Barangay Hugo Perez is more or less 2.2 kilometers from Trece Martires City in the province of Cavite. This is one of the barangays named after one of the Thirteen Martyrs, Dr. Hugo Perez.
Gawad Kalinga started SipaG, their youth football program, in one of the communities in Hugo Perez last of October 2020. The youth residing there are already equipped with knowledge about football because some of them were already playing for their schools. During weekends, they teach the younger ones in their community how to play.
The SipaG program seeks to use sports as intervention for youth leadership and educational opportunity. It has been running since 2005 wherein SipaG uses the format of street football or futsal to build awareness of the game and develop the leadership and footballing skills of marginalized children ages 6 to 21. The Covid19 pandemic is a defining global crisis of our time. This is not just a health crisis but a challenge and devastation to social, political and economic status of every country. In these difficult times when attending school isn't in the classroom but online, SipaG seeks to create a venue that combines the power and discipline of sports in promoting education, mental wellness and camaraderie to the youth and children in GK Hugo Perez.
Currently, they are practicing in an open area in the middle of the village, which is easily accessible by everyone. However, the pitch is not conducive and safe to play football on because of the rough texture of the ground and it becomes very dusty when the wind blows. In order to execute this program, a more proper field needs to be built to address the concern and sustainability of the mentorship of the youth guided by sports discipline program amidst this trying times
With the funds raised for this project, SipaG can engage kids to have fun while playing and wean them out from influence of vices, lure them out of the temptation of drug dependency and win them to the folds of law. The sports program will become a medium in their values formation and the discipline attached to it will motivate them in pursuing and continuing education while enjoying sports and mentorship.