November 2011

Well, the last two months were amazing :). I honestly feel like Silly and Awoure are my second set of sisters. Also, now I know I will always have a place in my heart for Kenya. Kenya is and always will be my second home :).

Website: www.likonifootball.wordpress.com
Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6veAt4NJ8


I came with many things to accomplish for the L.C.F.L., and I left feeling
My Goals before I came:
1) Set up Goal Posts and the 4 zones within Likoni
-These zones are suppose to have 2 big fields and one small f field. These are four different areas within Likoni.

-Each Zone is comprised of a certain number of teams for the U-16, U-14, and U-12 age groups. These teams play within their zone during the season. The top two teams from every age group in each zone later play in a single-elimination Champions League Tournament, creating a champion of Likoni!

-We set 2 big fields and one small field up in every zone but one (Mtongwe) which only needed one big and one small field.

2) CREATE LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE (MOST IMPORTANTLY: MAKE COACHES BELIEVE IN IT AND THE LEAGUE! )

ACCOMPLISHED..ALMOST :) MOST COACHES BELIEVE IN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE LEAGUE NOW..A COUPLE STILL NEED TO HOP ON BOARD!

The L.C.F.L. will be composed of a Management Board, a League Committee, and a Zone Committee.

1. The Management Board shall have no more than seven members.
a. The Management Board shall have two Departments with two leaders in each department: Resource Mobilization Department: Proposals and Budget and Technical Department: Website and Publicity
b. There shall always include a Management Board member in charge of Community Development and Leadership
c. The Management Board shall have monthly meetings.

2. The League Committee consists of one Zone Leader from each of the four L.C.F.L. Zones
a. The League Commitee shall have monthly meetings with the Management Board to discuss Zonal issues.

3. The Zone Commitee consists of every coach in each Zone.
a. The Zone Commitee shall vote once a year for their Zone leaders.
b. The Zone Commitee shall have monthly meetings.

3) SET UP A CALENDAR THAT WILL BE FOLLOWED YEAR AFTER YEAR

ACCOMPLISHED: THE CALENDAR IS ATTACHED TO THIS EMAIL

4) SET UP AN OFFICE FOR THE LEAGUE

ACCOMPLISHED: The L.C.F.L. has partnered up with Hatua Likoni (an N.G.O) and we have set up our desk and computer in their/our office now. Hatua Likoni is the organization that originally volunteered with.
-You can see a picture of Kevin and Abbas working on the computer in the office.

5) SET UP WEBSITE with Joshua..THANKS JOSH
- Check it out!: www.likonifootball.wordpress.com
-soon to be: www.likonifootball.org

6) FINALIZE CONSTITUTION AND BYLAWS, CREATE PROPOSAL AND YEARLY BUDGET, A VIDEO AND MORE, FOR SPONSORS.
-My main goal is to support the league for years and years to come. Right now, to be able to do everything the league wants to do it will cost about $11,000 U.S. dollars a year. The cost is because we want to be able to supply first aid kits, first aid training, balls, bibs, cones, jerseys to all teams in the league. We want to be able to have coaching clinics, referee clinics, and do many more things for the clubs in Likoni. All this said…The League does not need a lot of money to run..The cost adds up when we want to support every team in the League. And hopefully, by next season there will be 72 teams!
-The goal is to be able to have the coaches find sponsors in Mombasa and Nairobi. However, I will be working here and looking for people willing to help on a yearly basis (If you have any ideas let me know!)
Attached is the proposal and yearly budget.
VIDEO (This video is more of a memories video.. Currently, I am making a shorter version to that will be more professional..I will send that to you within the next week) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul6veAt4NJ8

7) CREATE A CALENDAR FOR THE MANAGEMENT BOARD AND COACHES TO FOLLOW EVERY YEAR
-ATTACHED IS THE CALENDAR

8) DEVELOP A LEAGUE THAT IS MORE THAN JUST FOOTBALL

-The L.C.F.L. wants to be used as that channel, or gateway, for other organizations to use to get their point across to thousands of kids. Currently the L.C.F.L. is working with a N.G.O., Licodep, to have a “Peace and Security Champions League Touranment” in December. During this Champions League Tournament Licodep will speak to the teams about how important it is to establish peace and security throughout the community. As the L.C.F.L. grows we hope to create more and more partnerships like the one we are creating with Licodep.
-Although this is a football league, the League will make sure it strengthens the community not only through sport, but also by contributing to the community in different ways. Each year the L.C.F.L. hopes to hold at least three main events that are not sport, but community related.

9) PUT IT IN THE COACHES HANDS
- I truly believe in the Management Board and the Zone Leaders to run this League on their own. Many of them were already active in the community with different organizations and each one of them already volunteer their time for the kids they coach. Everything is set up so that they can run the league on their own. It is in their hands now to make something that is already successful run for years to come.

So, this is the League…If you want to hear more about my life in Kenya and the people I worked with, lived with, or just hung out with, give me a call or send me an email :). It has changed my life and all the kids and people I got to know now have a place in my heart. Kenya has a place in my heart.

PHONE NUMBER : 614-561-4864

Thanks for your support!

Sincerely,

Ben Levey
Director of L.C.F.L.

L.C.F.L. Continues...

League Event: L.C.F.L. Award Ceremony for Season 1!

We had the L.C.F.L.'s first Awards Ceremony. Two balls, a certificate for participation, and a whistle were passed out to each club that participated last season. The winner of each age group received a trophy. The referees who participated received certificates and the top two referees (decided by the committee) received whistles as well. Leaders of the community were invited and reporters as well. We had a very big crowd and many coaches, including myself, spoke about the importance of the league and the future…Everything went very smoothly and at the end of the day I sat back, took a deep breath and thought about how far we have made it in such a short time

The League:

The L.C.F.L. has made it far in such a short time and recently the coaches and I have been working to perfect the League so it will be able to run efficiently for years and years to come. Currently, we are working out the two main issues of last season: the age of players and payment for referees.

