2007.02.14: February 14, 2007: Headlines: COS - St. Vincent: Sports: Rugby: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: James Foster is a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in St. Vincent
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2007.02.14: February 14, 2007: Headlines: COS - St. Vincent: Sports: Rugby: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: James Foster is a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in St. Vincent
James Foster is a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in St. Vincent
"The first six months are really about integrating into this culture," Foster said. "I'm trying to get guys together for this welding project, so I spent a lot of time playing basketball and getting completely embarrassed on the soccer field trying to gain the trust of people in the community." In January, Christian Mayo came to St. Vincent to visit Foster. The two were teammates on the New York Athletic Club rugby team; Mayo still lives in New York, where he works for Play Rugby USA -- a non-profit that has developed a youth curriculum touting the values of rugby. With Mayo's help, Foster put on his first youth clinic. "I think he thought with me coming out there, it would be another project he could start to help the village out," Mayo said. "It gives the kids a self-esteem boost. And they loved the ball. That was a huge thing for them. They love cricket and soccer, but seeing a new ball was something really great." "My main goal is to keep kids interested right now. A lot of what we're doing amounts to simple evasion games, showing them how to run into open space," Foster said. "Half of my time is spent as some sort of role model or parent figure on the field. I'm telling the kids, 'You can't throw stones at each other,' or, 'You have to share.' "
James Foster is a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in St. Vincent
Edina native using rugby as link to kids
By By Michael Rand, Star Tribune
Last update: February 14, 2007 – 8:23 AM
James Foster is thinking about buying a donkey.
Foster, 26 and a native of Edina, is a Peace Corps volunteer stationed in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a small island nation in the Caribbean. There are regulations involving volunteers and bicycles on the island, Foster said, but pretty soon he will need a better mode of transportation than walking. Hence, the serious thoughts of buying a donkey.
It's a small fact, but perhaps it tells a universal truth about Foster: One of his greatest strengths is the ability to come up with a practical solution to a situation he never thought he might encounter. Indeed, it pretty much defines what he hopes to accomplish in his current role.
St. Vincent is the main island, and the Grenadines are a chain of smaller islands. The entire country comprises only 150 square miles and has a population of about 120,000. Drugs -- and the drug trade -- are not just a problem there. They are a way of life.
Foster was sent to the island with a specific assignment: take charge of a welding project. He arrived in August, and he is still jumping through various hoops in order to make it happen. In the meantime, Foster has embarked on a far different mission: Teaching the kids in his village how to play rugby.
"There are huge voids of role models here," Foster said. "Kids are left to fend for themselves a lot of the time. As an outsider, you come here and you see the void. And what I'm trying to do is bring the game to the kids. It's been my experience that rugby can teach valuable life lessons of teamwork, working hard and fair play. I believe there is a greater good."
Foster's path
Foster discovered rugby in high school as an alternative to other sports. His father, Jim, had played rugby in college and suggested James give it a try.
"I was tired of the football machismo and the yelling," he said. "It just didn't agree with me."
Foster played on a club as a senior at Edina High. He graduated in 1999, then played rugby throughout college at the University of San Francisco. From there, he traveled with two friends to Daystar University in Kenya, where Foster volunteered and helped coach a rugby team he also played on.
Foster moved to New York from there, then took a hiatus from life there to volunteer in Ethiopia. He was trying to decide if he was serious about the Peace Corps. He found his answer.
"I started my application when I got back," he said.
So, he left his life in New York, including his girlfriend Liz, and headed to a country about one-eighth the size of Rhode Island.
"He's always been kind of an adventurous kid," said Jim Foster, who along with James' mother, Sarah, still lives in the Twin Cities. "Some of his friends sort of shake their head and marvel at this. But I think they admire him for what he's doing."
On the island
Foster arrived at St. Vincent in August, and he's slated to be there until September 2008. He originally thought he was headed for a country in the Middle East or Africa, but at the last minute the Peace Corps sent him to the eastern Caribbean.
"The first six months are really about integrating into this culture," Foster said. "I'm trying to get guys together for this welding project, so I spent a lot of time playing basketball and getting completely embarrassed on the soccer field trying to gain the trust of people in the community."
In January, Christian Mayo came to St. Vincent to visit Foster. The two were teammates on the New York Athletic Club rugby team; Mayo still lives in New York, where he works for Play Rugby USA -- a non-profit that has developed a youth curriculum touting the values of rugby. With Mayo's help, Foster put on his first youth clinic.
"I think he thought with me coming out there, it would be another project he could start to help the village out," Mayo said. "It gives the kids a self-esteem boost. And they loved the ball. That was a huge thing for them. They love cricket and soccer, but seeing a new ball was something really great."
Said Foster: "It's still in its baby stages, but it has a ton of potential."
As optimistic as he is, though, Foster also acknowledges the struggles. He's dealing with about 30 kids, ages roughly 5-13, as one group, and an older group of teens and young adults as part of a more competitive group.
"My main goal is to keep kids interested right now. A lot of what we're doing amounts to simple evasion games, showing them how to run into open space," Foster said. "Half of my time is spent as some sort of role model or parent figure on the field. I'm telling the kids, 'You can't throw stones at each other,' or, 'You have to share.' "
Rugby he knows; kids he doesn't. Foster even recently asked his sister Molly -- a kindergarten teacher -- for advice on how to deal with the youngsters. But this past Saturday was a good day. Foster took his group to the beach after rugby was over.
"Now is the time I should be bragging to people," he said. "It's 85 or 90 degrees, and this really is a beautiful island. Aesthetically, it's a beautiful place."
And the parts that aren't always beautiful -- Foster is working on those.
"Any volunteer will tell you it's the toughest job you'll ever love. There are struggles. You're in a village by yourself, but you integrate. It's highs and lows, but you can really see when you start to make an impact, even on a small level. I have a handful of kids who really want to learn, and that's what the Peace Corps is all about. It's not just leaving something tangible, it's more in terms of, 'I think I reached this kid and maybe steered him down a different path.' "
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Headlines: February, 2007; Peace Corps Saint Vincent; Directory of St. Vincent RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for St. Vincent RPCVs; Sports
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Story Source: Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - St. Vincent; Sports; Rugby
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