Direct beneficiaries:

• • • • 12 teachers from fourth to sixth grade of elementary school from Barrio Las Plantas and Barrio Las Joyas schools, Poptún, Petén.

Indirect beneficiaries:

• • • • Six Maya Q'eqchí and Ladinas trainers from Asociación AMA, ranging in age from 17 to 27 years old.

Direct beneficiaries:

• • • • 141 adolescent Maya Q'eqchí and Ladina girls between 11 and 13 years of age, in grades 4 to 6 in the elementary schools of Barrio Las Plantas and Barrio Las Joyas, Poptún, Petén.

Indirect beneficiaries:

• • • • 400 Maya Q'eqchí and Ladina children and adolescents between 7 and 13 years of age, who attend grades one through six in the elementary schools of Barrio Las Plantas and Barrio Las Joyas, Poptún, Petén.

The "Play Forward and PACE Girls" project strengthened the life skills and sports practice (soccer) of 141 girls between the ages of 11 and 13, of Mayan Q'eqchí and Ladina origin, students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades of elementary school, in the elementary schools of Barrio Las Plantas and Barrio Las Joyas, Poptún, Petén.

To achieve the objective, the following activities were implemented:

 

A1. Two interactive workshops on induction to the PACE-Girls Curriculum and Sports Techniques for three new coaches.

Two inductive workshops were conducted for the six Maya Q'eqchi and Ladina coaches of the AMA Association. The first workshop focused on the thematic modules of the P.A.C.E. program. This program was designed for girls and consists of an interactive methodology used in the modules. This program was attended by 141 Win girls from two elementary schools in Poptún, Petén.

The second workshop focused on transferring knowledge to the coaches on methodologies, exercises and soccer training techniques, which will also be addressed in the teaching-learning process with the 141 Win Girls and to which the executive director and administrative director of AMA will be added as facilitators in this second workshop.

The interactive workshop on induction to the "P.A.C.E. Girls Curriculum". This workshop lasted three days and the Interactive Workshop on Induction to Sports Techniques lasted one day..

 

A2. Six Workshops to strengthen sports methodologies for the six girls coaches.

In order to strengthen general knowledge about the game of soccer, techniques, and methodologies for working with girls, six inductive workshops were held for the six girls who coached the project.

Los talleres fueron desarrollados por dos chicas entrenadoras del Club de fútbol “Tigrillos”. Estas chicas entrenadores están certificadas por la Federación Guatemalteca de Fútbol, para la implementación de programas de fútbol con diferentes categorías de fútbol.

Each of the six interactive workshops on sports methodologies lasted four hours and were held at the Sports Center in the municipality of Poptún, Petén, which is used by the Tigrillos Soccer Club.

The "Tigrillos" soccer club, a semi-private club based in the municipality of Poptún, promotes soccer in different categories in the department of Petén, and the AMA Association has approached them for sports advisory services.

It is important to mention that in the outreach meeting it was agreed that the Club would facilitate the six strengthening workshops, for which they would cover 50% of the costs of the fees earned by the Club's trainers.

 

A3. Three coordination meetings with the educational community.

Three coordination meetings were held with the educational community in order to inform, sensitize and involve all possible stakeholders in the process of the "Play Forward and P.A.C.E. Girls" project.

 

 

The meetings were attended by district technical coordinators, district pedagogical advisors, principals, teachers of the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, student members of the school governments, parents, and the AMA Association's executive and technical team.

The meetings were led by the Coordinators of the Poptún School Districts on behalf of the Departmental Directorate of Education of Petén -DIDEDUC- and AMA staff. These meetings were held in the classrooms or meeting rooms of the schools of Las Joyas and Las Plantas Ixobel, Poptún, Petén. Each meeting lasted no less than one hour.

The meetings were held as follows: 1) a meeting at the beginning of the process, 2) a mid-term progress meeting and 3) a meeting at the end of the process. The meetings made it possible to share the results of the project with the stakeholders, such as the behavioral changes noted by teachers and parents in the girls.

The objective of the meetings was to motivate the incorporation of mothers and fathers in the process, as well as other actors such as the Municipal Office for the Protection of Children and Adolescents of Poptun and the media, in order to achieve a greater impact of the project.