Age:

A committee has been put in place for "vetting" each club for each age group. Vetting means the coaches look at each player and decide, based on the players appearance, whether he can play in that particular age group. (I don't like this procedure however this is the only way to solve the problem of Age in Likoni…many kids in Likoni do not have any documentation to prove their age.) To tell you the truth, this process has been very smooth and so far we have about 54 teams vetted and ready to play.

Problem:

This is a new procedure in Likoni and the coaches and players do not know how important this is. We need to be able to take a picture of the full team and have the name of each player. (Each team will have their team roster and attached will be a picture of the full team. The referee will be able to go to each game and call each kid's name out while the player points to his face in the picture.) Not all teams have showed up and sometimes teams come with only eight of their players because their other players could not make it….The League Committee is still trying to figure out exactly how we should solve this. The season may start later than we expected or the season for certain zones will start on time while other zones who have not showed up with all their teams may be delayed. We are expecting to start the season on September 25th.

Payment of Referees:

We have solved this problem by asking each U-16 teams to register by paying for the first five games of the season (500 shillings each). Each team will pay for the next five games by the midpoint of the season. The League Committee feels like this can easily be accomplished by each U-16 team. As for the U-14 and U-12 games the referees will be volunteer U-16 players. These volunteer referees will be awarded a point for officiating a match and another point if each coach decides he officiated fairly. At the end of the season the top volunteer in each zone will receive a pair of football cleats. (1000 shillings for one pair)

Now, that these issues have been solved we have also set up the "Leadership Structure of the L.C.F.L." This was designed by coaches and myself:

The L.C.F.L. will be composed of a Management Board, a League Committee, and a Zone Committee.

1. The Management Board shall have no more than seven members.

a. The Management Board shall have two Departments with two leaders in each department: Resource Mobilization Department: Proposals and Budget and Technical Department: Website and Publicity

b. The Management Board shall vote once a year for positions in each Department

c. There shall always include a Management Board member in charge of Community Development and Leadership

d. The Management Board shall have monthly meetings.

2. The League Committee consists of two Zone Leaders from each of the four L.C.F.L. Zones and one Staff member

a. The League Committee shall vote once a year for positions on the Management Board.

b. The League Commitee shall have monthly meetings.

3. The Zone Commitee consists of every coach in each Zone.

a. The Zone Commitee shall vote once a year for their Zone leaders.

b. The Zone Commitee shall have monthly meetings.

If you have any questions about this you can email me at: blevey88@gmail.com :). As well as creating this structure the League is working on strengthening the community. If you read the L.C.F.L. Report below there is information about what we are planning.

The L.C.F.L.: LEAGUE REPORT

The Likoni Community Football League is a youth registered community based organization in Likoni, Mombasa. It is registered with the aim of providing a competition base that will expose young people to the sport of football while also looking to find youth leaders. The League Committee believes these leaders will develop by participating through sport and in future L.C.F.L. volunteer events like clean-ups and HIV/AIDS instruction.

Its activities cover many areas in Likoni with room for expansion. Currently the football league includes Under-12, Under-14 and Under-16 years old. The league is organized so that there are three seasons per year i:e from January to March, May to July, and September to November with possible league tournaments running April, August and December holidays. The L.C.F.L has over 600 members who participate in its activities and by September 2011 hopes to increase its numbers to 1400 members.

As the L.C.F.L. expands there are more goal posts to set up in each of the four different zones across Likoni. Each L.C.F.L. Zone will have two large fields for Under-14 and Under-16 years old and one small field for Under-12 years old. The four zones are: Shelley Beach Zone, Dimbwini Zone, Approved Zone, and Mtongwe Zone. Currently, each zone has the capacity to hold six teams in each of the three age groups, 18 teams for each zone, meaning a total number of 72 teams in the league and about 1400 kids. Along with setting up goal posts and the expansion of the league, the L.C.F.L. is affiliated with Hatua Likoni, a well respected organization based in Likoni. The L.C.F.L. hopes to create a strong, endless relationship with Hatua and combine the importance of education and sports to get children off the streets.

The future goals of the L.C.F.L. are endless. The League has created Bylaws and a Constitution that will strictly be followed. The League hopes to bring in official instructors for future coaches and referees in the area. The League hopes to be able to distribute balls, bibs, and cones to each club every year. The League hopes to create a Senior League and hopefully one day a Girls League as well. Last, the L.C.F.L. hopes to expand to allow thousands and thousands of kids throughout Likoni to be able to participate.

Although this is a football league, the League will make sure it strengthens the community not only through sport, but also by contributing to the community in different ways. Whether it is through clean up or HIV/AIDS instruction, the League has already started writing proposals. Each year the L.C.F.L. hopes to hold at least three main events that are not sport, but community related.

The L.C.F.L. Committee's goal is for each kid in the league to be a good citizen. We believe, " that in football you need to give, you need to receive, you need team spirit, discipline, sportsmanship. But, its not all about soccer, it is about life."

BEXLEY NATIVE and GOOD FRIEND:

Last and definitely not least, my good friend Josh Appelbaum showed up in Mombasa five days ago. Josh and I grew up together in Bexley and he has come to help with the League as well as volunteer his time here in any other way that he can. Personally, I am extremely excited to bring Josh into the equation. His expertise is in Graphic Design which means he will be able to contribute to L.C.F.L.'s publicity as well as work on the website we are currently setting up. (If you received the wonderful L.C.F.L. brochure…he is the one that put that together. ) Josh has adjusted very quickly and has already come up with some great ideas and I look forward to working with him the next couple months!

A New Home

So, I have been a little lazy with my writing lately. No excuses..but I have a pretty good reason. The reason: about three weeks ago I left Pungu Villa and moved into the village to live with two Kenyan sisters. I have become good friends with Sylvia and Awore through the orphanage and other acquaintances. Yes, I know, I lived with two girls (Gabi and Wangari) at Pungu and now I am living with two more in the village. However, I forgot to mention that I have a volunteer from Sweden, great guy, who wanted to come help me with the L.C.F.L. HIS name is Patrick and he is living with us as well. He is a typical 18 year old Sweden..Blue eyes..Blonde hair..loves football and beer haha. Also, next door is my good friend, Hibra, who I have gotten to know very well over the past months (we like eating mangos and talking about life). So, I do have some male camaraderie in my life.

