El Campo de Futbol Las Capucas, Honduras
Las Capucas Little Feet Girls Soccer Team
Little Feet Supporters: We Need Your Help! Goal: Build a soccer field for the kids of Las Capucas, Honduras and have it complete by June 16, 2010. We need to be 100% funded in order to break ground in mid April and we are not quite there yet. We now have 2 options. Option 1: Postpone the project until next year. or Option 2: Seek your help to raise the funds to finish now! We can make it happen with option 2. If every Little Feet supporter contributed just $5 or $10, we would have enough to fund this field. Please take a moment to flip through this book to learn more about our "El Campo de Futbol" Project.
Las Capucas, Honduras Las Capucas, Honduras is a coffee growing community that sits at the base of the highest mountain peak in Honduras. The average household income is less than $2 per day. Most of the homes in the community are made of mud and brick and have tin roofs. Little Feet first stumbled upon this community in 2008, where they saw children making soccer balls out of coffee sacks. The farmers in the community struggle with selling their coffee at a fair price. While there are several American coffee companies purchasing coffee from this community, not one has paid full price for the certifications the cooperative holds. Furthermore, the farmers have to wait several months from the time their coffee is sold to these US companies until they receive their money. Unfortunately, most of the farmers need the money quickly to feed their families, so they sell their coffee to coyotes who pay them on the spot, but at a much cheaper price. The result is a losing battle against poverty.
The Children: There are approximately 500 children in the main part of the village and over 1500 children in the surrounding hills. Futbol is their favorite past time, and you can often see pick up games being played throughout the entire village. When Little Feet first arrived in this village, we did not find one child who had a real soccer ball. They played with coffee sacks or plastic balls. Today, every child has a Little Feet ball of their own and the schools are all completely stocked with our balls. The Soccer Fields: Since this is mountainous terrain, it is very hard to find a flat surface so most pick up games are played on a slope. The coffee cooperative recently purchased a piece of land and cleared off the trees for the kids to play on. It has now become the nucleus of the community where children and families come together to meet and play. It is a dirt field that is plagued with rocks and boulders and extremely uneven. When it rains, the field completely gets flooded due to a lack of drainage. The field is also a little too short to be considered a regulation field.
The Plan: In January, a team of Little Feet engineers surveyed the field owned by the cooperative. After analyzing the location, our plan is to cut into the side mountain to lengthen the field by another 20 yards, which will make it a regulation sized field. Filling and grading will also be needed along with drainage. We will crest the field but also lay some pipe and drain the field into a stream that sits below the field. Due to the fact that this is a rain forest, there will be no need to set up irrigation. Topsoil will be brought in from the higher elevated farms and since we have time, we will plant seed for the grass. If time is a constraint, we will purchase sod instead of seed. Time Frame: We have located all the equipment we need and will have it there to break ground the second week of April 2010. A total of 14 days will be needed to complete the main portion of the field. Six weeks will be needed to grow grass and complete the cosmetics of the field. Field Dedication Ceremony: To take place on June 16, 2010. This is the day Honduras will play their first game in the World Cup.
The Little Feet Engineering Team: Mike Dell (top left): A graduate from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo currently living in Cambell, CA. He is an engineer in the semiconductor test industry and travels extensively to South East Asia. Eli Mowbray (top right): Registered Professional Engineer living in Santa Cruz, California. He has been involved in the design and construction of athletic fields over the course of his career. He graduated from Cal Poly SLO with a BS in Civil Engineering in 1995. Todd Rodriguez (bottom left): 18 year landscape professional and designer, a graduate of Landscape Architecture from Cal Poly SLO Luke Corsbie (bottom right): A civil engineering graduate from Purdue University. He currently works in Newport Beach, CA as a consulting engineer for a land development company. Rick Kaufman (not pictured): Semiconductor industry from engineer to executive, Rick has worked on oil pipelines, in nuclear power, and has been involved in construction of homes in Mexico and a temple in Thailand.
The Equipment that we will be using to build the field.
The Membrano Family, one of many families in Las Capucas, Honduras whose children will benefit from the new soccer field.
Be a Part of the Team. Click the amount you wish to donate. $5 $10 $25 $50 $100 $500 $1,000 other The Little Feet Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax Id #26-0253261. Checks may also be made to: Little Feet Foundation PO Box 9526 Newport Beach, CA 92658 We will have a dedication bench or plaque at the field with all the names of the donators on it. If you wish to make a large donation, naming rights are available. Please email info@littlefeet.com to inquiry
Visit www.littlefeet.com to learn more or contact Trevor Slavick trevor@littlefeet.com 877.900.4625
El Campo de Futbol Las Capucas, Honduras