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Major League Soccer Remains Committed To Relief Work In Haiti
By Alex Labidou
Jul 3, 2010
Towards the end of last February, Gloria King was finalizing an assistance plan that would allow Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy to provide dozens of Haitian children of the L'Athletique d'Haiti (Athletes of Haiti) sports program with vital supplies and soccer equipment when a sudden concern arose. “Which players are you coming with?” a person from L'Athletique asked King.
Since MLS preseason training camps were beginning to start, King, who serves as community outreach director, knew it would be very difficult to pull aside any of the team's current players for the trip. She tried to communicate the difficulties to L'Athletique, but the response wasn't very enthusiastic.
“The person explained that having a player there would be very important for the kids,” said King. “She said that the kids had experienced so much [devastation] over the past few months that having a player would raise their spirits.”
For many around the world, the small island of Haiti became unfortunately significant by the horrific 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the country and killed approximately 200,000 people. The catastrophe that happened on January 12 allowed millions around the world to walk through the country through the eyes of reporters and witness the disturbing images.
Children buried under cinderblocks, teary-eyed families in bloodied garments searching for loved ones, mass looting and people carrying dead bodies in coffins were in constant view. The sympathy from around the world resulted in a global response as countries and people donated substantial amounts of time, money and resources to assist the country's rebuilding efforts. Six months later, as time has passed and the media attention has shifted away, there are concerns that the initial efforts might go to waste due to the lack of continued assistance and political corruption.
One of the organizations that has refused to give up is Major League Soccer.
Several years ago an upstart teenager by the name of Jozy Altidore, as well as other MLS players of Haitian descent illuminated some of the extreme difficulties the nation faces. Throughout the years, the league's players have taken the initiative to assist the country and reacted immediately to the country's disaster.
Realizing the importance of morale in a country whose lengthy burdens only tripled after the devastation, King reached out to former Galaxy player Tony Sanneh. A retired central defender who played on the surprising 2002 United States World Cup squad, Sanneh has spent the past two years focusing on charitable projects. King and Sanneh work together in his charity organization, The Sanneh Foundation, and he joined the Galaxy's relief efforts without hesitation, according to King.
Despite safety concerns that made travel complicated, Sanneh and King landed in Haiti on March 2. Upon arrival, King remembers being overwhelmed by the sheer level of poverty that greets visitors almost immediately. As Sanneh and King tried to retrieve their belongings at Port-au-Prince's airport, they were surrounded by pant-tugging children looking for anything that the two could spare. Both Sanneh and King were surprised by the country's almost nonexistent infrastructure, but were even more startled when both discovered that this wasn't a result of the earthquake, but the country's long-lasting poverty.
“As far as poverty, the country was hit by a massive earthquake, but a lot of the problems were there before it happened. They just multiplied,” Sanneh told Goal.com. “It's really a poor country and the amount of resources that they have is very minimum. It's just not a good situation.”
Coordinating with L'Athletique d'Haiti president Boby Duvall, the two set up soccer clinics and distributed vital essentials, ranging from thousands of bars of soap to clothes provided by sponsors and MLS W.O.R.K.S. There were some frightening moments of desperation on display at times, as families surrounding Sanneh and King tried to pry away whatever they could. When items were received, infighting would often occur, as some parents saw value in items like soccer balls and jerseys which could provide monetary assistance to the family.
Many of the children of L'Athletique initially didn't know of Sanneh's various accomplishments as a player, but King would sneak over and tell the children of some of his exploits on the pitch.
“They knew who Landon Donovan and David Beckham were and I explained that he played with them and even played in a World Cup,” said King. “Their eyes lit up when I told them that in friendlies Tony even played against teams like Barcelona.”
With a more receptive and enthusiastic crowd, the kids became increasingly focused on their opportunities to learn from a professional soccer player. Seeing the kids participate in something that was positive and alleviate their minds from the constant state of despair was something King said that she'd never forget. Sanneh agreed.
