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The Change
The Change focuses its efforts to help children in developing countries by improving their educational facilities. By making structural and cosmetic improvements to their schools and extracurricular spaces we hope to generate a sense of educational excitement in their communities. Our goal is to help facilitate the opportunities that education can have on these children's lives and give them the power to make a change.
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Project Thailand
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.
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“As college soccer players, we have experienced firsthand the profound effects that soccer can have on both social and educational opportunities.”
CJ Masterson and Juan Magalhães
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The following pictures show the current condition of the Ban Klong Sai School and its soccer field
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Project Thailand
Goals
Repair the roofs, ceilings and walls of classrooms and school cafeteria
Paint all the structures of the school, such as: Classrooms, library, kitchen and walls
Repair the soccer field and clean it so children have access to an area to run and play, without the risk of getting hurt
Build a multipurpose outdoor sports court in front of the main building. This will give children another recreational space besides the soccer field
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Don't Forget About Africa 2017
This project was designed to build a community kitchen at Lwaleng Primary School in South Africa. Initially the plan was for the construction of a kitchen in which meals would be prepared to feed 800 students from Lwaleng Primary School, but today this number is over 900. This school is situated in a rural area and is known as a farmers' school. As a community school, where no school fees are charged, Lwaleng Primary School often does not have enough resources to cover all student expenses. With a growing number of students, there was a need for planning the construction and assembly of a fully functional kitchen and it was where Juan saw an opportunity to help them.
From brainstorming, recruiting kids from all over the world and raising $10.000 dollars, he had the incredible opportunity to coordinate a team of self-motivated individuals from Brazil, South Africa, United States and China to make this wonderful project happen. He negotiated the payment of local workers stipends, construction materials and housing for all 10 students. He also had the chance to distribute over 900 kits of school supplies for every student at the Elementary School in White River South Africa.
Construction of the kitchen
Playing time with the kids
More playing time with the kids
Construction of the walls
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Meet our team
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Juan Magalhães
Founder
Juan Magalhães was born and raised in Brazil, and now attends Bowdoin College. Through Community Service, he discovered a way to give back, and help those in need. Community Service reinforced his belief that everyone has the right to pursue their dreams and learn, regardless of their circumstances or backgrounds. Through his projects, Juan hopes to motivate kids to stay in school and further their education.
CJ Masterson
Director of Operations
CJ is a student at Bowdoin College from Barrington, Rhode Island. He found a passion for educational service projects through volunteer work with organizations in rural Maine. Most recently, CJ spent time teaching sexual education at the Baphumelele Orphanage in one of Cape Town, South Africa's largest informal settlements, Khayelitsha. He is excited to bring his experiences to Project Thailand.
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"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world."
Nelson Madela
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