It’s hard to overestimate the positive impact of sports on young people. Sport impacts youth cognitively, emotionally, socially, and physically. Through participation on a safe and healthy team, youth learn life skills and develop character traits that will assist them when dealing with challenging seasons of life in an urban environment. Over many months, team members also grow in decision-making skills, goal setting, self-confidence, and leadership.

SEEDs members in Bangkok continue to invest in local leaders and local initiatives which will develop youth through sports. Over the past several months the local futsal network, that SEEDS organized several years ago, has seen an increase in participation and optimism among coaches. Although the heart of sports training happens on the local futsal pitch, the wider network is an important place for training in larger groups, for strengthening inter-neighborhood relationships, and for building excitement among teams.

Recently the futsal network organized its fourth annual futsal league. Six neighborhoods contributed their assets of people, places, relationships, and skills to make the league possible without charging fees or using foreign funding.

During the two-month futsal league, boys kicked out 30 action-packed matches in two age divisions using a double round-robin format. The coaches’ network chose to play on existing futsal pitches in each participating neighborhood to enhance the relationship-building effect of visiting the home team’s area. Nevertheless, the first and last round of the league was played at a common field so that government officials, religious leaders, and parents could all participate in the open and closing ceremonies. Some gave speeches, others helped hand out trophies, and still others posed with the youth for a large group photo.

SEEDS members and the coaches’ network all look forward to the next phases of developing youth through sports.

Mrs. Sira has had 14 children. Over the years, Bethany and other SEEDS workers have treated them for fevers, intestinal diseases, broken bones, and other emergencies. It is difficult for the Sira family to feed so many on the small income common to sand dredging villages, so the healthcare program also provides aid in nutrition. Mrs. Sira was reluctant to seek any care at first, but gradually gained confidence in the team as SEEDS workers built trusting relationships with the parents and children.

When Bethany first met the Sira family, none of the children were immunized or attended school. Mrs. Sira was wary of immunizations, and saw little value in education. The family assumed their boys would grow up to work on the river, dredging sand, like their father. “Why should our kids go to school when they won’t need an education?” their mother asked.

Bethany suggested that an education could present alternatives for employment if any children did not want to dredge sand. She asked Mrs. Sira, “Will jobs on the river always be available? What can sand workers do when they grow too old for heavy physical labor?”

Healthcare goes beyond giving medical treatments, and extends to caring for the whole person and family. Today, all of Mrs. Sira’s school-age children go to school. They can now read. They can speak Indonesian in addition to their village language. A new range of possibilities is open to them so that they may, one day, provide for their own families’ nutrition and health.

SEEDS workers also reassured Mrs. Sira that the government immunization program is safe, and now her children are immunized. The Sira family, and the entire village, is growing stronger through lasting improvements in health and broadened opportunities. Bethany and her colleagues care for the whole person, so the whole family and community can enjoy a healthier future.