“It was a great experience being able to help some people and give back,” said Sanneh. “It makes you appreciate every moment, how lucky you are. It puts things into perspective.”
The innocence and raw desire to make life better found within most Haitian children is something that immediately connects with people who visit the country. For Stammler, Haiti has become much more than charitable work. The 28-year-old has made a connection to the country in his first 2006 visit during MLS's initial work on the island. Ever since, the midfielder has made it a priority to visit Haiti every off-season he can. Reflecting on his first visit, the Columbus, Ohio native remembers all of the misconceptions that he had prior to the visit and how quickly those perspectives changed.
“Going down there, I was pretty ignorant,” said Stammler. “My knowledge was what I read in the newspapers. Hearing that it was all terrible, there was nothing good said about the country. When I went out there, I was very surprised. Yeah, there were not good living standards, but the people were strong willed. They are determined to make the best out of things. “
The Red Bulls started preseason in March when travel was initially made available to non-government persons, so Stammler wasn't able to personally assist. Coordinating with his correspondents in Haiti, Stammler created two small programs to help in the best ways possible. His charity, Sporting Chance, currently runs a work-for-cash program that pays local residents to clean debris and roads. Remembering how valuable education was for the local kids, Stammler also created a temporary school that will allow kids to continue their educations, as it will take years to rebuild many of the permanent schools.
In spite of their numerous efforts, everyone involved worries about whether or not any substantive progress will take hold. Haiti received hundreds of million dollars from countries and organizations all over the world, yet, according to Stammler's connections in the country, not much has changed since January.
“Actually, I was just talking to one of my colleagues out there earlier in [June] and she said while passing rubble that she saw a severed arm or foot hanging out,” said Stammler. “I mean, I understand that that things are going to take a while, but the relief efforts started back in January.”
Stammler's story illustrates a problem that has hindered Haiti for much longer than any natural disaster -- its inept and corrupt government. There is no middle class and the disparity between the impoverished, undereducated majority and wealthy minority is significant. The government often protects its wealthy and greedily finds way to take advantage of charitable functions in the country.
“When you are trying to build a multimillion dollar water well and they [the Haitian government] are asking you for a gift tax, it's backwards,” said Sanneh. “It is easily something that would deter people from wanting to help you.”
Sanneh added. “We are trying to bring things out there to [help people] and they are asking us to pay for it. If they want people to help, they should make it as easy as possible.”
While it would be easy for most to throw in the towel, Sanneh, King and Stammler refuse to let up in their efforts, remaining captivated by the people and the island's natural beauty.
“One of the cool things that I saw was when we went to a children's prison early in the morning. The punishment, if you misbehaved, was you weren't allowed to go to class,” Stammler said. “I was shocked. Could you imagine that in the States, telling a prison kid that not going to school is your punishment?”
Over the past four years, Stammler has championed providing better education for Haitian children as well as building water wells to provide clean sources of water.
For a country with a dearth of drinkable water, Haiti is full of aesthetically beautiful views of water. A mountainous country filled with waterfalls and surrounded by magnificently clear water beaches, Stammler was amazed that the island wouldn't be more appealing to investors and tourists.
“I've been to Jacmel, it's beautiful,” said Stammler. “See that's the thing, you could turn that town into a tourist area and people would enjoy it.”
L'Union Fait La Force. It is the national saying of Haiti and it means 'Unity creates strength'. Sanneh, King and Stammler persist in keeping those within the United States involved. Sanneh's foundation will fly out the Haitian U-17 team to participate in the U.S. Cup in Minnesota later this year and King hopes at some point to collaborate with Stammler and others who are passionate about assisting the country.
It will be a long uphill struggle with rewards that might take years to bear fruit, but they want to make sure that no one forgets about the country that has had such a major influence and impact on U.S. soccer.
“We've got to put this issue back in front of people's eyes and hopefully they will get inspired again,” said Stammler.