Living in the village next to Hibra, with two Kenyans and a Swede has been great. I have not wanted to take time to sit down at a computer for the past couple weeks. When I finish with league "stuff" or training a team, I want to just hang out with my current roommates. For example, right now Awore (one of the sisters I am living with) is singing behind me as I write this blog. I wouldn't say she is the best singer, but she definitely is an amazing dancer. She moves in ways that I cannot haha. We had our first dance lesson last week. (Big-Bro I might come back a better dancer than you..just a heads up. I promise not to show you up on your wedding night…)

Living in the village has been a great experience. No running water..I shower over the toilet. I do not call it a shower with Silly (Sylvia) and Eddie (Awore)..I tell them, " I am going to bucket myself", whenever I am going to bathe. I brush my teeth outside..No sink. I have also learned to wash the dishes without a sink..But, I have only done that once. Awore is the expert cleaner in the house. She cleaned my year-old shoes and made them look brand new. Also, she cleaned the carpet the other day in record time: five minutes. She truly is an EXPERT CLEANER. Things are different here and without a sink or running water I am definitely learning a new way to live..I LOVE IT. I think I may change to "bucketing" when I get home..We will see.

What else.. Ali's toe is mostly better. The other day I took the kids from the orphanage to go play football/soccer and Ali played (I am telling you I thought his toes were completely healed..I wish I took a picture). However, after Ali scored two goals he was accidentally stepped on and the wound partially reopened..I have been taking care of it every other day. I am pretty sure he will be okay.

Ali's toes are not perfect and neither is the league. I mean I hope you guys aren't expecting the league to be perfect right away. That was my goal, but "perfect" is not the right word for the L.C.F.L. You may sense some frustration in the way I am writing about this subject…I am going to be honest. I am pretty frustrated. One of the U-16 teams just dropped out of the league due to issues with teams not playing players that are the appropriate age…Age has been an issue from the start, and the coaches have stated that they will trust each other to put the right players out on the field. However, some of the teams are playing kids that are definitely not kids, and probably 18 or 19 years old. Now, you cannot look at a player and say you are not 16, or you are not 15…I mean look at Lebron James. He looked 30 when he was 16 years old.. So, what can we do? Half the kids in the league do not have documentation or a birth certificate. The only thing we can do is play out the season and hope the coaches come around to play the appropriate-aged players…It is possible that teams in the U-16 age group will slowly drop out, and U-16 league may not finish. The way to fix this problem: The committee has decided that documentation is necessary and it is very possible for every player on every teem to get the right documentation by September ( the start of the next season). So teams who have documentation will play in September , and the issue with age will be resolved.

(Awore just called for me to show me how high the Jenga tower was….Patrick and I bought the house Jenga today. If anyone does not know what Jenga is..shame on you..)

So, the league has problems…But, let us look at the positives. Schedules have been made that start May 8th and go until July 31st. There are about 600 kids that will be playing every Sunday for three straight months…not bad. Three sets of goal posts have been put up, and more are on their way. Referee schedules have been made for the season, and eight referees will be officiating the matches throughout May, June, and July. Thirteen coaches have come together to start the league..Meaning there are thirteen clubs and a total of thirty teams. I still say thirty teams, because the club that dropped out of the U-16 league, their coaches, are still participating and a part of the league committee. They still want to be involved with the process and are hoping that by September, the league will correct the AGE issue. AND I am coming back to Kenya in August to make sure this league keeps on moving in the right direction.

I have deferred from graduate school and decided to come back to Kenya. Not really a hard decision for me because I love what I am doing. The only things keeping me from coming back to Kenya are the people I love back at home and Moose (the family dog). But, I knew I would be kicking myself a year or two down the road if I didn't make the decision to see this thing through. So, the plan is to work, fundraise for the league,hopefully get together with my good friend mr. Spitz and make the L.C.F.L. website, get together with my good friend Mr. Appelbaum and make brochures, and do anything I can to better the Likoni Community Football League. My hope is that I can come back to Kenya for three to six months, and by the end of my stay the league will be set up and everything will be put in place. I have promised myself that I will be starting school next June. So, I cannot stay longer than nine months :).

HOPE ALL IS WELL AT HOME. I will be home in about a week. If there are no delays I should be home May 16th..I am looking forward to having a bowl of cereal and a bagel and cream cheese. AND seeing the family, friends and MOOSE!

I would like to say THANK YOU!!! FOR ALL YOUR DONATIONS! These donations are going toward the goal posts, nets, cement, etc. Also, they are going toward the future of the L.C.F.L. As the league expands, more pitches will need to be added. This means more goal posts, nets, etc..

How to Donate:

1. Go to : http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/

2. Click on Donate

3. Scroll Down and Click on Other

4. For Purpose, Write : Football...Put in Donation amount.

5. Click: Update Total

6. If don't have PayPal account. Go to: Don't have a PayPal account and click Continue.

7. Credit Card Information

Other Ways to Donate

By Mail:
Please make your check payable to FCNY- Hatua Likoni, and mail it to: 121 6th Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Include "football" in the memo.

I Have Visitors!

More Pics: https://picasaweb.google.com/107996151971191519896/IHaveVisitors?authkey=Gv1sRgCNz52fK32LDr4QE#

Well it has been about one or two weeks since I have put up my last blog…Things have been going very well. The parents visited for five days! I wish they could have been here longer! They were able to have a wonderful Kenyan lunch with Zinga, watch me train a team, see the the orphanage (all the kids and Ali, who is doing much better!), the start of the L.C.F.L. ( overall, a successful day) , and they took me on safari!…It was the first time I left Mombasa in the past two months!

