Getting the chance to play and be physically active is universally important. But having deficient equipment (or none at all) can be demoralizing and discouraging after you’ve taken the time and effort to get together with friends to play.
We heard that a women’s netball team that gathers daily at the youth center in Nakivale was having just this problem. Their balls were in rough shape and deflated. And their court was unlevel and littered with large rocks and debris – hardly a court it turns out. [for those who haven’t heard of netball – see this video] We could do something about this.
Isaac, ARC Engineer, recruited some workers to dig up the court, remove the debris and rocks and level the whole thing out. While they got busy, we headed to the store to pickup some new balls to replace their old worn-out gear.
When we came back to the court, Ann – a representative from UNHCR was there to survey the progress. “Sports is how we mobilize youth,” said Ann. “And this is big. It’s very useful as we’ve been wanting more activities for youth.”