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Football: Sport integral to Haiti recovery, says GOALS chief

By Allsports.com.gh
Football News Football: Sport integral to Haiti recovery, says GOALS chief
OCT 21, 2016 LISTEN

Hurricane Matthew left over 500 people dead and a trail of destruction in Haiti, but Jolinda Hackett of the award-winning GOALS programme told AFP that morale can be rebuilt through the power of sport.

The American has seen that on the ground as GOALS (Global Outreach and Love of Soccer), which was set up in 2010 and dedicated to working in Haiti by her compatriot Kona Shenis, has been involved in some of the most remote and poverty-stricken areas of the Caribbean nation.

"Around 50 to 100 of our kids were affected by the hurricane," Hackett told AFP prior to GOALS winning the Sport for Education Award at the prestigious Beyond Sport awards.

"They lost a lot of materials, school supplies, backpacks, uniforms.

"The most upsetting thing about it for me is some families have lost their homes twice now (the 2010 earthquake all but destroyed the port town of Leogane for instance).

"How do you recover from that devastating earthquake and hurricane? I think the power of sport is it just has a huge capacity to bring communities together, to bring a little joy and love to life when it's needed most.

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People stand next to their destroyed house in Les Cayes, Haiti, on October 10, 2016, following the passage of Hurricane Matthew (AFP/File)

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