Archives > Plano Star-courier > News
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Reaching out through sport: Plano resident co-organizes soccer-based program
Submitted Photo - Kathryn Aken poses with Nueva Hoja students during a children’s program in Costa Rica.
By Kim Williams, kwilliams@acnpapers.com
Kathryn Aken of Plano and Katie Hudson of Keller created the first of several Children’s Enrichment Programs and successfully launched their first one this month as their nonprofit program reached underprivileged children in rural areas of Central and South America.
“Kathryn and Katie were performing volunteer work for what they call the Children’s Enrichment Program,” said Mike Hudson, Katie’s father. “They have been developing this program for a while and are now taking action to make it happen.”
The girls traveled extensively in Central and South America, seeking opportunities to establish a program in rural communities; they finally decided on Escuela Nueva Hoja in Puerto Jimenez on the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica as their partner school.
Their journey began in April, when Katie applied for a Global Outreach Fellowship through Austin College but was turned down.
To make the program a success in spite of obstacles, they pooled their remaining savings but were still short of funds.
Katie sold her motorcycle, which provided the basic amount for the round-trip venture and left just enough to fund several weeks of living expenses.
While in the town, the girls lived in youth hostels with a small food allowance. Puerto Jimenez is the largest town on the peninsula but is small by most standards. It serves as the gateway to the beautiful Corcovado National Park.
“I am amazed at how much we take for granted here in the United States, with relatively well-funded schools, adequate equipment and access to supplies,” Kathryn said. “I wish everyone here could experience other less fortunate situations and spend time with these children.”
They quickly connected with faculty and staff and gave away soccer shoes to the students. The intent was to provide shoes for everyone, but lack of funding prevented this.
“It was unfortunate to see some children playing barefoot without proper equipment with lopsided soccer balls,” Kathryn said.
Knowing that the school was aware of the local and personal situations of all of the students, the girls asked the school to select the most deserving to receive the shoes.
“The distribution of the coveted soccer shoes was heartwarming,” Katie said. “Without getting into the personal stories of the families of the children, it was wonderful to see how their eyes lit up and how excited the children were to receive the gifts.”
They just wish they could have provided more.
“As a student in Spanish class and player on the Keller High School soccer team, I never imagined that I’d combine those skills to help kids in rural Costa Rica,” Katie said. “We did not wish to volunteer for some other program with big bureaucracies and limited services. We wanted to find a way to truly engage with children and make an impact.”
One of the hardest things for the girls to experience was reality. They wanted to reach out and donate to every child, but their resources and prior donations were limited. They did what they could.
“It was heartwarming to see the children so excited and engaged in soccer, learning new skills and willing to get involved,” Katie said. “I just wish we could have given them more in the way of new shoes, equipment or supplies.”
The girls were inspired by their college to create this international program.
“Austin College’s focus on international studies was a major influence on our approach and choice of programs,” Kathryn said. “Katie and I both played on the Austin College Soccer Team and studied abroad as part of our degree programs.”
After they neared the end of their funds, they realized they had accomplished most of their goals by using soccer to engage children in learning.
“These two students attended all levels of our student body, teaching them soccer techniques, sportsmanship and game rules,” said Anna-Margrethe Zimmerman, Escuela Nueva Hoja director. “Along with all of the practical demonstrations, they showed our students how to have a lot of fun while playing soccer and sparked interest in the sport for those who had not shown interest in the past. We are greatly honored that they were able to spend time with us.”
The girls’ efforts impressed another person from the school.
“It was hard to control the enthusiasm of the kids when Katie and Kathryn got here, but the two of them were very successful in channeling that energy into the sport,” said Matthew McCollough, teacher at Nueva Hoja School. “Teaching without supplies is the purest invention of teacher creativity; however, attitude can suffice for only so long without proper teaching tools.”
Katie graduated from Keller High School in 2007. She is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in political science from Austin College.
Kathryn, a resident of Plano, graduated from Lakehill School of Dallas in 2005. She holds a baccalaureate degree in Spanish and psychology, graduating Cum Laude from Austin College in 2009. Both girls are extremely talented in soccer as player and coach, played NCAA soccer for Austin College in Sherman and have traveled abroad several times.
The girls plan to expand their enrichment program with more schools and volunteers. The program they developed uses the children’s love of soccer to teach conversational English, provide a safe after-school environment and foster cultural understanding while endorsing healthy and fun experiences as alternatives to common social issues such as drugs, alcohol, sex and violence.
The program provides after-school services for children from 7 to 12 years of age in rural areas of Central America and provides services in enhanced English instruction and immersion for non-English speaking children, soccer training and activities for physical and sports education.
The target group for the outreach is local families with students in private elementary schools – most likely dual working parents – speaking little or minimal English, in the lower 50 percent of income.
“The real issue with basic education in Costa Rica is more of quality than effective attendance, as many of the elementary schools, particularly those in rural areas, are one-room schools in which, at different times of day, three of four groups of students in different grades share the facilities,” according to a Global Guide to Management Education report at gfme.org. “The gap between these schools and the sophisticated private schools available in urban areas or those that can afford them, is very large in terms of effective learning, languages, technology, science and mathematics.”
For information about Children’s Enrichment Programs, visit iceprogram.shutterfly.com.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: News «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
