A Ganar: Connecting in Colombia

Two November events brought the Partners network to Colombia, creating an opportunity for A Ganar youth from Latin America and the Caribbean to unite and learn from each other.

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Seon Collis of St. Vincent and the Grenadines understands the value of career development through sport.

 He’s lived it.

“A Ganar has changed my life in many ways,” says Seon, 25, who grew up in St. Vincent’s capital, Kingstown. “I joined A Ganar and now I’ve graduated. I’ve loved sports and it helped me a lot to become a better team player. It also inspired me to become a better person.”

Growing up around Kingstown, with a population of about 25,000, Seon completed school but after that he saw few, if any, future options beyond spending his days on the streets of his neighborhood. There he encountered drug-dealing, gang activity, petty crime and violence.

Then A Ganar came into his life.

Led by Partners of the Americas (Partners), A Ganar is a program that uses team sports to combat unemployment among youth ages 16-24 who come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in Latin American and the Caribbean. Through sport, A Ganar (the name comes from the Spanish word for “to win” or “to earn”) helps youth acquire marketable job expertise by building on six core skills: teamwork, communication, a focus on results, discipline, respect, and self-improvement.

Seon took full advantage of what A Ganar had to offer. Upon completing the program, he began a graphics and screen-printing business that not only offers him a steady income, but also security— both physically and in terms of his professional future.

“If it wasn’t for A Ganar,” he says, “I wouldn’t be here… maybe I’d be six feet under.” Seon says that despite the easy money he made in small-time crime, the constant threat of run-ins with police or violence perpetrated by others on the streets was not the life he wanted long-term. Talking about what got him interested in the program, he says it was taking the attitude of sport and applying it to the rest of his life. “It’s amazing what just one word can do: A Ganar—to win. Just win.”

Seon’s story has much in common with those of other A Ganar program graduates. This November, some of the youth that participated and excelled in the program got the opportunity to come together and share more success stories like his.

Several A Ganar youth and coordinators were able to attend both the Second World Summit for Youth Volunteering in Barranquilla, Colombia and the 2011 Partners Convention a week later in Medellin. Funding from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN) made it possible for youth from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jamaica, and Grenada to attend.  (USAID funds the programs in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Kitts and Nevis; FOMIN funds Colombia’s program; Jamaica and the Dominican Republic are funded by both organizations.) 

It was Seon's first time setting foot outside his country or even the island he grew up on, which is roughly twice the size of Washington, D.C.

The World Summit was hosted by Partners, the International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE), and Barranquilla’s Universidad del Norte (UNINORTE). In all, the event united nearly 900 volunteers and participants from almost 50 different countries and six continents. Participants heard from speakers and participated in panel discussions on ways to best serve their communities through volunteer effort.

Jhony Filigrana, a 19-year-old from Colombia’s Cauca department, says the Summit was a great learning experience and is thankful that he got to learn from his peers.

“Thankfully, I was able to meet people with more experience and who are doing big things for their communities and for humanity,” says Jhony, who credits A Ganar’s technical training with giving him the motivation to continue on with higher education. “The event (was) great for creating partnerships and alliances with other people my age who want to go back home and convert this knowledge into development and advancement in our communities.”

“We have all been able to unite,” he says.

Also at the two events in Barranquilla and Medellin was Liliana Lopez, a 19-year-old A Ganar participant from Cali, Colombia.

As Liliana puts it, before A Ganar came along, she believed that she didn’t have any opportunities. She credits A Ganar with giving her the skills and motivation to take on courses in auto mechanics, which she now continues as a profession.

“A Ganar is one of the most important things that has happened in my life,” says Liliana. “Thanks to it, and Partners of the Americas, now I’m working.”

“I believe in the power of sport to change lives,” she says.

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More facts about the A Ganar program (which is known as “Vencer” in Brazil):

• Of the more than 6,000 youth that have participated in A Ganar training, over 70% of participants graduate from the program; over 65% of program graduates obtain formal employment, return to school, or start a business within one year. 

• In high crime areas such as Kingston, Jamaica and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico A Ganar provides youth with positive identity, security, and the opportunity to transform their lives. 

• More than 300 businesses have participated in A Ganar by hosting internships, hiring youth, providing mentors, or sponsoring training. 

• A Ganar graduates have gone on to become successful teachers, business managers, university students, and entrepreneurs. 

• In cooperation with the Nike Foundation, Partners adapted A Ganar to create the Vencedoras program in Brazil, providing employment and entrepreneurship training to more than 1,150 young women. It is part of the Nike Foundation’s worldwide campaign known as “The Girl Effect” (www.girleffect.org).