Opportunitas Aequa (OA) is a non-profit, grassroots organization based in Victoria and Vancouver, Canada, that uses the unifying power of soccer to create stronger and healthier communities in at-risk and war-affected regions of the world.

In addition to helping build community infrastructure needed for community-building and inter-community activities, OA is also partnering with local organizations that are using soccer to educate their youth on the issues of gender equality, HIV/AIDS awareness, and peace and reconciliation.

Founded by university students in 2006, OA also gives viewers a clear window into their projects through online video journals and a dynamic blog at oaprojects.org.

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Everyone at OA believes that all of us, who are able, have an obligation to help those who are less fortunate – particularly children and youth – in our communities and abroad. OA’s primary goal is to build a positive environment for children to develop and grow in by creating opportunities that they would otherwise not have.

By making the soccer experience more accessible to children, and thus their daily lives more enjoyable, our hope is to instill a sense of self-worth, to promote positive group interaction, and to develop a foundation for long-term inspiration.

OA uses soccer as its weapon of choice because of its universality, its simplicity, and its significance to the organization’s members.

OA is also devoted to involving as many young members of its own community as possible in its efforts. OA provides enthusiastic, driven people with the opportunity to be leaders in their own communities and abroad.

In addition to providing opportunities for action, OA wants to expose people to a benevolent way of thinking that will help spread its powerful message: many small contributions will lead to great, positive change