 

4. 4. 14 Interactive Training Sessions -SEFI- with 126 WIN Girls.

Fourteen Interactive Training Sessions -SEFI- were held with the participation of 141 Win girls in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades of elementary school in two elementary schools in marginal urban Mayan Q'eqchí and Ladinas areas of the municipality of Poptún, Petén.

The group of beneficiaries will be divided into six groups. Each group had 23 Win Girls and each group was trained by a Mayan Q'eqchí or Ladina trainer from the AMA Association. The training sessions took place in the classrooms and sports areas of the schools of Barrio Las Joyas and Barrio Las Plantas, Ixobel, both in the municipality of Poptún, Petén.

The sessions lasted five hours, of which three hours were devoted to the thematic modules and two hours to soccer training, and were held every 15 days in each of the beneficiary schools.

During the thematic sessions, the 141 Win Girls were trained in topics centered on four modules of the P.A.C.E. Girls program: 1) My environment and me; 2) My body and me; 3) My relationships and me; 4) My aspirations and me; and 5) Soccer practice.

The soccer sessions were held on the soccer fields and green areas of each of the participating schools and were aimed at developing coordination skills, basic knowledge about the sport and developing leadership, self-esteem and valuing their bodies.

The sessions were facilitated by six Maya Q'eqchí and Ladina trainers from AMA, who used the inductive-deductive "learning by doing" methodology for the thematic sessions, which strengthened the teaching-learning process and promoted the prevention of pregnancy and sexual violence in girls and adolescents as a cross-cutting theme.

 

In the process of soccer training, the girls coaches encouraged the Win Girls to develop technical skills and improve their coordination abilities through physical, technical and psycho-social components.

The Interactive Training Sessions -SEFI- with 141 WIN Girls, were supervised by AMA's executive director, administrative-financial director and Pedagogical Advisors from the regional Ministry of Education.

 

A5. A sports festival was held:

A sports festival was held with the participation of girls, teachers and parents from the schools in the neighborhoods of Las Joyas and Las Plantas, Poptún, Petén. The festival was held for both educational communities to exchange good practices related to the PIF/P.A.C.E. GIRLS program.

In addition, to observe the progress of the girls in relation to technical soccer skills, the leadership that is promoted through this, the coexistence and recreation of them.

During the festival, various activities took place, such as zumba dancing, rally games, inter-squad confrontations between schools and sports exercises at the Poptún Sports Center in Petén.

During the festival there was also a space for recreation for the teachers, parents and AMA coaches, so they played a soccer match among themselves, which only strengthened the integration and good coexistence among the participants.

This sum of activities carried out in the festival greatly strengthened the girls' leadership, friendship and continued to consolidate the breaking of paradigms related to women not having to practice soccer and be leaders, which still persists in the community.

Este festival no estaba programado en el presupuesto del proyecto, por lo que no contaba con fondos para su realización, por lo que AMA realizo gestiones antes el gobierno local, centro deportivo, proveedor, comunidad educativa y cooperante, para llevarlo a cabo.

These efforts resulted in the Municipality of Poptun providing the funds for the partial purchase of food (refills and lunches) for the participants ($422), the Confederación Deportiva Autónoma de Guatemala -CDAG- authorized the use of the Sports Center, an AMA supplier donated water for hydration ($28), Las Joyas and Las Plantas neighborhood schools covered the cost of transportation for the girls ($40 each), and Women Win authorized the partial purchase of food (lunches) ($366) and travel expenses for AMA facilitators ($296).

 

 

• 141 Maya Q'eqchí and Ladina adolescent girls strengthened life skills that allow them to better face the challenges of daily life caused by the machista and patriarchal system that still persists in Guatemalan society.
• 141 Maya Q'eqchí and Ladinas adolescent girls strengthened their leadership skills, self-esteem and the appreciation of their bodies through the practice of soccer.
• Students and teachers from two schools in the municipality of Poptún, Petén, Guatemala, implemented life skills development through soccer as part of their curriculum.

In Guatemala, sports are mostly practiced by men, which limits women's participation in sports.