QUÉ
HACEMOS
Deportes y Mascotas por el Mundo.
Sports & Education center
Location
Inhambane, Tofo
Mozambique
Cost
Estimated 10.000€
Year
2023
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This is the first step of the upcoming sports & education center, which is probably the most important one. It revolves around finding the right space and get permits and legislations in order to finalize the project.
Título 1
The idea is to give the children the opportunity to practice various sports and disciplines just as we can do during our childhood and adolescence. You know the day to day of a child here can be quite monotonous, and when they finish school, they return to their homes and villages where they will spend the following hours playing, resting, trying to sell something to tourists, or helping with household chores for parents until dusk.
Nowadays we know how important the practice of physical activity and sports is at an early age, since this affects the affective, social and cognitive aspects of children. Here, the practice of sport is minimal, and almost none existent once they leave school. During Primary School, which range from 6-7 years of age to approximately 13, physical education or gymnastics is very scarce at school. When they go to Secondary, from 14 to 17-18 years old, before entering Higher Education, they already practice a little more sports, but this is primarily soccer. Some more fortunate, will also practice basketball cause the school has a court for its practice.
The idea is to give the children the opportunity to practice various sports and disciplines just as we can do during our childhood and adolescence. You know the day to day of a child here can be quite monotonous, and when they finish school, they return to their homes and villages where they will spend the following hours playing, resting, trying to sell something to tourists, or helping with household chores for parents until dusk.
Nowadays we know how important the practice of physical activity and sports is at an early age, since this affects the affective, social and cognitive aspects of children. Here, the practice of sport is minimal, and almost none existent once they leave school. During Primary School, which range from 6-7 years of age to approximately 13, physical education or gymnastics is very scarce at school. When they go to Secondary, from 14 to 17-18 years old, before entering Higher Education, they already practice a little more sports, but this is primarily soccer. Some more fortunate, will also practice basketball cause the school has a court for its practice.
How it works:
The idea is to build basic facilities to carry out the project. We would get a space in the area and ask for donations internationally. The goal is to reach sports journalists who can give some vision to the project, contact sportsmen and athletes and other sponsors (private companies and entities) who can also provide funds and material.
During the initial phase of the project we would start with the exterior facilities made of concrete (a pitch for football and basketball, a tennis court, and a couple of padel courts). Then the exterior pitch for various sports. And then the interior with a dorm for a capacity of a certain number of children, and some rooms. The swimming pool would also come sometime during the project.
These facilities will be the center of DEMAMU Association, established in 2010 in Spain by my cousin, Mono and myself. I'm currently in the process of starting the foundation here with the same name. The goal is to carry out various projects related to sports and raise awareness of the protection of animals and the environment. I know it might sound a bit odd as they are completely different matters, but our lives have been pretty much involved in those aspects.
Another way to get funds will be trying to bring people from overseas who are passionate like us and are studying sports related training or veterinarians, and would like to come as volunteers during certain periods to instruct local youth, so that they, in turn, will train local children. The facilities will be equipped with rooms for those occasions.
Another idea that we are considering to keep the project ongoing is to offer the space to schools in Maputo or even SA, so that they can come and use the facilities during exchange programs.
Once the construction has finished, and the program is already underway, the idea is to pre-select candidates (children) who can become part of the program. Unfortunately we will not be able to give the opportunity to all the local kids, but the goal over the years, will be to get as many as possible involved in the project.
Occasionally, championships or somewhat longer stays can be held in the center, and children can spend a few days.