Although I was excited to go on safari and see other parts of Kenya, I was mostly excited about touring my parents around Likoni. The first stop was lunch with Zinga. For some reason I have not mentioned Zinga in my previous blogs. Zinga lives down the hill from Pungu. He and his wife supply us with the bread we and sometimes the monkeys eat in the morning. (On a side note, Tom has been more courageous and tried to enter the house the other day.) Zinga is a very big, strong man. Actually ZINGA means BIG in kiswahili, his real name is Paul. He also trained me in boxing for the first two months. However, the training has been delayed due to my lack of energy at the end of the day. Lunch was wonderful! We had fish with coconut sauce, salad, bread, mango, mchicha (greens)..I am sure I am forgetting something. Lets just say we all were satiated at the end of the meal.

After Zinga's meal, we waited for my Mom and Dad's first tuc-tuc ride (the transport used to watch me train one of the teams). From what I observed and what they said, I believe they loved the tuc-tuc. As we reached the field, the team's coaches and players warmly greeted my parents. They watched me train the team as they spoke with the coaches, and heard about their lives in Likoni and their goals for the future. At the end of the night my Dad said something like this: "You and your sisters would never play on a field like that and those kids were playing so well, on such a terrible field"…This is true.

After the training, we took a tuc-tuc ride to the orphanage to have dinner. Dr. and Mrs. Levey were able to meet Ali and see that he was up and walking :). Ali is much better, the infection is gone, and he does not have to go to the doctor anymore. The wound is still healing, but it is very small and he will be able to play soccer in no time. Also, my parents were able to meet all the kids, and many friends who came to eat dinner at the orphanage. Everyone was saying how beautiful my parents were…I would have to agree.

It was great to have Mom and Dad see the start of the exhibition matches for the L.C.F.L. They watched the coaches and me mark the fields with dirt oil before the games began. This is a tedious process, but the coaches say that dirt oil is best for marking the fields. Later, during one of the matches an mze (old man) brought a bench out for my parents and him to sit on. Kids of all ages sat and surrounded them, and my parents spoke with him and all the kids as they watched the game :). Twenty-two out of the twenty-four teams played, which I looked at as a success. Also, after a full day of soccer, eleven out of the thirteen coaches sat down with me for two hours. We spoke about the challenges we still faced to create a well-run league. However, we were still very happy about the day . Yes, I was not able to be with my parents all day, but they understood and we still had two and a half days of Safari!

Safari was wonderful! However, I will admit that I had trouble sleeping at night due to all the strange noises (I also was in my own room…all alone. I blame my parents haha). We saw ostrich, elephants, gazelle, dik-dik (I may be spelling it wrong..look it up :) ), alligator (or crocodile..I don't know, I always mix them up) , hippo, giraffe, hyenas and more. If you read that list you may be saying, "What about the lions, leopards, or cheetahs????" Well, we are not cat people..We are dog people. So, it serves us right that we did not see any cats… O well, maybe next time.

Although no lions, leopards, or cheetahs were seen, my parents and I were very happy. We headed back home, to Mombasa, where we ate dinner and spoke about our adventure. They left shortly afterward, and I went back to Likoni. I was sad to see them go, but I will see them in one month when I return home.

You might be asking what about last Sunday, April 17th? How did everything go, and what is happening with the league now? I will put up a new blog in the next day or two about the league. Things keep changing for the better, and we now have 28 teams..27 of those teams played yesterday, Sunday, April 17th!

Update: L.C.F.L.

Update with the L.C.F.L.

LINK TO PICTURES:

https://picasaweb.google.com/107996151971191519896/Apr92011?feat=email#

Hi guys! On my last post I gave you the schedule for when the league was starting, league meetings, advertisements for the league, etc. Things have changed ( as they always do..), but here is an update on what has been accomplished:

-Trash Clean-up (last Sunday March 27th)

About one hundred kids showed up. We had trash bags, gloves, and a mcoco teni ( big wooden cart). We worked from 10 AM to 3 PM, and at the end of the day I felt like we got NOTHING accomplished.

-The fields are surrounded by trash. My primary concern was to clean up the trash on the fields. The trash will continue to be cleaned up throughout the month.

- One corner of one of the fields is a trash dump (which I did not realize). Meaning when you clean up the trash..there is just another layer of trash underneath it. We ARE NOT going to be using this field. There is an additional field in another area, which does not have ANY trash on it, that will be used.

- We bought two second hand goal nets at a great price! ( Monday, March 28th)

-These nets are fish nets, that will be cut into goal nets. The coaches explained to me that the fish nets last much longer compare to regular goal nets.

-We still need two more goal nets!

-Random meetings with coaches throughout the week to discuss future plans..and a hospital visit to make sure I did not have malaria ( I did not have malaria) . I was sick for about six days.

-Meeting with five referees (last thursday March 31st)

The referees that will be a part of the league all live in and are from Likoni. It is called the Likoni Community Football League, so I decided we should try to keep everything in the community :). I think the meeting went pretty well. The referees : Salim, Bindo, Martin, Boaz, and Hassan all seemed to be very interested and gave me the impression that they wanted to take part in the L.C.F.L. However, referees come with a cost, and we made an agreement that they would be paid 200 shillings a game ( 600 shillings a day..remember: three matches on each field). What I am HOPING is that each team will bring 100 shillings per game…HOPEFULLY IT WILL WORK!

So, I gave the referees six days to decide whether they would want to work with us. This week, the referees who want to be a part of the Likoni Community Football League will come Wedsnday night, April 6th, and sign an agreement with the L.C.F.L.

- "Vetting of players" ( Sunday April 3rd)

Teams in this area have been known to cheat. If there is an Under-14 tournament in the area, teams will allow older boys to play. This will not happen in the L.C.F.L. We are making team rosters, and creating player cards for each player. So, the coaches wanted to have a day to bring all teams together to look at all the players for each team, from each age group, and decide which players were of age and which players were not. The Likoni coaches call this process : vetting.

You may be thinking why don't all the players just bring their birth certificates to prove their age. Here in Likoni, some kids do not have birth certificates, and many of the coaches have explained to me that if they do, the documents may be forged..please don't ask me why..Sijui (I don't know)

We had a great turn out, and things ran smoothly. Pictures were taken ( 4 kids at a time to save money for developing photos..we are going to cut out the faces and place them on each player card ) and team rosters were filled out. Every club showed up except for two, and I was told one of the clubs was playing in a tournament.

