The 2010 Fifa World Cup was in South Africa, yet 75% of children in South Africa are surviving on less than $2 per day, have little or no access to sporting facilities, are exposed to great risk of violence, drug abuse and learner pregnancy. FUNDaFIELD understands that sports can be a vital tool for the development of children in Africa, improving overall health and physical development, improving mental abilities, developing social skills and interactions all while providing for the child to have fun and challenge themselves in the sporting arena.

The facts we have discovered about Africa are shocking.

1. ➡Twenty percent of Africa's children die before the age of five. Africa has the highest infant mortality rate in the world.
   

2. ➡118 African babies out of every 1,000 born alive die before their first birthday.
   

3. ➡One African in three is malnourished.
   

4. ➡More than 50 percent of Africans suffer from water-related diseases such as cholera and infant diarrhea.
   

5. ➡More than 40 percent of Africans do not have the ability to obtain sufficient food on a day-to-day basis.
   

6. ➡Nearly two million African adults and children died from AIDS in 2005. Nine out of 10 children living with HIV/AIDS are African. More than 12 million African children have lost one or both parents to AIDS. HIV/AIDS has created more than 14 million orphans — 92 percent of them live in Africa.
   

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FUNDaFIELD can’t solve all the problems that exist in Africa, we wish we could. Therefore, our goal is to form a partnership with organizations that have made it their mission to provide food, medicine, shelter and education to students. Once they have the infrastructures in place and the schools built, FUNDaFIELD will be able to provide a safe field with equipment to play the game of soccer. A short break each day from living with disease, hunger and all that accompanies poverty. Play and sports are tools that teach important values and life skills including confidence, teamwork, communication, discipline, respect and fair play. Sports can have a positive impact on children’s education and can improve a child’s ability to learn, while increasing their ability to concentrate. Children learn better when they are having fun and being active.

All of us on the FUNDaFIELD team have benefited from having sports in our lives, kids everywhere should have the same opportunities. We are working to make it happen.