After about a week back in the United States to celebrate my best friend’s birthday, it was time to get back to programming and let me tell you I was excited. We had plans in the Dominican Republic, a country that will forever hold such a special place in Around the Worlds’ heart and our story. On top of that, I made a last minute decision to give out one of our scholarships while there, but I’ll get to that a little bit later.

I reached out to an old contact and friend who I worked with last year as well as a new contact from a new foundation in Santo Domingo, the capital of the small island nation. Then, Sunday rolled around and I was on my way.

I landed in the city just past noon and quickly flagged down a car to take me to my usual flat in the colonial zone. I always enjoyed this spot. Lively during the day, with plenty to see and do, but quiet and safe at night. A perfect and needed balance.

I scheduled a free day Monday to rest after an early Sunday wake-up call, and to prepare some equipment. Having the day to myself, I reached out to that old contact from before, Fanny, from Mis Primeras Huellas in the notorious “Los Guandules” neighborhood. I told her I just arrived and was settling in for the day, but we could set something up whenever she and the kids were free.

“How about tomorrow?” she asked.

“Works for me!” I said excitedly.

Last year they were feeling the effects of the pandemic and ran their normal in-person classes at a fraction of their normal enrollment. As a result, we ran a small program, but I fondly remember their energy, engagement, and respect not only for me but for each other.

This time would be a little different. Now running classes at a full-clip, they had about 58 older kids attending school in the morning, followed by about 38 in the afternoon session. Fanny and I planned for two sessions to accommodate these groups so that more children could experience our programming. No objections from my side, so off we went.

The morning program had about 20 kids, nine of whom were new faces. I recognized several participants from the August program, and they proudly boasted how they still had the soccer balls I gave them back at their houses! To my surprise, two of the soccer balls we were using in the session, albeit, far more preloved now than before, were from last year’s program! I immediately recognized the Puma & Sondico models, though their logos were long gone. It’s nice to see that they’d been played with many times over in the past couple months.

I only had 12 soccer balls with me because I was saving the other 40 for later programs, but we organized a couple games to designate some prize winners. Every kid would have an equal shot at leaving with something new.

Some new faces emerged from the crowd, eager, curious ones – “Profi, you know Cristiano Ronaldo? Like you’re friends with him?”

“I wish!” I answered.

We didn’t have a whole lot of time before the kids were dismissed around lunchtime, so we jumped straight into the session. We hit the usuals: listening drill, races, and mano o cabeza to find those six prizewinners. After all was said and done, and plenty of love had been shown to our winners in the form of thunderous applause, a girl stepped up from the crowd to share a word. Her name was Eimy and her words were thoughtful and sweet. 

“Gracias, Profe, for coming back to visit us and to share your football lessons with us,” she said.

I flashed her a smile and thanked both her and the crowd, giving her a hug before she returned back to her spot. The kids retreated to their classroom for a final lesson before dismissal, and Fanny stayed outside in the sports area with myself and one other student, Indiana, who was another veteran player from our August session.

She had a bright, radiant smile painted across her face the entire time, and it quickly rubbed off on her fellow classmates that day and surely everyday, I’ve no doubt. 

Following that August session, as Fanny and I talked about some of the difficulties our organizations had faced because of the pandemic, she spoke about how many of the kids, some of whom were already growing up in single-parent households, had lost a parent to COVID-19. Unfortunately, one of those parents was Indiana’s mother. You would’ve never known it with the way she showed up to school everyday, wearing that million dollar smile the way only she could, but she was navigating a situation no kid should ever have to. Despite not having access to therapy and other important, necessary resources, she was trying her best to move forward.

Before the trip, I planned with Fanny to give Indiana our annual Willy Garcia Memorial Scholarship. We established this scholarship last year, to honor a very special member of the Around The Worlds family taken from this world far too soon. Willy Garcia participated in our programming in 2016 during a three-week run in Guatemala City. He had the kindest and gentlest soul partnered with a smile radiant enough to light up a room. Just as his heart was full of love, his mind was full of dreams. Willy’s life was cut short on April 13, 2021. To honor Willy’s life and legacy, we started an annual scholarship to award to one of our clinic participants. The hope was that Willy’s dreams might live on through those of another young boy or girl, anywhere in the world, from any walk of life.

