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Tanzanian YES Alumnus Advocates Sports for Health

Group of children playing soccer on the beach.

Daniel Laiser (YES ‘09 from Tanzania) organized a day full of sports and health education for the school children in his community. Daniel has been an athlete his entire life, playing soccer since he was a small child. He felt lessons of teamwork, health, and happiness were taught through sports. 

During his year abroad in the U.S., Daniel participated in cross country, indoor soccer, and outdoor soccer. He was able to find community and build relationships in America through his passion for team sports. Daniel recalls watching the last runners cross the finish line at his cross country meets with the same might that the 1st placed runner did. This taught him that coming in first does not matter, but giving it your best shot does. Sentiments like these have given him the inspiration to work hard, pursue his passions, and share with others through sports. 

YES alumni playing soccer on the beach.

Daniel was able to bring his community together and share the valuable skills he has learned about teamwork through his Sports for Health event. He has been conducting many events in his community to bring people closer together and create a strong network. He dreams to change the perspective on sports in his community. Sports seem rugged, exclusive, and unimportant to most of the people he knows. Instead, Daniel wants to share with them the great attributes that playing sports can add to his community. Sports for Health has by far been his most beloved event, and he plans to continue it for as long as he can.


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