did love sports, however they shared something: all of them were ready to come together and join forces to help change this world of inequality, violence and lack of practice of values.
It all started on that Tuesday (May 3rd 2016), everyone full of energy and open to experiment, we started the training, and the fun started as well (that was all that mattered). With time questions emerged, deep and challenging about the issues they faced as women in their society, questions that found few or no answers. I could only encourage them to think about what they could do as women with all the capacity to change their reality. Then some clarity sprouted from their hearts in form of proposals “workshops with girls in El Agustino (and their dad’s as well), raise our kids respecting all human beings as equals, work with the rest of the moms of the community so they know they have a chance to decide…” And we left that encounter with the commitment to change our lifes.
In 2017, with twice as many women compared to the year before, 45 magical women with a great vibe! All of them sharing their powerful testimony about how playing the ASK for Choice games and all the conversations and group dynamics helped them to make some choices that would change their lifes, some of them even ventured to play the games with their families… The pieces started coming into place and things started to make sense for us…We were so excited!
8 years later, in 2024, Asked For Choice had grown so much in Perú, we no longer worked only with women from El Agustino, but with communities from all over the place, the Jungle, Los Andes and the coast. We decided to visit our awesome pioneers, what a great surprise we found: Outstanding leadership workshops for girls and women, women’s (and mixed) sports teams and leagues, art workshops and the best: women replicating the ASK for Choice experience with their community.
We continued our work, with more and more diverse women every time, similar in their desire to heal the world and make it a better place. We kept in touch with all of them and when we left they sent photos and videos of how well they were doing, the joyful experiences they were having, and in every place, no matter how far apart from each other, the same magic spread.
2026, 10 years from our origin, with this marvelous project that started with the pure intention of co-creating a fun space for women to play and share.
Not everything was easy. In many communities, when we went with the intention of giving women choices, we were faced with ignorance (both from man and woman), when we asked the questions, sometimes we found the same answers that created all this inequality, we thought that they might not understand, or that we were doing it all wrong…
However, at the end, even after all that struggle, we found a surprise that filled our hearts, in every community that benefited from the ASK for Choice movement (yes, now it had become a movement in Perú) we saw dads taking care of the household and taking kids to school, women directing massive building projects, boys dreaming to become chefs, girls playing with cars and soldiers. That was the best proof that all the effort from us, and especially from all the women in Perú had worked. Inequality and violence almost didn’t exist, it became a thing of a dark past. We felt so so happy and satisfied!
We only have one question now, for our present work: Are there any places remaining in Perú that still need this work? We have a very hard job ahead of us, finding these places would be almost impossible…
The Universal Language
April 5th 2016. CAC Community Impact Coach Charles Otieno blogs about his second week On-Field with CAC in Mbarara, Uganda with Mbarara Sports Academy.
It was a four hour bus ride from the capital city of Kampala to Mbarara, a beautiful town located in the west of Uganda. I liked the environment that the Mbarara Sports Academy created there. Being the second town I visited in Uganda, it was another good experience. I met new people and the fun of it was people speaking a different language from what I speak in Kenya, but we had one thing in common, and that was soccer. Soccer plays a vital role and it made the communication easier, as we all know soccer is a universal language.
The turnout of the five-day training was high and fairly well gender balanced. The active coaches were very interested in playing soccer so we got to play some of our more competitive games this week. It took a while for some of the coaches to realize that you can use soccer to teach on how to combat social issues, but it was impressive to see once they did. The highlight of the week was playing ASK for Choice games with female coaches for two days consecutively. The women were really committed. They arrived early in the morning at a different training field and then continued on with the rest of the coaches in the original site for extra hours of CAC games. The majority of the girls were students in college and were studying in different fields so that they can have as many opportunities as men. They believe that women should have equal opportunities as men and through that, the community will grow economically and socially. They want to be more independent, have more freedom to play sport, to education, to employment, to property ownership, and to make personal choices.
The One World Futbols have played a big role in the On-Field sessions. I have been able use them to train and create a learning environment for young men and women. Having soccer balls is one of the challenges communities face and these ultra-durable balls have been the answer because they last longer and can be played in any type of pitch be it grass field, turf field or dusty field. With the One World Futbol’s being all over the world, it tells us how soccer speaks to people in a language they can all understand.
They say “play with the best and be the best”. I take this opportunity to thank CAC for the great opportunity and also the gentlemen that have been my backbone for the two weeks here in Uganda. It has been great working with David Neaverth, Markus Bensch and Charlie Crawford and I’m happy I managed to grasp some On-Field and Off-Field skills from the team.
One Football…. One Game….One Goal…. One language…. One World.