It wasn’t much, 5000 Dominican pesos or about $100 USD. If it could help alleviate a financial burden of education even for just six months or a year, and keep a girl who wanted to be in school, in school,  that’s really the least we could do or aim to do. I presented her with the scholarship diploma and gave the cash to Fanny for safekeeping. I dug deep into my bag and pulled out an Around the Worlds hat for Indiana. She gave me that big million dollar smile in return.

I later found out that she wants to be a teacher when she grows up. “I want to teach big children [secondary education],” she said.

Giving out this scholarship to beneficiaries who have experienced the unimaginable admittedly never gets easier. I always feel a rush of emotions, with sadness usually being the governing one. However, I lean into those emotions, thinking it has to be the heart’s way of reminding me that this scholarship is important and necessary. Little by little, these beautiful moments add up. Sofia in Colombia was able to study dance, music, arts, and theater for another year. Indiana was a little bit closer to chasing her dream of becoming a teacher.

It’s comforting to know that Willy’s spirit, dreams and legacy are living on through the dreams of others all around the world. I guess beautiful moments born out of sad ones are still at their core – beautiful. I’m leaning on that as best I can.

After that, it was time for a quick lunch with Fanny between the morning and afternoon sessions. We hopped in her car and drove to a nearby cafeteria. On her plate, arroz con habichuela. On mine, rice, beans, salad and pork. I assembled a full spread with fresh pineapple juice on the side. Finally, our stomachs were full and a flat tire later, we headed back towards the school.

The afternoon session was just about ready to begin. Fanny asked if we could make a quick adjustment to the schedule, knowing that there were near 40 kids there

“Can we do a session with one class and then a third with the other?” she asked. 

“Works better for me, let’s do that!” I answered.

These kids were younger, which can be challenging, but there were less of them than in the morning. I quickly addressed the second group, “Hey guys, I’m excited to be back here after our last class back in August, unfortunately I didn’t have time to work with you guys since I was here in the morning, but I’m grateful that this time we can share some lessons together!” 

We broke into the program go-to’s which were all well-received by these new participants. Plenty of laughs were shared during our listening exercise, especially when commands like nalgas, axilas, and bigote were yelled out.

Relay races were also well received even when we had kids swinging their heads back and forth like elephants. It was cute I promise.

After they retreated back to their classroom, the final group came out – the youngest of the day. This group was funny. It was a challenge but not really for the reasons you’d think. They were super well-behaved; they just didn’t quite understand the concept of competition. Basically, during relay races, we’d have the two teams lined up next to each other. One person from one team would race against another from the other. Rather than continuing this through their team as fast as they could, each person would wait for the other opponent to be ready before moving through the relay grid. It was cute but frustrating!

Despite that, these little guys were full of energy. One boy, Liam, was bouncing off the walls, always eager for his turn to come, but just as excited for his teammates to give it a go. Another young boy, Jake, who Fanny told me is 7 years old but has the learning capacity of a 3 year old, had the biggest smile on his face the whole program.

Everytime we successfully completed a round of mano o cabeza, all his classmates applauded him and that smile only grew wider. He ended up even being one of the three prizewinners in his group! Go on big Jake I see you!

As the session neared its close, Fanny heard a knocking at the front gate.

“It’s a surprise,” she said to me, as I was busy organizing my equipment.

Coming through the gate in her school uniform was Fanny’s daughter, Perla!

“What a lovely surprise!” I said to Fanny, before greeting Perla with a big hug.

Perla helped out at our session back in August and was turning 13 years old this Thursday. I told her how Fanny and I got lunch and when I saw the fried chicken at the cafeteria I immediately thought of her since it’s her favorite food.

“Also, I was going to get you a cake or an ice cream, but it would’ve been a milkshake or a melted mess by the time you arrived here,” I joked to her. “Surely we’ll have another opportunity to go enjoy an ice cream closer to your birthday.”All in all, it was a busy, full day of programming – but I wouldn’t change it for the world! Muchas Gracias amigos. Espero volver pronto.