May 10, 2009

Bolivia-USA, Three Sports, Two Peoples, One Healthy Life

The Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Bolivia, Krishna “Kris” Urs, hands over more than 400 books donated by the Embassy to the Library of Yotala. The Mayor of Yotala Alejandro Garcia and the Prefect of Chuquisaca Savina Cuellar receive the donation on behalf of the community of Yotala.

Within the program entitled 3 Sports, 2 Peoples, 1 Healthy Life, an enthusiastic group of over 60 officers of the U.S. Embassy in La Paz led by the Chargé d’Affaires Kris Urs, went on a 100-mile bike and soccer trip from Potosí to Sucre on May 11-12. The group of Bolivians and Americans who participated in this initiative stopped in two towns during the trip, in Betanzos (Potosi) and Yotala (Chuquisaca) where they played two friendly soccer matches with local teams.

This sports-focused program started on April 21 with the visit

Children of Betanzos who participated in the award ceremony of a drawing contest designed to promote drug use prevention. (Monday, May 11, 2009)

of two renowned U.S. soccer coaches who arrived in Bolivia to conduct soccer clinics for boys, girls, youths, and their coaches in several soccer schools, including Ramiro Castillo School in El Alto and ABB in La Paz, as well as in Bolivar and The Strongest clubs. Under the sponsorship of SportsUnited, a U.S. Department of State program, coaches Amanda Cromwell and Jay Miller conducted clinics in La Paz, El Alto and Coroico (Los Yungas). In the second activity of the program, an Embassy baseball team played a game in Tarija, against a local team.

The third sports activity in the program took place on the road between Potosi and Sucre,

An Embassy officer drinks water while pedaling on the road that connects the cities of Potosi and Sucre.

where a group of U.S. Embassy officers and their family members traveled 100 miles on their bicycles. When they stopped in the towns of Betanzos and Yotala, the group played friendly soccer games and awarded two bicycles to the winners of a drawing contest and art materials to the younger children who won in a parallel art contest on the topic “A Healthy Life through Sports.” 

This initiative was based on the belief that sports keep youth

Children of Yotala at the award ceremony of a drawing contest that promoted drug use prevention. (Monday, May 11, 2009)

away from negative activities and vices and draw them to healthy lifestyles that include their physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. “A healthy life includes many things,” commented the U.S. Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires Kris Urs, who has been an enthusiastic bicycle rider for over 20 years. “A healthy life includes practicing sports, eating adequate food, having the necessary rest, and not staying up too late, as well as avoiding the use of harmful substances,” he remarked.

The Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy blogged during the bike ride and photos and video clips were posted during the trip on the U.S. Embassy’s Facebook profile at http://spanish.bolivia.usembassy.gov/facebook.html