-A total of 252 kids "vetted", had their pictures taken, and their names and ages were recorded. Yes, we need all the kids, but I was very happy with the turnout.

Based on what has been accomplished, I have decided that there needs to be a change in the schedule. What the L.C.F.L. is going to do, is have the games on April 10th, 17th, and 24th be played as friendly matches ( a test for the league). We will take pictures of the clubs that did not show, and the kids that were not able to make it from other teams. Also, we will be able to see what problems we may be facing with organization, possible money issues with transportation and referees, and other possible issues.

-Possible future to deal with cost of transportation: Create different zones for each area of Likoni. There would be four to six clubs in each zone, with one to two fields. Each zone would have group play for two-three months. At the end of play group play, the top two teams from each zone would play in a champions league.

( Idea from Coach Swaleh)

So, the games on April 10th, 17th, and 24th will be played as friendly matches. The plan is by April 24th all issues will be worked out, and the league will officially start the following week (HOPEFULLY!). What I don't want, is try to start a league that is not ready to start. I do not want to put up banners, give out brochures, and advertise on local radio stations about a league that may initially have problems.

This week.:

-I already checked up on the goal posts. One set is already finished and the other set will be finished by tomorrow. The plan is to put the goal posts in on Weds or Thursday..depending on which day I have the most manpower.

-Need to buy the oil to mark the fields..coaches here say oil is the best and lasts the longest…I will let you know more once this is bought.

- Find or buy two more goal nets.

- Clean up fields..take out plants that are growing on the field and around the field (possibly hire labor workers to do this). This will be a continuous process through the month.

- MAKE PLAYER CARDS…buy cards (10 shillings per card..~350 cards, 3500 shillings, about $46 dollars) , develop pictures, cut faces out, and place on cards.

-I am hoping these cards will last for 2 years….

- Coaches already know game schedule for this coming Sunday..However, I will call and confirm with all coaches.

- Meeting with referees to sign agreement. (Wedsnday night)

-PARENTS COME IN THURSDAY NIGHT!

All the money that has been donated is going straight into the league. It is going toward the clean up and betterment of the four fields we are using. Player cards are being made, oil is being used for markings, goal nets are being bought, labor workers for the fields may be hired in the next two days. The workers will work for one or two days (four or five workers for ~300 shillings/day) ….Just, want to make sure you know where the money is going!! Thank you guys!!!

Life in Likoni

So, two days ago I was eating breakfast outside. Two of the monkeys surrounded me..Tom, the alpha male, walked up and out of nowhere jumped and pushed the table right into me! My water bottle flew off the table, I jumped back, and yelled at Tom, throwing the bottle right back at him. The water bottle did not deter Tom from his ultimate goal. He did not move, and stared directly at the piece of bread. I ran, bread in hand, to pick up stones as the younger monkey (not named yet) jumped onto the table and ate some left over scraps. Tom was waiting for me when I came back. Once he saw the stones in my hand, he darted off, up the tree and away from harm. These monkeys are getting a little to comfortable….

Besides the on-going monkey problem, I still love living at Pungu.

- Gabi and Wangari are slowly becoming my two older sisters…even if they don't want to admit it .

-Looking over the Indian Ocean, and waking up early to watch the sunrise never gets old.

-Going out and dancing after a long, hard week is great way to relieve stress..

So, I have been enjoying my time here. Life has been busy, and busy means good! After working on the league, it is now a must to visit the orphanage everyday. I love the kids, and have gotten to know them pretty well..especially one of them named Ali.

Ali is a great soccer player at the orphanage, who broke his toe three weeks ago and it wasn't just a normal, everyday, fracture. The broken bone was dislocated and punctured the skin. He went to the hospital, had it put back into place (as best as possible), and was sent back home, with his foot lightly wrapped.

I helped out.. The doctor, who took care of Ali, wanted to see him in three weeks. The doctor said to redress the foot after those three weeks. This was mind boggling because when you think about it, the dressing becomes dirty everyday, and with just a light wrap the open wound would become infected..

A couple of days passed and I took him back to the hospital. The doctor was unavailable and nurses told us we should redress it everyday. So, with the materials I purchased at a local pharmacy, Catherine, who works at the orphanage, and I cleaned and redressed his foot day after day. The wound was looking better for a short time, and it looked like it was healing. We decided to take him back to the hospital to make sure the toe was healing correctly. The doctor was not there to see him, so we had it cleaned and wrapped by the nurses and went back home.

Later on, I was not able to clean and wrap his foot over the weekend due to training and running league errands. The wound started to look worse and the toe became infected… (I would like to think that my cleaning and redressing was not the cause of this..but, maybe it was.) So, I took him back to the hospital, and met with the doctor who saw him earlier..All he did was write a prescription for antibiotics, told us to cut-off the dead skin ourselves (I was thinking.."Are you serious?"), and to redress the wound two times a day.

Two days later, I could not take it anymore. The wound was not healing correctly and the toe was severely infected. I took a picture, and sent it home to Dr. Levey (my dad :) )..He told me I should get him to the hospital the next day. I decided to take him that night (I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep) to what is known as one of the best hospitals in Mombasa.

The doctors there were much better and they said that Ali needed to go into surgery. Catherine and I stayed with him for three nights in the hospital..He watched movies on my laptop, ate, and laid in bed..I called him "King Ali", due to the fact that he had all the food he wanted, and all the love anyone could endure (people from the orphanage and many friends came to visit him everyday).

Now, he will go back to the hospital to get his foot redressed (not a light wrap like before) twice a week. Everything should be fine. The infection did not reach the bone, so the toes and the foot are going to be okay :). Don't want to jinx it though..The infection could come back..I will keep you guys updated!

Life is good and the league is still moving forward in the right direction..

L.C.F.L. (Two weeks later..)

L.C.F.L.:

The League logo has been made by my good friend Danny Spitzer-Cohn. Thank you Mr. Spitz.