In Her Words
March 28th 2016. CAC sits down with Venezuelan training participant Keila Molina to learn more about her life and her experience with CAC in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Q: How did you get involved in football?
A: It’s really a lucky story. When I was young I only played volleyball. My older sister was very athletic and I looked up to her very much. Naturally, I just wanted to do whatever she was doing, so I played volleyball. In Venezuela, women’s football is not very popular or glamorous or commercial. I could play but it was kind of shamed. My father was a football player, so I played at home with him but that was it. But at one point I broke my hand so I couldn’t play volleyball for a long time. While I was injured, I would go running to stay fit, and I would run by a football field. One day there was a team of girls playing football on the field and the coach came up to me after my run and asked me if I wanted to play for the team. After about six weeks I was on the team and loved it. I had grown up hearing that football was only for boys, but all the sudden I was playing for my state team, my pre-national team, university team and from 2008-2015 I played professionally for Carabobo FC.
Q: As a Venezuelan woman living in Brazil, how does the experience that girls and women in Brazil have differ from their experience in Venezuela?
A: In Brazil it seems to me like it is all about creating fame for the boys as professionals. I think in Venezuela there are less resources but more support currently for everyone to play. Brazil has spaces to play in many places but I almost never see any girls or women out playing.
In Venezuela, fields and courts are private and it costs a lot to buy time to play. It takes a big effort to get field time, and in the cities sometimes it isn’t safe to be out playing.
[In Rio] it feels like female players are completely ignored and I don’t see any intention to plan for a structure to help girls play. And also, girls don’t ask to play or be involved because they are taught to keep quiet.
When I arrived in Rio I was surprised by how much space there was to play and also by not seeing any girls playing on so many fields.
There’s no structure for girls’ team sports in school in Venezuela right now, but there is some change happening there. In 1995 the Venezuelan Men’s Football Team got their first FIFA ranking so being a fan became more popular and women playing was less of a problem. Since then progress has stopped, started and at times gone backward. The work for equality in sport hasn’t been sustained for female players. Last year there was more funding toward female teams, so I hope the progress will finally continue.
For me, we have a responsibility to help improve the situation for the next generation of girls. We need to make school and club sport structure better and more available to girls who want to play. We have to be completely dedicated to fix this problem because it is so difficult.
Q: So what brought you to the CAC training this week?
A: I heard through Facebook about the training and I didn’t want to miss this opportunity. I was grabbed by the idea of using sport to educate and the reasons behind trying to unite the ideas.
Q: What did you enjoy most about the training?
A: I loved the exchange of information between people from very different backgrounds. We all live in different places and have different difficulties. Discussing such intense problems allowed us to know each other’s positions on things. I thought the conversation dynamic created a diplomatic atmosphere with respect and understanding. After one day I felt like I knew these people very well. I think football is the best tool for discussing difficult topics in my opinion.
The effort to communicate within the group was great and the approach that [CAC] brought was simple and there was always a well defined subject.
Q: What were your biggest takeaways from this week?
A: The child rights talk was very effective to me. The right to live your life, to be defended, to be able to go to school, to a family, those things are very important to me. For me there is always a way to find a solution to a problem, and it is the same with the problem of child abuse. The talk that we had made me hopeful about finding a solution for [child abuse].
Q: How will you act on what you learned in the training now that it is over?
A: The most important thing for me to do is to act out what I learned, and just be an example. I don’t have a group to go back and work with, but I do have a community. I will practice correcting without offending, trying to stimulate thought and stress how important education is. All it takes is one word to change someone’s day, or even life. Even a simple ‘good morning,’ something so simple, can have an impact. Anyone can have that effect.
CAC’s International Women’s Day Resource Now Available!
February 26th 2016. Coaches Across Continents has developed a packet of sport for social impact games for International Women’s Day on 8th March. The games focus on gender equity, female empowerment and women’s and girls’ rights.
This unique set of games complements ‘ASK for Choice’, CAC’s Clinton Global Initiative commitment to bring gender policies to life and increase women’s and girls’ participation, leadership and rights in and through sport.
Pleased find this resource below. It is provided free of charge and is available to any individual, organization or community that intends to run events on or around International Women’s Day (IWD).
CAC would love you to join us in making this the most successful International Women’s Day yet. We’re really interested in seeing how you choose to mark this celebration of the social, economic, cultural and political achievement of women so share any quotes, photos and videos over social media. For any IWD related activities, please remember to tag Coaches Across Continents and International Women’s Day so we can share the incredible impact you’re having in your communities.
If you would like the IWD resource packet or have any questions please contact Nora Dooley at .
Watch our ASK for Choice film below.