By: Daniel Orrego, executive director Futbol Mas Peru

Futbol Mas in Peru start Schools Program in new partnership with the Association UNACEM in Manchay, Pachacamac, Lima.  

The cases of bullying or harassment in school have increased considerably in recent years. Given that the school is a social environment, that also reflect behaviors that we see in the day-to-day such as discrimination based on diverse identities of gender, nationality, socioeconomic status, etc. These attitudes have a negative influence on the right to well-being among children and adolescents. 

The portal SíseVe, in charge of the Ministry of Education, collects more than 40,000 complaints in the last ten years. Most likely the amount of cases that are not reported would increase that number considerably, making it a problem that is growing rapidly in Peru. However, there are solutions that could contribute to resolve this situation from the inclusion of the game and the sport as a strategy. 

In Futbol Mas we are convinced that the game and the sport tare very powerful tools to prevent this phenomenon, given that they are actions that are part of day-to-day life in the school. Through them we can work on topics such as respect, joy, equality, gender, or companionship. The fact that learning can be fun and playful it allows the students to be more open and to participate in a solution to a problem that affects them directly.  

Over the nine years that we have been present in Peru we have been able to work hand-in-hand with teachers in Metropolitan Lima in various sessions of learning about our methodology. In addition, we have shared our experience in school spaces from other regions of Peru, by intervening sessions of Physical Education or using the infrastructure of the school to develop classes open to families in the community.  

In that sense, we are excited to start working in Manchay in the I. E. Roxanita Castro and I. E. Los Jardines de Manchay. Thanks to a new partnership with the Association UNACEM, we will bring the program “Formation of Values” during the school year of 2024. In this we will share the Futbol Mas methodology to teachers of various subjects so that they can include new tools in their lessons, encouraging the positive discipline and healthy school coexistence.  

Given that the home learning has a great influence on the attitudes that children and adolescents later show in school, we will also create spaces of awareness with their families. This way we may also lern about ways to generate positive parenting spaces outside of class as well; something very important for the general well being of the students.  

If the bullying involves a more integral solution, the use of the game and the sport can be a very important first step to prevent it. Futbol Mas is committed to continue to look for innovative and fun ways to transform the reality in schools, so that children and adolescents can be able to find a real well-being in these spaces.