Youth groups operating at Agbogbloshie and its environs are encouraging other organisations to employ sport for development methods in their engagement with Ghanaian children and youth.
The groups say sport for development approaches (S4D) enhance the understanding of children in and outside the classroom and make teaching and learning fun.
“Implementing the sports for development methodologies has made teaching and learning fun and even the children tend to understand whatever is being taught very fast,” the Project Officer at Street Children Empowerment Foundation, Michael Mensah Asiedu said.
Mr Mensah spoke to Citi News on the sideline of a Refresher training organised by Right To Play for youth groups at Agbogbloshie and Old Fadama.
The training forms part of the Sport for Development Project which the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has partnered with Right to Play Ghana to implement at the Agbogbloshie Scrapyard at Old Fadama in Accra.
Mr Mensah who has benefited from an earlier training was full of praise for the S4D methodologies which he said has helped his organization to intensify its work in the community they operate.
“We have started applying the methodologies and it has really helped us. We recently did a training on protecting the environment and in using the sports for development approach, it was easy and quick to understand,” he added.
But the S4D approaches are more practical than theoretical and useful in all aspects of life, a social worker at the Chance for Children organization, Edem Addo-Adado has said.
“It is very informative. I started some projects on saving money and personal hygiene with some of the children and it has been very helpful. Sometimes you take just 30 minutes to do a program with the children and it sinks down very well with them. These methodologies are not stressful. It is about having fun, but at the same time getting the most [out of everything],” he said.
Also, speaking to Citi News, a participant at the training, Fusheini Kubura said the S4D methodologies have injected some vibrancy into their activities. “The program has really helped us, especially the youth in this community. [This is because] through this programme, our mind has been brought back to embracing persons with disabilities and gender equality.”
He noted that “normally in this community, we separate men from women, but now we all join to undertake various activities and people now see that what men can do, women can also do it.”
He called for a stronger collaboration to continue with the Sport for Development (S4D) Project at Old Fadama. “Right to Play should continue doing this program because there are still some people who think women and girls are nothing in our community.”
A Project Officer at Right to Play Ghana, Illona Kodjo-Wayo explained the focus of the S4D Project is to build the capacity of young leaders in the effective use of the latest sports for development methodologies in order to make an impact in their communities.
“We want to bring them up-to-date with the latest sports for development methodologies and the skill-based training that we conduct as they go out and train the children and the youth within their organizations and teams.”
