The Right To Play
Maxilaire, Haiti
GOALS Haiti is an award-winning sport for development organisation 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. Maxilaire is a 17-year-old player from Destra in Haiti.
My name is Maxilaire, I am 17 and from Destra in Haiti. I study at Freres Unis high school, and I have been playing football through GOALS for four years. My friends in my community introduced me to GOALS. Everyone knows GOALS as an international organisation that gives kids in our community an opportunity to play in sports. Now I am team captain for the girls’ team in my community and I am part of the GOALS scholarship program, which helps my family pay for my school tuition.
When I started playing it was not easy because I was not very good technically. Now, I can stop the ball and pass the ball, and I have been making huge improvements to my game. At the beginning, the issues I faced caused me to feel discouraged, and also I did not have a proper football kit to practise with. Furthermore, my parents did not want me to come to the program because they had doubts that I could play football because I am a girl.
What did you try to capture with the photos? Was there a wider meaning?
The photos were all taken in Destra on the football field, as well as showing us playing in the community garden and on the beach. The kids on the GOALS pitch and in the community garden are the GOALS participants. They became friends of mine and we met at the GOALS program.
What role does football play in your community and Haitian society? What are the opportunities for women and girls to play football?
Football has a huge importance in Haiti. It shows us that we all have the right to play any sport. Football shows that women and men are equals. Football is important in my community and is inclusive. Everyone can play it and GOALS was the organisation that brought this idea into our community. There are a lot of opportunities for girls and women to play football in my community - and in lots of other places outside my community.
What does football mean to you? What ambitions do you have for the future?
Football has a big impact in my life and in my community because it helps us in so many ways to break barriers for girls. More and more girls want to play football and it is becoming more accepted by everyone in my community that girls can play football just as well as boys.
My ambitions are to be fearless and motivated to accomplish my dreams and goals. I want to make my family proud.
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?
Football will become more and more important in my community and also in the country, as more people understand the value of football and how it brings people together. What I would like to see change is more equality between women and men. To improve gender equality, I would have every girl learn that they can do everything that men can do.
