Meet Marie Carmelle From The Haiti Projects Soccer Club

Marie Carmelle, 17 years old

Marie Carmelle playing soccer at practice with her team

My name is Marie Carmelle. I am 17 years old and I’ve been playing in the soccer team since I was 12. When I joined the the soccer club, I was thrilled. It was a relief because not only was I able to learn how to play soccer, but I also found a place where I could get away from daily stresses, make friends, and have fun. 

Lately we have been struggling to find the most basic things to continue playing, like soccer balls and even shoes. A lot of girls had no choice but to abandon the team, but coach always encourages us to keep coming to practice because he doesn’t want the club to disappear. 

One of the most important thing we have are health information sessions with Nurse Berrette. She teaches us about our body, how to protect ourselves to avoid early and unplanned pregnancies, as well as a lot of other important values in life. 

I feel relieved that I finally get to share my story, because it was really heavy on my heart. I hope it will help us to find more support so that we can get new equipment and return to having team building activities outside of soccer like beach days and field games because I really love this program.