On Thursday October 20, 2011,  The player visit by the Whitecaps FC members to the U16 North Vancouver FC Hornets practice far exceeded our expectations. It wasn’t just one player, no no, it was coach Carl Valentine, midfielders Shea Salinas and Gershon Koffie, and goalkeeper Brian Sylvestre all there in support of PSSTC and the efforts put forth by the Hornets. The sight of all the Hornets players listening intently as Carl Valentine led them through drills, with the Whitecaps players getting in the mix too, was a pleasure to see. Despite a chilly night and a practice outdoors, no one seemed to notice as everything went perfectly.

This was in response to a tremendous effort by club officials, coaches and managers, players and parents, who raised an amazing $5,700 CAD for use in soccer-based peacebuilding in northern Uganda! Congrats to everyone at North Vancouver FC for their efforts. More to come in the following days.

Also, a big thanks to OA volunteer, and Vancouver entrepreneur, Jordan Cash for ensuring that all of this came together in such an amazing manner.

It is exciting for us to announce that in our third year of Play Soccer So They Can (PSSTC), the Vancouver Whitecaps Foundation is continuing their support with a commitment of prizes and encouragement for participants.

North Vancouver FC (NVFC) has led the way in PSSTC participation and is at it again this year with increased enthusiasm from their board members. The commitment from the Whitecaps of prizes, including a visit from an MLS player or coach to a training session or two of one lucky NVFC team, is a testament to their efforts in raising support for war-affected youth in northern Uganda. Furthermore, their efforts have also encouraged West Vancouver FC to organize a fundraising event during their photo day in October.

The dates for PSSTC this year, as always, are during the last weekend of September (24-25) and the goal is to have even more soccer games being played in support of war-affected youth than we did last year.

Last year, the funds raised from NVFC helped empower a locally-led soccer league for peace in northern Uganda. Coordinated by the Gulu-based organization, the Youth Coalition for Peace, (and monitored by OA Projects) the league involved over 400 war-affected children as players as well as 32 youth leaders as coaches. It ran for about 3 months and included a parents day, where both the mothers and fathers were able to participate in friendly matches with the female and male coaches, respectively.

Please visit our photo album (link is here) on our Facebook page to see pictures from the league:

We would like to thank NVFC and all other PSSTC participants for their efforts in 2010 and wish them a successful and engaging time in 2011.

If you are not involved in a PSSTC event this year, please take a look at our Play Soccer So They Can page to learn if it is something that you would considering participating in.

More updates from the program in northern Uganda and from the success of PSSTC in the weeks to come!

Gavin

Thanks to Aeroplan’s “Beyond Miles” program, we gave away a round-trip flight to/from anywhere in North America at the end of Feb. A huge congrats goes out to the winner: @karen_s_johnson. The contest was simple: you had to buy a One for One tee sometime between Jan 1 and 24th and post a photo of yourself in the tee before Feb 26th, on our Facebook page or tweet it with “@OAProjects” in the 140 characters.

We also said “If a lot of people talk about this on Twitter and Facebook, we may (read: “definitely”) be able to get another flight voucher from the generous team at Aeroplan.” Although it was borderline, there was some good chatter and we feel that another flight should be given away.  Therefore, we are announcing a second (and much easier to participate in) contest for existing and soon-to-be shirt owners. (a big kudos to those who chatted online).

The new process is more simple: post a photo of your tee on on our Facebook page and get at least 2 likes or tweet a photo and get at least 2 rewteets of it. If you do this before April 15th, you will be entered into a draw to win the 2nd Aeroplan ticket voucher.

The contest requires no purchase of a tee, unless you don’t have one already.  The longer version of the rules is here:

You gotta:

1. own or get a One for One OA Projects Tee

2. post a pic of your tee on (1) Twitter and use @OAProjects in your tweet or (2) on the OA Projects Facebook Fan page

3. (1) get your tweet retweeted twice (or more) or (2) get your pic “liked” twice (or more), or both.

4. zap us an email (oa@oaprojects.org) once you’ve tweeted or posted your pic just to make sure we don’t miss it

Other info:

• Tees can be bought online or in our partner stores in Vancouver (Sitka on 4th ave), North Vancouver (Second Wave on Lonsdale), and Victoria (HtO on Broad st.)
• Pictures must be posted online before April 15th
• Random draw will happen on April 16th
• Any Questions should be tweeted (@OAProjects) or emailed (oa@oaprojects.org) or posted on Facebook (OA Projects Fan Page)

The Finale:

Those who own a new or old tee, and posted their pic online and got it some attention, will be entered into a draw to win the free Aeroplan flight voucher for a round-trip ticket within North America (sorry, Hawaii doesn’t count).  The draw will happen before April 18th in order to give everyone enough time to do what they gotta.

