The Community of "Colonia Balfate"
This is one section of Colonia Balfate (left), a Spanish community in Sandy Bay, Roatan. As you can see, the steep terrain does not allow for any real playing fields.
Many families live in houses (right) that are built from whatever can be found or acquired. Those who play on the older girls team need rides to the beach or the field where we practice. Many have never played before, and all are eager to learn. Some of the girls have to bring younger brothers and sisters for whom they are responsible during the day. Some only have sandals, so we have purchased several pairs of tennis shoes for practicing.
While it is common to see young men and boys on the soccer "fields" (left), girls do not get the chance to play very often. We know of five other communities with a girls team, but ours is the only one in the Sandy Bay area. We haven't "tackled" taking on a boy's team yet since they "already know how to play". As one young man recently described it to me, "We need a team, but we don't need a coach." We will play games with the guys teams now and then, especially when mission teams come.