Jared Lambert Humanitarian Project

I had the opportunity to represent the LDS Church Humanitarian Department in a project to help the people of Cape Verde West Africa. The project was a cooperative effort with the Cape Verde National Government Charity Organizations. The purpose was multifaceted in that it involved providing micro-business loans and education for Cape Verdeans wanting to start their own businesses. It involved securing scholarships for young adults who wished to
further their education. There were situations
where we were able to arrange for wheel
chairs donated by the LDS Church. We
collaborated with UNICEF to implement a
new drip system to provide water for the
draught parched islands of Cape Verde. We
also attempted to made sure that every child
had the opportunity to attend a elementary
school. We taught an English class that
attracted many people who wanted to
increase their skills.
We arranged for a Career Workshop where Cape Verdeans were taught employment skills that provided a certification so that they could be hired by local businesses.

The challenge in this situation was that we did not have a budget for this project. So we could not use traditional forms of advertising through Radio/TV spots or Billboards. We had so much to offer the communities but we had a limited time frame to implement these programs. So we decided to try and attract as many people as we could – involving something they really loved - Soccer. We noticed that in the center of the city there was a huge soccer field and this was not traditional soccer season so we decided to organize a Charity Soccer Match. We contacted the Sao Vicente State Champion Soccer Team and asked if they would come to the soccer stadium

and play average citizens in a charity event. We took advantage of the soccer frenzy and placed kiosks around the soccer field describing the humanitarian programs that we were offering.

This became a wonderful
success. On the day of the
event we expected 800 people
because that was the capacity
of the soccer stadium – but
there were over two thousand people who came out for this event. Our classes and programs were flooded with participants and we were able to secure donations to make these classes available for years to come. In fact the soccer match between the Soccer Championship Team and the local teams are continuing today.