The Likoni Community Football League is growing! There have been so many changes over the past two weeks! There are three pitches at Dimbwini. Two regular sized pitches, and one smaller pitch. We were planning on converting the smaller pitch into a regular sized pitch for the U-14 and U-16 teams. Instead, we are adding a small, U-12 Boys league, with six teams (using the small pitch in Dimbwini). We are adding another pitch to substitute for the third regular-sized pitch. Also, we have found one more pitch in an area known as Timbwani (very close to the beach). This pitch will be used by the Girls teams that we are adding! Three U-18 Girl teams, and a possible two U-12 Girl teams. For a grand total of...27 to 29 teams :

- U-16 Boys : 10 teams

- U-14 Boys : 8 teams

- U-12 Boys: 6 teams

- U-18 Girls : 3 teams

- U-12 Girls (possible): 2 teams

Also, goal posts have been ordered, teams have officially been invited, and the bylaws and constitution have been finalized. Things we still need: nets, cement, and wood for fences and benches . Meetings with coaches have been held, and there are still many more things to do.

- Meet with referees

(scheduled thursday or friday this week)

- Clean up fields..a lot of garbage along the sides of the field!..Level off fields as much as possible..clear out plants that are in the way..we are collecting tools in Likoni!

-I would like to send out a special thank you to Wangari's boyfriend, Ambrose!

( schedule for Sunday, March 27th)

- League meeting, team-rosters, pictures for player cards.

(scheduled for Sunday, April 3rd)

- Advertise the league..make brochures, make banners, get on the local radio, invite local media.

(schedule..April 3rd-April 10th)

The days feel like they are moving too fast, and as April 10th gets closer, I am feeling more and more stress about what needs to be done. But, at the end of the day I try to relax at Pungu, look over the Indian Ocean, and say to myself, everything will be alright, "Hakuna matata..No worries."

Last, I would like to say THANK YOU!!! FOR ALL YOUR DONATIONS! These donations are going toward the goal posts, nets, cement, benches, etc. Also, they are going toward the future of the L.C.F.L. As the league expands, more pitches will need to be added. This means more goal posts, nets, etc..

How to Donate:

1. Go to : http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/

2. Click on Donate

3. Scroll Down and Click on Other

4. For Purpose, Write : Football...Put in Donation amount.

5. Click: Update Total

6. If don't have PayPal account. Go to: Don't have a PayPal account and click Continue.

7. Credit Card Information

Other Ways to Donate

By Mail:
Please make your check payable to FCNY- Hatua Likoni, and mail it to: 121 6th Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Include "football" in the memo.

Talk to you all soon! I will put up more and more pictures as the days pass..

Donation toward the Likoni Community Football League

DONATE FIVE TO TEN DOLLARS TO START THE LIKONI COMMUNITY FOOTBALL LEAGUE

How to Donate:

1. Go to : http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/

2. Click on Donate

3. Scroll Down and Click on Other

4. For Purpose, Write : Football...Put in Donation amount.

5. Click: Update Total

6. If don't have PayPal account. Go to: Don't have a PayPal account and click Continue.

7. Credit Card Information

Dear Family, Friends, Coaches and Players,

As you may already know I have been volunteering in Kenya over the past month and have had only one problem. I will not name any names, but there is this family of monkeys that try to steal my breakfast every morning! So far, one male has gotten away with a piece of bread, and yesterday that same monkey was literally a foot away from me as I hovered over my breakfast, protecting my meal (I also may have been screaming a little bit with my fellow roommate).

Besides the monkey problem, Kenya has been great. I have been volunteering with an organization called Hatua Likoni. Hatua Likoni is a youth-led community organization dedicated to alleviating poverty, under education and idleness among youth in Likoni, Mombasa. Hatua has basically been my "home-base", providing me with the support I need to establish the Likoni Community Football League, or L.C.F.L. Over the past month I have met with dozens of coaches, trained boys and girls aging from twelve to eighteen years old (every weekend I visit and coach with four different clubs), and have quickly learned about the trials and tribulations each kid and parent have to endure here in Likoni.

Here, life for kids is very different. Most kids go to school at 7 AM and do not leave the school grounds until 6:30 PM, or possibly even as late as 8 PM. Also, they usually have a half day of school on Saturdays. The only "somewhat structured" activity outside of school is FOOTBALL (soccer). Although these kids spend so much time in school, they still have time to play football AND with the little time they have, they still perform at a very high level.

The kids here are very talented, yet the only organization or structure they have is during practice on saturday and sundays. Right now, teams who train every weekend may play only one match a month. Teams may play three to four games during a month if and when a tournament is held, which may occur once a year. With this is mind, the coaches and I have made up our minds to start a community league here in Likoni.

Our goal is to start the L.C.F.L. by the first weekend in April. The league will start small, with a U-16 boys league, a U-14 boys league, and hopefully a U-18 girls league. The main purpose of the league will be to allow the kids to have a game to play every sunday. So far we have found three pitches, in an area of LIkoni called Dimbwini, that are side-by-side-by-side. Here, the matches will take place every Sunday at 10 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM. This means three games on a pitch, nine total games, eighteen total teams, and about 324 total players. Our goal is to have ten teams for U-16 Boys, and eight teams for U-14 Boys. We are working on another pitch for the girls, but as of right now there is only two or three girls teams in the area that regularly train.

A league with 18-22 teams does not even come close to the number of teams that can participate in Likoni. However, we hope that the community will see a well-run, well-organized, and disciplined league. My vision is that once the community sees this, they will support the league, and the L.C.F.L. will grow. Parents and friends will know to come to Dimbwini every Sunday and watch competitive league matches. Businesses in Likoni will surround the fields to sell water and food during the day, and eventually the league will grow to U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, and possibly U-18 for both boys and girls.

