17th and 18th of April:
An email reached us via the US State Department’s Sports Diplomacy office: “The US Embassy in Manila is currently supporting a soccer for climate action workshop with the Filipino NGO Gawad Kalinga (GK). The project is called Sports LEADS (Leaders in Equality, Activism, Diversity, and Social inclusion): Climate Change Awareness through Soccer.” And so, we found out about this well-known far reaching Philippines Community Development Foundation. Of course we reached out to them. And from the very start it was clear that GK and Spirit of Football are a great fit. GK translated means “Give Care”. We found out that the non-profit really does give care to people and the environment in some of the poorest communities across the Philippines.
GK’s overarching aim is to alleviate poverty. They started off building houses for people living in squalor in and at vast rubbish dumps. They have expanded holistically into community building – inspiring and inspired by youth – all across the country. GK has developed over 3,000 communities across the Philippines through holistic programs in shelter, health, livelihood, youth development, and social entrepreneurship. And now football is playing a central role too through their programme SipaG. Sipag means hard working, and Sipa means kick. So roughly translated it means “hardworking kick”. SipaG is a youth leadership program and one of the pioneering programs in the Philippines that uses traditional football, street football, and futsal for social impact in marginalised communities. Football and its many modalities is the medium of choice because it is a gender neutral team sport in the Philippines. The SipaG program collaborates and works with other foundations, communities, and schools across the country.
SIPAG’s coordinator is Marlyn “Bing” Importante, an inspirational young woman. Bing invited 30 of her youth leaders (16 to 20 years of age) to attend our 2-day workshop at the Gawad Kalinga Center in Mandaluyong, Manila on 17th and 18th of April. The participants, like many employees for Gawad Kalinga, are youth who have taken part in GK’s SIPAG programme and are assuming responsibility for themselves and their communities and grasping opportunities for themselves, through football.
Having visited the UAAP University league matches in the 2 days before the workshop, we had learned that earning a university scholarship is one of the few pathways for young and talented footballers from disadvantaged backgrounds to be able to continue playing the game they love in the Philippines (due to lack of both football fields and organisational infrastructure). Several of the girls taking part in our workshop had to leave early on day one to take part in trials at the University of the Philippines. GK mentors them and helps to guide them into such opportunities. A university scholarship can shape their lives and provide them with pathways for their future.
The Spirit of Football workshop informed the youth leaders about the SDGs, provided an exchange about climate change in the Philippines and their perceptions of it, and it gave room for the youth leaders to come up with their own concrete ideas for individual pledges as well as community sustainable action ideas. Many of them vowed to share the knowledge that they gained about the SDGs and methods learned with children they are coaching. Together, a group of local youth leaders pledged to take responsibility for litter clean-ups in their community. We at SOF were very impressed by these young climate action champions and the great work that Bing and the team at GK are doing.
