The Change’s most recent endeavor is Project Thailand. Members of the Bowdoin Men’s Soccer Team will go to the Ban Klong Sai School in Phang Nga, Thailand. This community is one of many that has been afflicted by the cyclical damage of child labor. Enrollment rates at schools are dropping as many children are going to work in the fields to cultivate crops for rubber production.
On this trip, their efforts will be focused on making structural repairs and cosmetic improvements to the school, in addition to building a soccer field. These changes will not only help keep the school operational, but will also generate a newfound sense of excitement around the notion of going to school every day.
As college soccer players, we have experienced firsthand the profound effects that soccer can have on both social and educational opportunities. From a very early age, soccer fields have always provided us with a safe space where we could be ourselves and come together with others to play the game we love. We hope that by providing the children of the Ban Klong Sai School with a similar space, we can foster an environment in which they wake up excited to attend school and further their education. Through these small changes, it is our intention to address the much larger issues at hand by making the prospect of attending school a more attractive option.
.png)
