Thousands of disadvantaged and vulnerable school children in remote, rural Tanzanian schools have no access to organised sports lessons. There is often no equipment and teachers are not trained to teach sport. These schools have low attendance and poor academic results and when not at school, the students live with the threat of sexual violence, child labour, early marriage and female genital mutilation.
Changing 4,118 lives in 69 schools in the last 10 years
In 2014 Eton school teacher Glen Pierce and three Eton gap-year students – Ali Lyon, Tom Pearson and Nicholas Zafiriou – fundraised to start a project using the power of football to tackle these problems. They spent six weeks in Arusha, Tanzania sharing their love of the game and set up a hugely successful pilot football project involving 6 schools.
This pilot project taught Ace that football promotes teamwork, respect, tolerance and better physical and mental health. The excitement of organised sport also encouraged children to attend school more regularly and academic results improved. Girls felt more empowered because were treated the same as boys.
Ten years later the project has transformed the lives of an incredible 4,118 disadvantaged boys and girls, across 69 schools. The SOL Foundation were a key partner in making this possible, together with UK schools, trusts, individual donors and Ace Africa Patron Andre Villas-Boas.
Teachers have been trained to be coaches, pitches fixed, and equipment donated – cones, footballs, goal posts and football shirts. Schools took part in a 12-week league ending with a finals tournament where trophies were presented by local government officials.
Organised sports has not only shown reduced truancy rates and better academic performances, it has also dramatically improved child rights. Ace School Clubs were set up at each school where a league was taking place so children could learn about their rights and know how to protect them. Club members shared what they learnt with other students, and the same information was shared at football training sessions. The result – reduced cases of child abuse, child marriage cases, child labour and female genital mutilation.
A bigger, better project thanks to support from The SOL Foundation
Many children have still not been reached. In remote Tanzanian Maasai communities of Western Tanzania, 41 per cent of girls experience FGM before they are 14. One in 3 girls, and 1 in 7 boys experience sexual violence before they are 18. Because boys have to tend livestock and girls are sold into early marriage they miss out on the life changing power of an education. In rural Luo and Luya communities in Western Kenya, the problems are the same, but there have been no funds to reach young people in these communities.
That is why schools, communities and local government asked us to expand the project. After supporting the project for three years, The SOL Foundation made an extraordinarily generous new grant that is dramatically expanding the progamme in Tanzania and allowing schools in Kenya take part for the very first time. The funding covers:
- 80 teachers (50% male and 50% female) trained to be coaches
- 40 schools/1,600 students involved; 80 teams (50% girls and 50% boys)
- weekly training and 12 week inter-school leagues, ending in tournaments
- sports equipment for all participating schools
A Case Study:
Football as a catalyst to protect child rights.
This new project also protects child rights by raising awareness in schools, and improving child protection services. It will reach thousands of students and adults in different ways:
- Ace school clubs in 40 schools, with trained teachers leading discussion about child rights, and how to protect them
- drama performances in schools to teach children about their rights
- new volunteer led Violence Against Women and Children Committees to help children get the help they need
- 60 community leaders trained in child rights
- child rights education during football training sessions
A dream to play for the national team reduces truancy…
Velian is an 11 year old girl. Her single mother works as a labourer and is not able to support her family. Velian missed school twice a week to sell vegetables to help.
Because Velian loves football, when her school joined the football project she attended more studies more regularly. Her teachers explained she could be part of the school team if her attendance continued to improve. With that big incentive, Velian began helping her mother during the weekend so that she did not miss school during the week.
Velian is a fantastic player, and led her school girl’s team to victory in the inter school final. She was selected as the best player in the league!
Today she wants to become a professional footballer and believes education and football will help her: ‘ It has always been my dream to play for the national team…..I didn’t know my education was important to me…..now I will work hard in class and on the football pitch until my dream is realised’.