Goles por la Salud (“Goals for Health”) let’s kids play soccer. Doesn’t sound too extraordinary, does it?
However, the program isn’t just about scoring goals on the field, but also in the classroom and in kitchen of the homes of these Latino children. Way before they can even touch a soccer ball, the children and their parents participate in a class that teaches them about nutrition, exercise and diabetes prevention. The concept is simple: teach and then (soccer) practice what you preach. It’s a wonderful combination of giving the kids an opportunity to learn about how to take care of themselves, and then allowing them to demonstrate what they know.
El Centro Amistad, the Boulder-based group that created Goles por la Salud in last year, has striven to arm partipants with the knowledge and the ability to take charge of their own lives. At first, the program offered just soccer lessons, and when the children started showing up to practice unable to run for three minutes and carrying sodas, nutrition classes were instated. The counseling was informal but effective, and soon the kids could play a whole game of soccer without feeling winded and fueling up on fruit and water beforehand.
Goles por la Salud Executive Director Jorge de Santiago says, “These are small changes that they can incorporate into their daily lives that can make a big difference.”
Small or big, the difference that Goles por la Salud is making in the minds of these Latino children will stick with them for the rest of their lives, which will now hopefully be longer, healthier and happier.
- Sarita
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