Dailyn of Cartagena’s Squash Urbano Colombia recently gained admission to the Indian Mountain School in Lakeville, Connecticut, becoming the second Colombian student from the Squash and Education Alliance (SEA) network to attend boarding school in the U.S.
A standout competitor on court, Dailyn qualified for the 2019 South American Jr. Championships in Bolivia and won a bronze medal while representing Colombia. Dailyn follows in the footsteps of Valeria Osorio, who attended the Westminster School and now goes to Wesleyan.
“Having Dailyn following Valeria’s footstep means a lot to the organisation and to all of our students,” said Squash Urbano Executive Director Esteban Espinal.
“It gives us a lot of hope in these tough moments.”
Squash Urbano provides a year-round programme which looks to provide life-changing opportunities to youth from low-income families through education, mentoring and the sport of squash.
Founded in 2014, their programmes combine squash with academics, mentoring, community service, and college placement. Their intensive, year-round programming, which takes place after school, on the weekends and in the summer, engages students until they finish their schooling.
Squash Urbano provides its students with English instruction six days a week. A handful of students like Dailyn also participate in supplemental lessons and test prep and aspire to attend school in the U.S.
As well as helping their students academically, mentally and physically, Squash Urbano has also provided valuable support to them and their families during during the lockdown enforced following COVID-19. As the juniors in the programme come from low-income families, these families have faced additional challenges in the wake of the pandemic in terms of making an income and putting food on the table.
In light of this, Squash Urbano has been helping out with food drives in the local community to make sure that none of these families go hungry.
Find out more about the Squash Urbano programme and how you can support them here: https://www.squashurbanocol.org/volunteer/