By Alex Labidou
Jul 3, 2010
Towards the end of last February, Gloria King was finalizing an assistance plan that would allow Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy to provide dozens of Haitian children of the L'Athletique d'Haiti (Athletes of Haiti) sports program with vital supplies and soccer equipment when a sudden concern arose. “Which players are you coming with?” a person from L'Athletique asked King.
Since MLS preseason training camps were beginning to start, King, who serves as community outreach director, knew it would be very difficult to pull aside any of the team's current players for the trip. She tried to communicate the difficulties to L'Athletique, but the response wasn't very enthusiastic.
“The person explained that having a player there would be very important for the kids,” said King. “She said that the kids had experienced so much [devastation] over the past few months that having a player would raise their spirits.”
For many around the world, the small island of Haiti became unfortunately significant by the horrific 7.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated the country and killed approximately 200,000 people. The catastrophe that happened on January 12 allowed millions around the world to walk through the country through the eyes of reporters and witness the disturbing images.
Children buried under cinderblocks, teary-eyed families in bloodied garments searching for loved ones, mass looting and people carrying dead bodies in coffins were in constant view. The sympathy from around the world resulted in a global response as countries and people donated substantial amounts of time, money and resources to assist the country's rebuilding efforts. Six months later, as time has passed and the media attention has shifted away, there are concerns that the initial efforts might go to waste due to the lack of continued assistance and political corruption.
One of the organizations that has refused to give up is Major League Soccer.
Several years ago an upstart teenager by the name of Jozy Altidore, as well as other MLS players of Haitian descent illuminated some of the extreme difficulties the nation faces. Throughout the years, the league's players have taken the initiative to assist the country and reacted immediately to the country's disaster.
Realizing the importance of morale in a country whose lengthy burdens only tripled after the devastation, King reached out to former Galaxy player Tony Sanneh. A retired central defender who played on the surprising 2002 United States World Cup squad, Sanneh has spent the past two years focusing on charitable projects. King and Sanneh work together in his charity organization, The Sanneh Foundation, and he joined the Galaxy's relief efforts without hesitation, according to King.
Despite safety concerns that made travel complicated, Sanneh and King landed in Haiti on March 2. Upon arrival, King remembers being overwhelmed by the sheer level of poverty that greets visitors almost immediately. As Sanneh and King tried to retrieve their belongings at Port-au-Prince's airport, they were surrounded by pant-tugging children looking for anything that the two could spare. Both Sanneh and King were surprised by the country's almost nonexistent infrastructure, but were even more startled when both discovered that this wasn't a result of the earthquake, but the country's long-lasting poverty.
“As far as poverty, the country was hit by a massive earthquake, but a lot of the problems were there before it happened. They just multiplied,” Sanneh told Goal.com. “It's really a poor country and the amount of resources that they have is very minimum. It's just not a good situation.”
Coordinating with L'Athletique d'Haiti president Boby Duvall, the two set up soccer clinics and distributed vital essentials, ranging from thousands of bars of soap to clothes provided by sponsors and MLS W.O.R.K.S. There were some frightening moments of desperation on display at times, as families surrounding Sanneh and King tried to pry away whatever they could. When items were received, infighting would often occur, as some parents saw value in items like soccer balls and jerseys which could provide monetary assistance to the family.
Many of the children of L'Athletique initially didn't know of Sanneh's various accomplishments as a player, but King would sneak over and tell the children of some of his exploits on the pitch.
“They knew who Landon Donovan and David Beckham were and I explained that he played with them and even played in a World Cup,” said King. “Their eyes lit up when I told them that in friendlies Tony even played against teams like Barcelona.”
With a more receptive and enthusiastic crowd, the kids became increasingly focused on their opportunities to learn from a professional soccer player. Seeing the kids participate in something that was positive and alleviate their minds from the constant state of despair was something King said that she'd never forget. Sanneh agreed.