The Reason:

To get more support for soccer-based, grassroots peacebuilding in northern Uganda. Your support will contribute to mending social fault lines that might otherwise last for generations.

The Extra Challenge:

For each factor of 2 you get in likes on Facebook or retweets on Twitter, you will get another entry in the draw. 2 likes on Facebook = one entry; 2 retweets on Twitter = one entry; 4 likes on Facebook = two entries; 2 retweets on Twitter + 4 likes on Facebok = three entries; and so on up to a max of 4 entries per tee owner.

Background:

The people of northern Uganda suffered severely from over 20 years of war that raged on between the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army. After a ceasefire was signed in late 2006, peace and stability are slowly creeping back and there is a need to provide long-term support to the local groups and leaders involved in grassroots peacebuilding.

OA Projects works in partnership with the Youth Coalition for Peace (a Gulu-rooted community based organization) and other local groups on a program called Gum Marom (”Equal Opportunity” in Acholi). The program leverages the power of soccer to unify youth and engage them in activities and discussions on long-term peace, gender equity and cultural traditions that have been damaged by the years of conflict.

One for One Explained:

Our Buy One Give One campaign is designed around raising funds to purchase equipment and supplies locally. This provides you with a unique opportunity to get something real and to support something real. Through buying locally, you (via we) support the local businesses and people that will last longer in the community than a soccer ball, or even a project.  In our opinion, it’s the only way that a Buy One Give One campaign should be run. Moreover, the shirt you buy is original, made with organic cotton, and actually cheaper than most quality tees these days.

Here are some photos of the tees in action, in northern Uganda.

Thanks to Aeroplan’s “Beyond Miles” program, we have a round-trip flight to/from anywhere in North America up for grabs. If you buy a One for One organic Tee (where for every shirt sold, we buy a soccer ball in northern Uganda for use in grassroots peacebuilding activities) between January 1st and 24th, you are in the running to win the flight.

Ok, so what do you actually have to do to get in there with a chance? (I.e., what are the rules?)

You gotta:

1. get a One for One OA Projects Tee between January 1 and 24th (more shirts = more entries)
2. post a pic of yourself wearing your fresh new tee on (1) Twitter and use @OAProjects in your tweet or (2) on the OA Projects Facebook Fan page (this is to confirm that you are indeed the owner of the tee)
3. zap us a note (oa@oaprojects.org) once you’ve posted your pic just to make sure we don’t miss it

Other info:

• Tees can be bought online or in our partner stores in Vancouver (Sitka on 4th ave), North Vancouver (Second Wave on Lonsdale), and Victoria (HtO on Broad st.)
• Pictures must be posted online before February 20th
• Random draw will happen sometime between the 20th - 24th of Feb
• Any Questions should be tweeted (@OAProjects) or emailed (oa@oaprojects.org) or posted on Facebook (OA Projects Fan Page)

The Finale:

Those who got a tee during Jan 1 -24th and posted their pic online, will be entered into a draw to win the free Aeroplan flight voucher for a round-trip ticket within North America (sorry, Hawaii doesn’t count).  The draw will happen before Feb 25th in order to give everyone enough time to do what they gotta.

The Reason:

To get more support for soccer-based, grassroots peacebuilding in northern Uganda. Your support will contribute to mending social fault lines that might otherwise last for generations.

The Extra Challenge:

If a lot of people talk about this on Twitter and Facebook, we may (read: “definitely”) be able to get another flight voucher from the generous team at Aeroplan.

Background:

The people of northern Uganda suffered severely from over 20 years of war that raged on between the Ugandan Government and the Lord’s Resistance Army. After a ceasefire was signed in late 2006, peace and stability are slowly creeping in and there is a need to provide long-term support to the local groups and leaders who are involved in grassroots peacebuilding in the region.

OA Projects works in partnership with the Youth Coalition for Peace (a Gulu-rooted community based organization) and other local groups on a program called Gum Marom (”Equal Opportunity” in Acholi). The program leverages the power of soccer to unify youth and engage them in activities and discussions on long-term peace, gender equity and cultural traditions that have been damaged by the years of conflict.

One for One Explained:

Our Buy One Give One campaign is designed around raising funds to purchase equipment and supplies locally. This provides you with a unique opportunity to get something real and to support something real. Through buying locally, you (via we) support the local businesses and people that will last longer in the community than a soccer ball, or even a project.  In our opinion, it’s the only way that a Buy One Give One campaign should be run. Moreover, the shirt you buy is original, made with organic cotton, and actually cheaper than most quality tees these days.

