Games for Health

"All work and no play make Jack a dull boy" is a well known proverb. At Clemency Uganda, the right to play is a fundamental children’s’ right. Just like the right to education children too should be allowed the opportunity to enjoy the experience of organized sport. As a child focused organization, Clemency sports- boys and girls alike, dispelling cultural participating in sports. Uganda undertakes to barriers that prohibit develop children’s’ girls or women from participating in sports.

This project was initiated by two international volunteers i.e. Catrin Thomas and Ieaun Wyn Kelly from Wales.

At first young girls shied away from joining the sports activities but with Catrin’s involvement as a female coach, girls were inspired to actively play and compete in most of the games and sports. With a donation of some sports equipment by these two generous volunteers, this project took a holistic approach combing sports and self help skills such as tailoring and beads making from paper. Sports activities include training children in Volleyball, Basketball, Football, Netball and other body building sport.

The purpose of this project is to:
* Promote mental and physical wellbeing of children.
* Help girls to exert influence over the timing of marriage so they may get an education.
* Promote the full and equal participation of girls in games and sports activities.
* Identify, develop and promote children’s’ sports talents.

To gain support from within the community, and in particular from parents, Clemency Uganda staff and members go to individuals’ homes, sensitize parents and guardians about the importance of sports and get them involved in the project. Parents who live nearby Clemency Uganda project site see what Clemency Uganda is doing with the children in the fields and this makes many of them allow their children to take part in the project.

Part time sports training activities are done on the weekends. A comprehensive holiday program is conducted when children are back from school. Here activities are conducted from Monday to Saturday, after children have completed their domestic chores. Children are trained by well trained coaches who ensure their safety while on the pitch. Kids sports Gala is then organized to showcase children’s talent. With support from both local and international volunteers, this project has been able to register significant achievements:

Through sport young girls are given access to public spaces where they gather, develop new skills together, gain support from others and enjoy freedom of expression and movement. We have been able to promote girl child education (especially for those who are unable to go to school or who only attend on an irregular basis) which is an essential for girl-child empowerment.

Using sport as a development tool girls have been given an opportunity to participate in organized sport at the community level. Girls are now able to have a sense of ownership over their bodies, increase their self-esteem and better enable them to make choices about their lives, including their sexual activity. We use games and sports as a channel for informing girls about reproductive health and other health issues, particularly young unmarried women who may not receive such information.

Through Sport, we sensitize children about HIV/AIDS and how to avoid getting infected, teen pregnancy, and drugs. With a major emphasis on children orphaned by AIDS, further self help life skills in these young people are being imparted. Such skills include income generating skills like beads making, refusal skills on sexual advances, etc. Through sport we have seen children’s’ esteem growing high and their desire to have the sporting time increased, this helps them from getting into risky behaviors.

We teach children the value of obedience, discipline and fairness. Every game has its own rules and regulations and all have to obey them. Every player has to bow down before the judgment of the referee. This teaches the players to respect the laws even if they do not like them. Such virtues are learnt better through games than through books. As a result children on this program are more disciplined persons than others.

Our sports coaches teach children the importance of team work. While playing, every player is a member of a team and he/she has to play not for his/her own good but for the good of the whole team. Thus they learn to co- operate with others for the common good. In this way, we prepare these children to enter life as good citizens. This project teaches children how to sacrifice their own desires and their own good for the good of society. Children on this project are more social and more self-sacrificing than those left to loiter around in evil company.

Over the years, the kid’s’ gala has given children the opportunity to develop healthy lifestyles, no matter the financial, physical or language barriers that may exist! Staying physically active helps encourage children to maintain healthy habits throughout their whole lives. The challenges that come with playing sports also teach children valuable life lessons and skills including leadership, practice, hard work, dedication and self confidence.

You can support our effort to develop children’s sports talents by:
1. Volunteering as a games and sports coach
2. Donating sports kits such as:
a. Balls.
b. Nets.
c. Boots i.e. soccer boots, or any other sports boots.
d. Used jerseys.
e. Gloves.
f. Stockings.
g. First aid kits.
h. Sheen guards.
i. Whistles.