So, why I am telling you all this? The three pitches in Dimbwini need a little work. Two of them don't have goals, all three pitches need goal nets, flags, marking powder, and a small fence for the fans to stand behind ( watching a match in Likoni is incredible..the fans stand right on top of the field, and when a fight or argument happens during the match, some fans will run right onto the field and start fighting as well). Also, the coaches need to be provided with first aid training and first aid kits. What I am asking of you is to donate five to ten dollars to the L.C.F.L. This small donation will allow for a smooth and easy start to the league. I have spent only a month in Likoni, Mombasa, and I truly believe that a league here in Likoni will strengthen the community as a whole. In Likoni the passion for football (soccer) is unbelievable, there just needs to be a place to put it, and that place is the L.C.F.L.

Attached to this email are pictures of the coaches I have been working with, the kids I have been coaching, and the three Dimbwini fields. If you have any questions and want to know more about what I am doing here in Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya, or just want an update with the L.C.F.L. you can email me at : blevey88@gmail.com, or follow me on my blog at http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/. Also, I would like to thank the many people who have already took the time to donate soccer jerseys and equipment (MADISON, WI and COLUMBUS, OH..Thank you!).

How to Donate:

1. Go to : http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/

2. Click on Donate

3. Scroll Down and Click on Other

4. For Purpose, Write : Football...Put in Donation amount.

5. Click: Update Total

6. If don't have PayPal account. Go to: Don't have a PayPal account and click Continue.

7. Credit Card Information

Other Ways to Donate

By Mail:
Please make your check payable to FCNY- Hatua Likoni, and mail it to: 121 6th Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Include "football" in the memo.

First month!

It officially has been one month and I think it is time I let you guys read about my time in Kenya!

So, where do I start?…How about with my living situation.. Pungu Villa is located on Shelley Beach Road in Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a small kitchen, living room, and beautiful outside sitting area with an ocean view. Sometimes at the end of a long, hot, sticky, dusty day, I get back to Pungu and just sit outside, looking over the vast ocean, feeling the cool breeze, and thinking: "I miss the snow back in Ohio.."

As for the people living with me: Gabi and Wangari have been the best roommates. Gabi is the Director of the organization (Hatua Likoni) that brought me in. She has been here for over five years, usually spending nine months out of the year in Likoni and three months back in the states. Wangari is from Nairobi and started working with Hatua earlier this year. She leaves in April :(. As many of you know, one of my many downfalls is that I don't cook..don't have the patience for it. So, Gabi and Wangari cook for me and I clean the dishes.

When Gabi or Wangari are not available, I obviously have to eat out. I almost always have the same thing : chapati, maragwe or pojo, and mchicha or scuma ( kind of like pita, beans, and tasty greens). For dinner: Pilau ( rice and a couple pieces of meat), or my favorite, biriani (meat, rices, and some very good, spicy sauce). The food in Likoni is very cheap compared to the states, and cheap compared to many areas in Kenya as well. A typical lunch or dinner will cost me sixty to one hundred shillings. The US dollar is equivalent to ~76 shillings. You can do the math.

For the people who know me, after reading about my eating habits in Likoni, you may be asking: "Why am I eating meat?" For those who do not know, I have recently become a vegetarian (I have my reasons..). However, here in Likoni, every goat, cow, and chicken seem to be living a wonderful, happy life. They run around town like they own the place, crossing streets whenever they feel like slowing down traffic, or sometimes just playing and chasing after one another. At the end of an adventurous day, they all have an owner, and every goat, cow, and chicken will go back to their place of residence, even the chickens! So, I feel okay eating the cow or chicken because they have lived full, happy lives :).

Goats..cows..chickens, yes there are other animals here in Likoni as well. We have a family of monkeys that live right next-door . Wangari and I have started to name them: Lucy, Harry, Frank, and Tom. There are four more monkeys, however we have not come up with the right names for them yet. The other day Tom stole our bread and two days ago he literally was a foot away from me, as I hovered over our food, shielding it from his grasp! Also, there are green, blue, yellow, basically every color bird you can imagine that fly around Pungu. There are lizards with yellow or green heads and blue bodies. The baby lizards are pretty damn cute as well. I was told by a Kenyan friend that if a baby lizard jumps on you it is good luck..So far, I have had five baby lizards jump on me :). The other day I was sitting outside Pungu and a baby lizard jumped on my knee and just sat and stared at me for a couple minutes (obviously, I sat and stared right back). Gabi has been here for five years and not once has a baby lizard landed on her. So, I feel pretty special haha. People keep asking me if I have seen any lions..The answer is that I have not. I hope to see many more animals when I go on safari with my parents. They are visiting in April! Can't wait!

The animals here are amazing and so are the people. During the first week I was uncomfortable with all the staring. Lets just say I will never blend in here. But, I have gotten pretty used to it now. Whenever, I look up and people are looking at me I just say "Mambo" or "Jambo, Jambo" or "Habari gani?" and once I initiate the "Hello", or "How are you? in kiswahili, they respond and things feel more comfortable. Also, when I walk through the villages in Likoni the kids will usually yell and say, "Mzungu, mzungu, How are you?!" (mzungu= white man) I usually reply "nzuri, habari gani?" (Good, how are are you?) They respond with a smile saying, "nzuri."

SHORT STORY (about three weeks ago..):

- As I walk through Likoni with one of the coaches kids yell out, "Mzungu, How are you?"

- My usual reply: "Nzuri, habari gani?"

- There usual reply "nzuri." Then one of the kid yells out something I don't understand in kiswahili.

- I ask the coach what the girl said..He replies with a laugh saying that she said " Oh, he's not mzungu!"

Yes, I also have been making friends. The people at Hatua Likoni have been so welcoming and friendly.

-SHORT STORY (about two weeks ago..):

- I asked Biabu (one of my friends at Hatua Likoni) what her favorite color is…Her response: WHITE…

- Then I ask Pirsilla (another friend at Hatua) what her favorite color is..Her response…WHITE

The coaches I have worked with are incredible people. The kids at the orphanage, that I visit usually once or twice a day during the week, are so much fun. Last night, I had dinner (biriani!) and drinks at a friends house with a big group of people. We danced afterward for two hours to a reggae artist known as "Bafu Chafu", which means "Dirty Bathroom". Later, we went into town for an amazing night.

So, what have I been doing here besides chillen at the orphanage with the kids and having fun..?

