Hello, we are Kayla, Alyssa, and Lillybelle and this summer we are travelling to Zimbabwe to help communities in need.  Our goal is to help the children in these communities have the opportunity to get a good education and we plan to achieve our goal by providing access to school supplies, medical supplies, and proper nutrition.  Getting a good education is very difficult in Zimbabwe, because of the many challenges the children face (including: no reading or writing materials; 2-3 text books per classroom; walking miles to / from school without shoes or clothing suited for the weather extremes; no access to food during the school day).

Alyssa will be leading our volleyball initiative, in which we will be hosting volleyball clinics at several schools, where we promote the importance of getting a good education.  For example, when teaching individual skills, we will relate them to study habits (practice makes perfect!), and team drills, we will relate to community building through cooperation (success through teamwork!).  At the end of each clinic, we will provide the children with much needed school supplies.  We will also provide each school with volleyball posts, nets, and balls, so they can continue playing when we are gone. At the end of our trip, we will be hosting a girls volleyball tournament for local secondary schools, and we will be providing the tournament teams with jerseys, volleyballs, school supplies, and medals.

Kayla will be leading our medical initiative, by providing 6 schools with nursing supplies, necessary to manage all medical needs that arise at school.  While a nurse’s office is commonplace in US schools, they are non-existent in rural schools in Zimbabwe.  Most schools and communities in rural Zimbabwe do not have access to medical care at all. Kayla has just completed her first year of college and is working towards a career in nursing. Having seen the lack of access to healthcare in the rural areas, Kayla has set out to provide much needed medical supplies to the schools we are working in.

Lillybelle will be leading our nutrition initiative, by expanding our sustainable school farms in the rural areas.  The ability to concentrate in school is severely limited by having no food to eat and having to walk several miles to and from school every day. Poor nutrition is all too common in Africa and it is another contributing factor to the inability to get a good education. To help provide improved nutrition in the schools, Lillybelle will be raising money for greenhouses and fruit trees for orchards at some of the schools, that will be used as a part of It Starts With Soccer’s Sustainable School Farms and Agriculture Education Program. These greenhouses allow the schools to grow their own food, year-round and additionally the children learn the life skill of farming and how to make a business out of farming (through the sale of some of their crop yields to their community). The profits from any sales to their communities, then go back into the schools (i.e. school supplies).

Two years ago, we (Kayla and Alyssa) had a dream come true when we had the honor of travelling to Africa and helping those in need. We learned a great deal from that experience and developed a deep desire to go back and use our experience to make an even bigger impact this time. This year, we are excited to have our good friend Lillybelle joining us to make a difference in Zimbabwe. We are all motivated and ready to achieve our goals!  To be successful this summer, we humbly ask you to help us raise $6000 (for cost reference:  nursing cabinets / medical supplies are $400 for each school, greenhouses are $1400, and volleyball clinics are $500 per school (provides much needed school supplies, volleyball posts, nets, balls & refreshments).  Please consider helping us make a difference in the lives of the children we work with in Zimbabwe.

 Thank you!

Kayla, Alyssa, & Lillybelle