Taking On A Challenge
Merline, 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. Merline is a player, coach, and community leader from Kafou Croix in Haiti.
My name is Merline, I am from Kafou Croix. I am in secondary school at Lumiere. I have been playing football since 2011 and I started to work as a football coach in 2021.
When I first started to play football in Kafou Croix, we played in a sugar cane factory without boots. We are from a farming community and sugar cane is the main crop that everyone plants. Sometimes there was no playing field for us to play football. Therefore, it was the sugar cane factory that had a large amount of open space available for kids to play football.
I faced issues in the past from people because I wanted to play football, but at the time everyone in my community assumed it was a game just for boys. After lots of long hours of practice my football skills improved and I got the chance to prove to people in my community that I was good at football, and better than lots of boys in my community.
What did you try to capture with the photos? Was there a wider meaning?
The photos were taken on the field we use with the GOALS program while we were doing our regular activities. In some of the photos, there are kids from the GOALS program playing with some Haitian professional players. I wanted to show the happiness of kids playing the game. Football always brings out the joy in us. I also showed participants from the development group in my community playing football - they are people who try to bring activities to our neighbourhood.
What role does football play in your community and Haitian society? What are the opportunities for women and girls to play football?
Football is an inclusive sport as everyone can play it. In the past, it was not like this but that all changed when GOALS started working in our community.
The opportunity for women and girls to play football in my community and in Haiti should be the possibility of playing for the national team or a local professional club. But due to our country’s political and civil instability, this opportunity is almost impossible for women in Haiti.
What impact has the GOALS Haiti program had on you and your community?
The GOALS program has had a big impact on my life and also in my community. I received a GOALS scholarship for my secondary school. This helped my family a lot because it was difficult for them to pay my school tuition. It gave them an opportunity to save money to use for my other siblings. Through the GOALS program I became a coach and a leader in my community.
What does football mean to you? What ambitions do you have for the future?
Football means a lot of things to me. Football gives me good health, makes me confident and social, and not afraid to take on a challenge. My ambition for the future is to be a role model for women and girls so they can believe in themselves.
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 the future, sport will play a big role in my community and in Haiti. It can be a tool that can develop the country. I would like to change the negative stereotype that girls should not be allowed to play sports. I would improve gender equality by showing girls can do what boys can do.
