A 10-year-old Nicaraguan boy squints, raises his bat and stares steadily towards the pitcher. The pitch comes. It's fast, but he knocks the ball over heads and beyond his wildest dreams, causing a whoop of hollering and whistling from his comrades.
He smiles his toothless grin and readjusts his toobig jersey. It's another joyful afternoon of baseball in Jiquilillo, Nicaragua.
This August, a group of 16 boys from the Tsawwassen Amateur Baseball Association, along with their families, will have a life-changing experience. The 10-to 15-year-olds will visit the small Nicaraguan village to take part in a humanitarian excursion with baseball as the unifying theme.
The families will partake in the completion of a volunteer-run project to open a baseball field, called the Field of Hope, in the impoverished village.
The field is the brainchild of Tammi Laroque from Surrey, who first visited Nicaragua in 2013 and learned of Monty's Beach Lodge with its social/humanitarian theme.
Owner Don Montgomery, who splits his time between Parksville and Jiquilillo, has been more than a welcome presence in the village. Over the years, he and other socially-minded volunteers have organized and donated resources and funding to build a much-needed school and medical clinic. He has helped bring shipping containers of donated baseball gear, school uniforms, shoes and other provisions.
The popularity of baseball there inspired Laroque to propose the Field of Hope, for which she solicited donations and the sheer grunt work of family and locals to help with construction.
Baseball is the country's number one sport, and Nicaraguan children carry a deep passion for the game, much like the boys from Tsawwassen. Skin colour or status matter not when you're on the field striving to pitch a strike or connect bat with ball.
Although the Tsawwassen boys are there to help with the field's completion and take part in grand opening games and celebrations, they will also be participating in acts of giving. During the visit, the families will help prepare and serve lunch to families residing in nearby El Limonal, a community on the edge of a massive garbage dump where they scavenge for anything salvageable.
"We hope to make a substantial difference with our efforts there," says Tsawwassen Amateur Baseball Association vice president John Forbes, "while helping to bring baseball to life for the children in a meaningful way.
"The joining together of our Canadian boys and the Nicaraguan boys to share their love of the game on a level playing field is a humbling and rewarding opportunity we can't wait to participate in. We are so grateful to have been asked to be part of this project," says Forbes.
The Tsawwassen families will be also stuffing their luggage to the brim with much-wanted arts and craft supplies, Spanish books, pencils and anything else they can fit to hand out to the villagers.
The association is seeking every possible source of funding for the trip.
"Fundraising efforts are already in full swing," says fundraising organizer Corrine Mitran. "The association is hopeful we can raise over $50,000 in order to send the group of almost 40 TABA members travelling there to volunteer their efforts."
The Tsawwassen Amateur Baseball Association is also donating 10 per cent of the funds raised toward purchasing much-needed items for the villagers.
The Baseball Without Borders project is also seeking corporate and individual donations, and has set up a crowdfunding website at fundrazr.com/campaigns/3xWBa to facilitate the process, whereby the public and companies can make donations through Paypal.
The group is also open to sponsorships. To discuss sponsorship opportunities, contact John Forbes at [email protected].
To learn more about the organizing efforts of Don Montgomery of Monty's Beach Lodge and how the boys will contribute during their stay in Nicaragua, visit www.montysbeachlodge.com/volunteer.
