The North Hunterdon Soccer Club took advantage of an opportunity to help the kids at Camp Hope refugee camp in Fond Parisien, Haiti. The group sent nets and balls with a recent missionary group from the Foundation for Peace who used the supplies to build soccer goals. The goals were built at Camp Hope, a refugee camp run by the American Refugee Committee that is currently home to over 700 earthquake victims, many of whom are children.
NHSC board member and parent, Colleen Duerr, volunteered in Camp Hope with the Foundation for Peace back in February, just a month after the earthquake. “At the time, there were 400 people in camp and our job was to dig latrines for the refugees. I just read that there are over 700 people in camp with expectations of 300 more to move in very soon. There were kids in makeshift schools but with 30-40 kids in a tent in 95+ degree weather they could only have school in the mornings”,
explained Duerr. Her sister-in-law, Kelli Regan, went down two weeks after and along with other members of that group from the Foundation for Peace, made the construction of soccer goals out of PVC pipe a job for the week. Duerr added, “I was thrilled to hear that they constructed goals for the camp, as they absolutely loved playing soccer and it was great for them to have recreation in the afternoon. It was also a great way for volunteers to interact with the kids.”
When asked to donate soccer supplies, the North Hunterdon Soccer Club board responded enthusiastically and immediately. The Duerr family delivered the nets in balls just in time for the next group to get them to Haiti and get them into place. Karl Reed, NHSC President said, “We were thrilled to help out. Soccer is a fantastic sport and we were glad to jump in and do our part to help these children in need. I was very proud of the quick response and enthusiasm from our entire board. This is a great group of volunteers who care very much about helping others.”
Other nets supplied by the NHSC will likely make their way down closer to Port-au-Prince to be used for soccer goals in refugee camps closer to the epicenter of the January 12th earthquake.
We are very proud to say that 180 North Hunterdon Soccer Club members, friends, and family enjoyed a great game together on Saturday, May 15th. NHSC was represented in force that night and the players got an exciting opportunity to experience the view from the pitch, as they carried the MLS banner onto the Red Bulls field. Although the Red Bulls lost 0-1, everyone had a great time and can’t wait to go back as a club. Big thanks to Chip Kalfaian for his work in organizing this fabulous event.
