look!

Objective  Developing Children Through Sport in Botswana



0%
$10  Amount Raised:
$32,700   Fundraising Goal:

This is not so much a project as it is a life calling and ongoing work for me. I have lived in Botswana, Africa for the past 3 years and have committed myself to the people of Botswana indefinitely. I oversee the work of an organization called The King's Foundation. We use sport as a tool to develop children physically, emotionally and spiritually. Sport is an extremely unique vehicle for facilitating change on so many levels.

"Sport has the power to unite people in the way little else can. It breaks down racial barriers, it laughs in the face of all sorts of discrimination. Sport speaks to people in a language they can understand." Nelson Mandela

Botswana, like so many other Sub-Saharan African countries, has been greatly impacted by HIV/AIDS. The average life expectancy in some of these countries is estimated to be just north of thirty years of age. I have encountered various situations where older siblings have quickly become responsible for entire households. Combined with an apparent apathy for children - kids are raising kids. The implications of this are many but one in particular is that children are not being taught foundational values (honesty, respect, hard work ethic, integrity, commitment etc.) that will enable them to be responsible contributing members of society.

African leaders, including Nelson Mandela, have made public pronouncements that sport is one of the best vehicles for providing, not only alternative activities for young people, but also one of the best ways of building self-esteem and developing leadership skills among Africa's youth.

For a typical King's Foundation event we converge on a local soccer field armed with various sports equipment and enough locally trained volunteer leaders to handle the expected number of children. On average we can expect 100-200 children but in some situations we commonly exceed 350 children. Whatever the number, children are divided into age groups, assigned a coach/leader and then engaged in a rotation of sports activities. Children have time to bond with their coach, learn new sport specific skills and to simply be children for a few hours. After a few hours of sports we bring the entire group together for a time of drama, singing, testimonies, dance etc. This is our opportunity to be very deliberate in teaching specific values, allowing local social workers to share HIV/AIDS specific messages as well as share our personal testimonies with the children.

Click Here to read more...
 
 
 

Login   |   Sign Up   |   Cancel
 
 
Login:
Password:
Login Login

    (Forgot your password?)