“It was a great experience being able to help some people and give back,” said Sanneh. “It makes you appreciate every moment, how lucky you are. It puts things into perspective.”
The innocence and raw desire to make life better found within most Haitian children is something that immediately connects with people who visit the country. For Stammler, Haiti has become much more than charitable work. The 28-year-old has made a connection to the country in his first 2006 visit during MLS's initial work on the island. Ever since, the midfielder has made it a priority to visit Haiti every off-season he can. Reflecting on his first visit, the Columbus, Ohio native remembers all of the misconceptions that he had prior to the visit and how quickly those perspectives changed.
“Going down there, I was pretty ignorant,” said Stammler. “My knowledge was what I read in the newspapers. Hearing that it was all terrible, there was nothing good said about the country. When I went out there, I was very surprised. Yeah, there were not good living standards, but the people were strong willed. They are determined to make the best out of things. “
The Red Bulls started preseason in March when travel was initially made available to non-government persons, so Stammler wasn't able to personally assist. Coordinating with his correspondents in Haiti, Stammler created two small programs to help in the best ways possible. His charity, Sporting Chance, currently runs a work-for-cash program that pays local residents to clean debris and roads. Remembering how valuable education was for the local kids, Stammler also created a temporary school that will allow kids to continue their educations, as it will take years to rebuild many of the permanent schools.
In spite of their numerous efforts, everyone involved worries about whether or not any substantive progress will take hold. Haiti received hundreds of million dollars from countries and organizations all over the world, yet, according to Stammler's connections in the country, not much has changed since January.
“Actually, I was just talking to one of my colleagues out there earlier in [June] and she said while passing rubble that she saw a severed arm or foot hanging out,” said Stammler. “I mean, I understand that that things are going to take a while, but the relief efforts started back in January.”
Stammler's story illustrates a problem that has hindered Haiti for much longer than any natural disaster -- its inept and corrupt government. There is no middle class and the disparity between the impoverished, undereducated majority and wealthy minority is significant. The government often protects its wealthy and greedily finds way to take advantage of charitable functions in the country.
“When you are trying to build a multimillion dollar water well and they [the Haitian government] are asking you for a gift tax, it's backwards,” said Sanneh. “It is easily something that would deter people from wanting to help you.”
Sanneh added. “We are trying to bring things out there to [help people] and they are asking us to pay for it. If they want people to help, they should make it as easy as possible.”
While it would be easy for most to throw in the towel, Sanneh, King and Stammler refuse to let up in their efforts, remaining captivated by the people and the island's natural beauty.
“One of the cool things that I saw was when we went to a children's prison early in the morning. The punishment, if you misbehaved, was you weren't allowed to go to class,” Stammler said. “I was shocked. Could you imagine that in the States, telling a prison kid that not going to school is your punishment?”
Over the past four years, Stammler has championed providing better education for Haitian children as well as building water wells to provide clean sources of water.
For a country with a dearth of drinkable water, Haiti is full of aesthetically beautiful views of water. A mountainous country filled with waterfalls and surrounded by magnificently clear water beaches, Stammler was amazed that the island wouldn't be more appealing to investors and tourists.
“I've been to Jacmel, it's beautiful,” said Stammler. “See that's the thing, you could turn that town into a tourist area and people would enjoy it.”
L'Union Fait La Force. It is the national saying of Haiti and it means 'Unity creates strength'. Sanneh, King and Stammler persist in keeping those within the United States involved. Sanneh's foundation will fly out the Haitian U-17 team to participate in the U.S. Cup in Minnesota later this year and King hopes at some point to collaborate with Stammler and others who are passionate about assisting the country.
It will be a long uphill struggle with rewards that might take years to bear fruit, but they want to make sure that no one forgets about the country that has had such a major influence and impact on U.S. soccer.
“We've got to put this issue back in front of people's eyes and hopefully they will get inspired again,” said Stammler.
