2014 Kigali Peace Marathon by Eliza F.Eliza F.
Ruhango District, Southern Province
When I was in 3rd grade, I was obsessed with Mia
Hamm. At the time I was a pretty good soccer player (for an 8-year-old) and was
confident that I too would join the U.S. Women’s National Team at age 15. Though
by 7th grade I had a feeling that I would never be as good as Mia
Hamm, or that I’d even be good enough to play soccer professionally, I still
looked to Hamm as a role model. She had so much talent, and not only was the
face of women’s soccer, which at the time was just getting off the ground
(their first World Cup wasn’t until 1991), but also, with the help of the 1999
National Team, helped bring attention to women’s athletics and inspire girls throughout
the country.
As a soccer fan, I knew that when the Men’s World Cup rolled
around every 4 years, the Americans didn’t stand a chance. But the American
women always medaled at their Cup the following year. Soccer is far more
popular in most other countries, and this goes a long way in explaining why the
American men just can’t compete with the Brazilians, the Spanish and the Germans. So why do the women do so well? Because
hundreds of thousands of little girls like me had the opportunity to play on
teams like our brothers did, and we had role models like Mia Hamm.
While we still debate and fight over the inequality that
exists between men’s and women’s sports programs in the U.S., I think we
overlook just how much American girls are encouraged to get involved in
sports. They have access to teams, fields, coaches, cleats, and uniforms and a
support system that will encourage them to stay involved for years. That isn’t
how it is for a lot of girls in this world.
Last weekend. 18 Peace Corps Volunteers brought 38 students
from 13 schools to the International Peace Marathon in Kigali. The day before
the marathon, students took classes in nutrition, fitness, body image, and HIV
prevention. The day of the marathon they ran with over a hundred others in the
5k Fun Run. Half of the students were girls. I don’t know how much we were able
to teach them during the short weekend, but I hope that some of those girls
were inspired to stick with running, or whatever the sport is that they enjoy,
despite the challenges they face. Maybe a girl saw one of
the female marathon runners, and thought, "I want to be like her – and I can be!"
No comments:
Post a Comment