Several years ago, the mayor of Chiltiupan, Don Coki Diaz, constructed a beautiful soccer field near the center of town. The field is on a level surface (rare to find a flat parcel in this mountainous village) complete with goalposts, sprinklers, lighting, and stands. It is a professional-grade field.
Mayor Coki charges teams $20 to use the field. This is a nominal amount, yet most of the residents of Chiltiupan cannot afford to use their own field. On many days, the field sits empty. Children play on the dirt road next to the beautiful field. Others just peer through the fence imagining they are scoring goals.
In 2017, parishioner Ted Rieple traveled to El Salvador, saw the beautiful field, and also the sad faces of the children hoping to use it. Ted’s family loves to play soccer and is very involved in the game. Ted developed a program called “Futbol Para Bien” (Football for Good) where he rents the field for the children of Santo Domingo School. Ted has hosted multiple field days since 2018. In addition to renting the field for the day, he donates soccer uniforms, balls, shoes, and other equipment. The students now have on-going access to the field.