The past month: Starting the Football League (L.C.F.L.) :

I have been volunteering in Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya over the past month and there has been only one problem. I will not name any names, but lately there has been a family of monkeys that try to steal my breakfast every morning! So far, one male has gotten away with a piece of bread, and yesterday that same monkey was literally a foot away from me as I hovered over my breakfast, protecting my meal (I also may have been screaming a little bit with my fellow roommate).

Besides the monkey problem, Kenya has been great! Hatua Likoni has brought me in as one of their own and has been what one could call my "home-base", providing me with the support I need to establish the Likoni Community Football League, or L.C.F.L. Over the past month I have met with dozens of coaches, trained boys and girls aging from twelve to eighteen years old (every weekend I visit and coach with four different clubs), and have quickly learned about the trials and tribulations each kid and parent have to endure here in Likoni.

Here, life for kids is very different. Most kids go to school at 7 AM and do not leave the school grounds until 6:30 PM, or possibly even as late as 8 PM. Also, they usually have a half day of school on Saturdays. The only "somewhat structured" activity outside of school is FOOTBALL (soccer). Although these kids spend so much time in school, they still have time to play football AND with the little time they have, they still perform at a very high level.

The kids here are very talented, yet the only organization or structure they have is during practice on saturday and sundays. Right now, teams who train every weekend may play only one match a month. Teams may play three to four games during a month if and when a tournament is held, which may occur once a year. With this is mind, the coaches and I have made up our minds to start a community league here in Likoni.

The coaches here have been great. To organize the league I have mostly been working with:

-Burning, who is known as one of the best goalkeepers in Likoni.

-Swaleh, who has played professionally in Europe.

-Nicolas, who has come up with great ideas for the league.

-Jumaa, who grew up with Swaleh and was a teammates with Swaleh's as well.

-Kevin and Martin: who have given there time to speak to me about the league and have allowed me to come train their teams in Likoni.

-AND more….

Our goal is to start the L.C.F.L. by the first weekend in April. The league will start small, with a U-16 boys league, a U-14 boys league, and hopefully a U-18 girls league. The main purpose of the league will be to allow the kids to have a game to play every sunday. So far we have found three pitches, in an area of LIkoni called Dimbwini, that are side-by-side-by-side. Here, the matches will take place every Sunday at 10 AM, 2 PM, and 4 PM. This means three games on a pitch, nine total games, eighteen total teams, and about 324 total players. Our goal is to have ten teams for U-16 Boys, and eight teams for U-14 Boys. We are working on another pitch for the girls, but as of right now there is only two or three girls teams in the area that regularly train.

A league with 18-22 teams does not even come close to the number of teams that can participate in Likoni. However, we hope that the community will see a well-run, well-organized, and disciplined league. My vision is that once the community sees this, they will support the league, and the L.C.F.L. will grow. Parents and friends will know to come to Dimbwini every Sunday and watch competitive league matches. Businesses in Likoni will surround the fields to sell water and food during the day, and eventually the league will grow to U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, and possibly U-18 for both boys and girls.

The three pitches in Dimbwini need a little work. Two of them don't have goals, all three pitches need goal nets, flags, marking powder, and a small fence for the fans to stand behind ( watching a match in Likoni is incredible..the fans stand right on top of the field, and when a fight or argument happens during the match, some fans will run right onto the field and start fighting as well). Also, the coaches need to be provided with first aid training and first aid kits. Right now I am asking my family and friends from home to donate five to ten dollars to the L.C.F.L. This small donation will allow for a smooth and easy start to the league. My hope is to receive around 1500 US Dollars.

I have spent only a month in Likoni, Mombasa, and I truly believe that a league here in Likoni will strengthen the community as a whole. In Likoni the passion for football (soccer) is unbelievable, there just needs to be a place to put it, and that place is the L.C.F.L.

If you read my blog and want to donate that would be wonderful!

How to Donate:

1. Go to : http://www.hatualikoni.org/hatua/

2. Click on Donate

3. Scroll Down and Click on Other

4. For Purpose, Write : Football...Put in Donation amount.

5. Click: Update Total

6. If don't have PayPal account. Go to: Don't have a PayPal account and click Continue.

7. Credit Card Information

Other Ways to Donate

By Mail:
Please make your check payable to FCNY- Hatua Likoni, and mail it to: 121 6th Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10013. Include "football" in the memo.

If you have any questions and want to know more about what I am doing here in Likoni, Mombasa, Kenya, or just want an update with the L.C.F.L. you can email me at : blevey88@gmail.com, or follow me here on my blog. Also, I would like to thank the many people who have already donated soccer jerseys and equipment (MADISON, WI and COLUMBUS, OH..Thank you!).

This week:

-Burning, Swaleh, Nicolas and I met with the Dimbwini coaches to make final decisions about the three pitches. The meeting went very well. All the coaches seem to be in this together. They all want to provide support in any way they can..It is for the kids!

-I went to town to make a visit to the Red Cross. I met with a very nice man named Abdallah, who is in charge of setting up training in First Aid. Unfortunately I found out that the cost for training is 1000 shillings per person. Hopefully, the donations will cover this as well. What I am hoping is that most, if not all the coaches, and possibly one or two players from every team will be trained in First Aid by the time the league starts. Also, we are planning on buying three to four Universal First Aid Kits for the league.

-I am still gathering the list of clubs and teams that will be invited to the league. Hopefully we will have all teams picked by this sunday, so I can invite each coach to a meeting the following sunday.

-Working on the Dimbwini fields! This will take a lot of man power and time.

As usual, this coming Saturday and Sunday I will train all four teams again.

-8 am Saturday-Tuscom Boys : U16, U12

-4 pm Saturday- Mtongwe Boys : U16, U14

-6:30 am Sunday- Lysa Boys : U14

-5 pm Sunday - All Saints Boys and Girls :Ages range from 12-18 years old

The usual :

Learning more words in kiswahili(very slowly)…hanging out at a community orphanage. Working out with Zinga, the boxer, in the morning.

Last:

Putting together this blog, a letter for donations, and Facebook group for the donations. Please DONATE!!