Here are some photos of the tees in action, in northern Uganda.

For those who have been checking our site with regularity we (Gavin) apologize for our lack of meaningful updates.

The second phase of our program in northern Uganda is well under way.  We are working in partnership with the Youth Coalition for Peace (YCP), a local community-based organization.  We are also working with the Kids League Gulu, many primary schools, soccer clubs, Gulu United (a men’s team), the Gulu District Sports Office and many other local and regional stakeholders.

Here are some of the key 2010 highlights of the program we call Gum Marom (”Equal Opportunity” in Acholi).

April

5-day workshop for 43 youth leaders that covered topics related to peacebuilding, soccer coaching, community leadership, and sexual and gender based violence.

May

3 Soccer Camps for Peace for 240 war-affected children, led by the leaders trained and supervised by the Youth Coalition for Peace (two in Gulu Town and one in Anaka Town)

June

Launch of inaugural Soccer League for Peace with 192 war-affected children and 16 coaches for 16 teams (8 girls and 8 boys). The league lasted 9 weeks ( 7 games, 1 parents days, and 1 community tournament)

July

Continuation / completion of the first Soccer League for Peace in Gulu, Town

Initiation of construction at two community soccer field sites (one in Gulu Town and one in Anaka Town) with a combined reach, or usage, of well over 3,000

August

Continuation of construction work at both field sites

5-day workshop for 36 coaches and leaders on same topics as in April (half of those in attendance were also from April)

Equipment distribution to 48 partner schools, teams and peace clubs

September to December

Completion of construction work at both field sites

Gum Marom Kids League (bigger Soccer League for Peace) for 400 war-affected children and youth in Gulu

Youth Leadership and Cultural Revival Program for youth too old for the league but too young to coach (40 participants)

A detailed report on everything is being compiled so that you can see pictures, read about the impact and the challenges, know how funds were allocated and find out what is next in the works for the program.

Sends us an email if you won’t find out more and can’t wait for the report.

And, as always, if you like the program please consider donating $5 to help maintain and expand it (search for OA Projects).

Apwoyo,

Gavin

We are very excited about the upcoming weekend as it is the first time that a large youth soccer club is making all of their league games, during the weekend of the 25/26 of September, as a platform to build support for war-affected youth in northern Uganda.  As a part of Play Soccer So They Can, North Vancouver FC is asking that all of their 3200 players donate $2 or (4,000 Uganda Shillings) to our soccer-based peacebuilding program in northern Uganda. This is the exact type of partnership that we envision allowing Play Soccer So They Can to grow to a much larger level across Canada and the US.  Since its launch in 2009, Play Soccer So They Can has raised over $10,000 from games across North America. From Florida, to Hollywood in the US and from Victoria to Kingston in Canada.

Bobby Lenarduzzi of the Vancouver Whitecaps has given the partnership his endorsement, check out what he thinks here.

The North Shore Outlook has also given this weekend’s events a little boost (click here for the online piece).  And, two OA Projects team members will be present in North Vancouver on Saturday to take it all in and accept the donations on behalf of the program in northern Uganda.

We will be sure to post a complete report on the outcome from the weekend and the impact that it will have in northern Uganda.

And, we want to wish all of the players and coaches of North Van FC good fundraising in these last few days!

Good Afternoon (or Irye Maber in Luo),

We’ve been absolutely terrible at posting information about what has been happening here.

There has been a ton of amazing things that have gone on here and we want to share all of it with you. There is also some exciting news about some of our films and we’ve had a healthy surge of volunteers organizing Play Soccer So They Can events in the US and Canada.

In the coming days, we will properly end our Radio Silence and start to bring you all back in the loop.

Until then, enjoy the start of the World Cup!

Apwoyo matek

Gavin

By Erin Hunt

Sitka Surfboards, a Victoria based company, is being sweet enough to stock some of our 1 for 1 tees. They are the third company to support us by holding our stuff (HtO and Second Wave are the others) and we are stoked to have the tees in a store with amazing people and mission.

The shirts go for $34 (same as our online store) and the store is located here (1864 West 4th Ave in Van). It’s one of the coolest stores we’ve ever been in and we recommend going in just to see their layout and to meet the awesome staff.

Huge thanks to the Sitka team for their support.

Stay tuned for pics of the balls, from previously purchased shirts, in action during the upcoming phase II in northern Uganda.