WILLEMSTAD – As part of a coordinated effort to address plastic and solid waste in island communities, 743 children from 21 schools across Curaçao participated in community clean-ups on June 5–6, collecting approximately 11,500 kg of litter. The initiative marked the conclusion of the 2024–2025 academic year for Future Goals, a youth development programme led by Sandals Resorts and AFC Ajax.
Now in its third year, the youth empowerment programme uses football as a tool to teach teamwork, resilience, confidence, and environmental stewardship. This year, Group 6 students were challenged to take meaningful action against one of the world’s pressing issues: solid waste pollution. The clean-ups, which also sought to commemorate World Oceans Day (June 8), served as an exercise to reduce the waste that could ultimately enter the island’s marine environment.
“We wanted to have the students actively engaged in being part of the solution,” says Patrice Gilpin, Public Relations Manager at Sandals Foundation. “By lending a helping hand in cleaning their communities, they see in a tangible way how our actions as humans can make a difference in bringing forth a solution, whether it is in waste reduction or proper waste disposal. It empowers them to understand that even small actions, when taken collectively, can create lasting change for their environment and future.”
On Tuesday, June 10, students at Fatima College were gifted boxes of sports equipment for their schools to further encourage play and football. Joined by representatives of AFC Ajax and Sandals Resorts, the ceremony marked the beginning of a series of equipment deliveries to be made to all schools which participated in the clean-up Initiative.
“Over the past two and a half years, we saw an opportunity to enhance physical education in schools by supporting access to resources,” said Roy Lagendijk of AFC Ajax. “We thought that if we could provide schools with sport materials in combination with knowledge of activities they could do, there is a bigger possibility that the kids will be inspired to be active.”
Each box includes ropes, cones, and frisbees—versatile equipment that can be used in a variety of ways. While 14 activities have been provided as a starting point, schools are encouraged to get creative, with the potential to develop up to 50 different games and exercises using the same materials, according to Lagendijk.
Launched in 2022, Future Goals is a collaborative initiative between AFC Ajax, one of the Netherlands’ premier football clubs, and Sandals Resorts, in partnership with its philanthropic arm, the Sandals Foundation. The programme introduced an innovative eight-week curriculum, implemented annually, that blends in-class learning with on-the-field training, all centered around the game of football. Sessions are delivered by “Future Coaches” trained by AFC Ajax, designed to promote physical activity while teaching important life skills.
To date, some 1.4 million plastic bottles and lids and over 300,000 square feet of fishing nets have been removed from communities and the ocean respectively, and used by local recycling company, Limpi Recycling, to creatively manufacture 70 goals and the 21 boxes that have so far been gifted to schools across the island.
“The Future Goals programme has been a game changer in many ways,” says Future Coach, Chantie Elias. “The children have shown a growing awareness of their own actions and there’s a noticeable enthusiasm for the ‘goals’ of the programme, mostly the shared commitment to keeping Curaçao clean and contributing to a better, more vibrant community.”
