Club Soccer Press Release

Press Release by the Harvard Soccer Club

Winners of the Inaugural Kick Out Malaria Soccer Tournament

The Harvard Soccer Club (HSC) organized the first annual Kick Out Malaria Tournament in April 2008. Dartmouth, Tufts, Brown and Harvard participated in the fundraising and awareness-raising event. In the end, the teams collectively raised $450 which was used in two ways: to organize a similar soccer tournament in Sierra Leone and to buy Long Lasting Insecticide treated bed Nets (LLINs) for the prevention of malaria in that country. The nets were distributed by Global Minimum.

Global Minimum (GMin) is an international student-run non-profit organization registered in New Jersey and in Denmark. GMin optimizes the use of its resources to minimize the poverty inequality that characterizes this century. One of its signature projects involves a comprehensive house-to-house distribution of LLINs to cover every sleeping space in the house; GMin even protects children who sleep on the floor. In collaboration with their many partners, which include the Red Cross, Unicef and the National Malaria Control Program, GMin carries out a detailed 3 year awareness campaign that ensures that over 90% of the LLIN recipients continue to use these nets years after the distribution.

 
A happy recipient of the GMin net

The HSC and GMin partnership has developed gradually over this past year. Members of the HSC team love playing soccer but they also know that they have a social responsibility. Jake Segal and Clem Wright (both 2009 graduates from Harvard College), former President and Captain respectively, traveled to Sierra Leone to join the GMin team during the distribution of 4,000 LLIN to nearly 10,000 people. Current President of HSC, David Sengeh -- a native of Sierra Leone and member of GMin -- was also part of the summer project. Jake Segal '09 and Justin Grinstead '10, the Captain of the Harvard Men's track team, led the organization of the Kick Out Malaria Tournament in Sierra Leone.

Clem Wright ('09) – former HSC captain playing for Kpombu

Ten teams from different villages were formed to compete for the Kick Out Malaria Tournament in Sahn Malen Chiefdom. GMin members played on different teams and each game was preceded by an anti-malaria message delivered by the organizers or one of the chiefs in the village. The games were competitive and kids chanted the slogan "Kick Out Malaria" with vim on the sidelines. In the end, Sengeh's Sahn Malen team won the tournament while Wright's Kpombu team were shockingly eliminated in the semi-finals.

Given the success of this initial campaign funded in part by the Swiss Consulate of Boston, Co-President of the HSC, Jon Glapa (class of 2011) indicates that the 2nd Annual Kick Out Malaria Tournament hosted at Harvard will be bigger and better. There are plans to invite more teams and to spread the tournament over two days to optimize more interaction between members of the different club teams and to increase awareness on campus of the effects of malaria. In Sahn Malen, about 87% of 5-year olds are positive for malaria and this is just not acceptable. The Harvard Recreational Sports departmental have shown their support for our activities and we hope they and other partners can join hands to "Kick Out Malaria!"

Presidents:
David Sengeh (2010)
Jon Glapa (2011)