CAF and Tahuichi unite forces for Bolivian children

The CAF and the Tahuichi Football Academy signed an agreement to promote sports for boys and girls from low-income sectors. The CAF believes that sport is an instrument for building social capital.

To promote sport as an instrument for building social capital, the Andean Development Corporation, represented by its Executive President Enrique García, today signed an agreement with the Tahuichi Football Academy, represented by Roly Aguilera, president of the institution, to stimulate football for boys and girls from Bolivia´s low-income sectors.

Enrique García said he was very satisfied with the agreement, which is set in the framework of a development concept that gives priority to culture in its broadest sense as an instrument for building social fabric at community level, which expands to regional and national scale. "We see sport as a source of generation of civic values which, transferred to other areas of human endeavor, can contribute to community building and to strengthening a culture of cooperation, fair competition and social inclusion. Let´s not forget that when we work in a team, it doesn´t matter where you come from but how much you contribute to the group’s success."

García praised Tahuichi´s use of football to help children exposed to serious social risks, such as drugs and crime, by strengthening values such as friendship, a spirit of healthy competition, social harmony, and solidarity. "With this support we are contributing to their valuable work and increasing female participation, which it seems has been enthusiastically received by the girls of the Santa Cruz community." The Transredes company is expected to join the alliance in the near future as a strategic partner to reinforce the impact of CAF´s action in the country.

The Tahuichi Aguilera Football Academy was founded in 1978 by Rolando Aguilera in honor of his father Ramón Aguilera Costas, also known as "Tahuichi" during his period as a player with the “Florida” team of Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

Rolando Aguilera´s original idea was to teach his sons Roly and Erwin the basics of football, for which he hired the Brazilian trainer "Dede." Later other children joined in, more trainers were hired, and fields and staff were expanded until the academy came into being.

The first teams were Bloomingcito and Orientito in honor of the professional clubs of Blooming and Oriente Petrolero, classics of Santa Cruz football. In 1979 Tahuichi obtained its first success in the Bolivan Children´s Championship.

In 1980, the team won the first South American Children´s Championship of Champions´ Clubs in Buenos Aires, the first victory for a Bolivian team outside the country, which projected Tahuichi into the international arena. Since then, they have won several championships, including the Mundialet in Spain (1982) and the South American Sub 16 FIFA in Lima Peru (1986). In 1992 the Academy was nominated as candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1996, the Academy organized the first Mundialito Tahuichi Peace and Unity Sub 15, and in 1997 began construction of La Villa del Niño Feliz Tahuichi. As a result of the granting of scholarships to young people, 23 have graduated from university and 17 are currently studying in universities.

"Tahuichi" Academy has given its recreational and training football classes to 250,000 children and young people. Ninety percent of students come from poor backgrounds and receive their classes free of charge. Many of them earn their living by selling newspapers, cleaning shoes or washing cars. The Academy also accepts the sons of prisoners among its students.