Cebu City – FundLife International will pilot its first football summer camp programme with Football for Life (F4L) in Cebu this year, thanks to a new partnership with in-field organization, Pandoo Foundation. FundLife Partnerships Manager, David Henry, met with Pandoo Sports & Leadership Program Manager, Lisa Stevens, to sign the MOU and discuss plans to replicate the programme’s previous success in Cebu’s communities. The programme will intertwine sports and leadership learning to empower kids living in urban poverty.
Combining the success of FundLife’s Football For Life Tacloban programme and Pandoo’s expertise in interactive education, the partnership marks the beginning of exciting new learning opportunities for Cebuano children and a chance for both organizations to accelerate their impact in the region. During the visit, Mr. Henry and Ms. Stevens identified potential beneficiaries, project sites, development stakeholders, and community groups, many of whom were excited to begin this new project.
FundLife Founder, Marko Kasic, is delighted by the new partnership. “We are very excited to join hands with Pandoo,” commented Mr. Kasic. “F4L’s success in Tacloban has given us great confidence in the power of sport-based learning, and through this new partnership, we can combine our resources and field knowledge to create even greater impact in Cebu. Pandoo’s summer camp is a perfect opportunity to screentest a new community, and we can’t wait to start.”
Founded by FundLife in 2014, Football For Life was created to support Typhoon-Survivor children in Tacloban, Eastern Visayas. As FundLife’s flagship programme, F4L is a specialised, play-based social intervention project that uses football to foster positive behavioural changes in disadvantaged children and nurture local youth coaches to become leaders in their communities. The pilot Cebu programme will build on their existing social impact to some of the city’s most marginalised children.
Aligning in values, mission, and experience in sport-based programmes, Pandoo Foundation provides an invaluable resource for the F4L project. Incorporated in Cebu in 2014, the organization has become a thought-leader in interactive education and has several established outreach projects in literacy, arts, sports, and community development. The Foundation has achieved significant social impact through its diverse skill-building projects and strives to equip the next generation with the right tools to free themselves from poverty.
Pandoo Foundation President, Francois Perreault, believes sport is key to engaging local youth. “Start with play and the learning comes naturally,” said Mr. Perreault. “Critical life-skills are developed through sport and these programmes are essential in building communities of strong, confident young people that can enact real social change. We are delighted to be working with FundLife, and so are our kids!” ~
Pandoo Foundation is sister organization and beneficiary of Pandoo Nation, a story-driven online world for kids that turns gameplay into co-sponsorship of real-world causes.
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