A Platform Of Opportunity
Djoulandie, Haiti
GOALS Haiti is an award-winning sport for development organization committed to multigenerational change that focuses on children and young people in rural Haiti. Through soccer, GOALS engages young people and their families in programs that promote education, health and environmental protection to improve their quality of life on a daily basis. Through leadership development and social change initiatives, GOALS is creating stronger, healthier communities in rural Haiti. 98% of participants had not had access to sport before GOALS. Djoulandie is a 15-year-old player and assistant football coach from Bossan in Haiti.
My name is Djoulandie and I am 16. I live in Bossan, and go to Freres Unis high school. When I first got involved in sports, it was GOALS coach Marie-Flore who came to my house to talk to me and my parents so that I could join the GOALS program and go play with the other kids. This was in 2015.
I started to play football in 2015 through GOALS. When I started playing, I did not know anything about football, so everything was a hard challenge for me. But as a result, I started to improve and eventually moved up to the first team. In 2021, I started to work as an assistant football coach. I am still working as an assistant and loving my role.
What did you try to capture with the photos? Was there a wider meaning?
The photos were taken in different areas: some were taken at the Bossan football field, some at the Coaches Across Continents (CAC) refreshment training (going over educational games), and some at a football match at the school in my community.
In Bossan I wanted to show the coaches and the kids that play in the GOALS program, like coach Jerson who we all admire. At Coaches Across Continents training there are the GOALS coaches and assistant coaches. I wanted to show how the coaches use “animation” when they are doing CAC training. Animation is the warm up before football practice. It can include songs, dances, stretches and other activities to get us gathered, warmed up and active so we are ready to practise and play.
What role does football play in your community and Haitian society? What are the opportunities for women and girls to play football?
Football plays a special role in the community. Football brings people together no matter who is playing. Football is an inclusive sport. It allows us to stay healthy. Through playing the game as a team, we make more friends.
Football has the potential to help the country grow economically. It is also a way for the players to make money if they become professional players. Many talented women have played football at an international level.
What impact has the GOALS Haiti program had on you and your community?
GOALS has given us a platform where others can see us play and see how talented we are which gives us more opportunities to play. If you are playing for a club or even the national team, you will have a chance to travel and play outside the country.
What does football mean to you? What ambitions do you have for the future?
Football means a lot of things. When I am playing football, I am happy. Through football you can have many friends. When I am playing I am not stressed. Also, if you are good at playing you can make money. In the future I would like to finish high school so I can move on to have a professional career. I would like to become a nurse.
What do you think the future looks like for sport in your community and country? What do you want to change? How would you improve gender equality?
In my community children always have the opportunity to play football through the GOALS program. But in many other areas in the country, day-to-day sport is losing its value even though so many people like sports. Parents in many places throughout Haiti are discouraging their kids from playing football and making them go back to just doing house chores. Haiti is going through some difficult times.
What I would like to change is for more people to have the opportunity to play football in the country and find more opportunities in the game of football. To improve gender equality, I would focus more on educating people. Once gender equality knowledge is improved, it will encourage more men to respect women and create more opportunities for women.
