Posts

6 Month Expedition Starts in Ethiopia

/0 Comments/in /by

Building on the success of 2011′s preparation work and the foundations laid during 2012′s first mission, United Through Sport’s, Bhubesi Pride project, embarked on its second expedition this week to support the development of rugby in ten African countries and see the sport inspire further sustainable community projects.

Our man Richard Bennett leads a team of six members, from various countries, who all have a wealth of experience and understanding of the game. Over the next 6 months, using two 4x4s, they will take important messages to communities all over Africa using the power of sport to bring people together, have fun and teach important life skills to young people. Continued school links between the UK and Africa will also be a key focus for the expedition.

This week the team have been visiting various schools around Ethopia (see photos below) and will be heading south to enter Kenya on the 16th Feb.

Richard Bennett explains more about their first week: “When looking to develop something new in any area, it’s key to work with local, responsible staff that can take up the ‘topic’ and grow or expand ‘it’ sustainably. At United Through Sport, we know the importance of working with local teachers and coaches as well as children in several schools to provide the community here [in Ethiopia] the best opportunity to keep rugby going, and see it as a tool to unite communities!”

Team Members:
Richard Bennett
Ryan Jones
Juan Pablo Andrade
Guillaume Boisseau
Ben Illingworth
Jonathan Markowitz
Mike Coogan

Map of the Journey:
Tour of Africa

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The 6 Month Itinerary:
Team Training in the UK: 25 – 31 January; fly to Addis Ababa
Ethiopia (Adama): 2 – 9 February
Kenya (Nairobi): 16 – 23 February
Uganda (Jinja): 2 – 9 March
Rwanda (Rulindo and Kigali): 13 – 21 March
Tanzania (Arusha and Moshi): 24 March – 3 April

[Half Time | Team Drinks Break: 7 – 13 April]

Tanzania (Dar es Salaam): 14 – 21 April
Malawi (Lilongwe): 27 April – 4 May
Zambia (Choma): 10 – 17 May
Botswana (Gaborone): 22 – 29 May
Namibia (Rehoboth): 3 – 9 June
South Africa (Port Elizabeth): 15 – 22 June
End of expedition in Cape Town: Friday 28 June

UTS visits schools in Ethiopia and Kenya

/0 Comments/in /by

For the last month a team has been heading down through Europe and into Africa to deliver Rugby and other sports sessions as a platform to improve health, education and build life skills in young people.

Richard Bennett, leading the team gives us his update:
Our first school visit was set for Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and, to get there, the team drove 10,000km in 32 days, overland from the UK, through Europe and North Africa. After a day spent at local government school, Kokebetsibah, arranged by partner NGO, Plan UK, we moved to Adama where we’d be based for the week, coaching pupils and staff at Nafyad School and Adama No. 2 Elementary.

Rugby is not a known sport in Ethiopia, so we caused quite an interest… Maximising Nafyad’s timetabled PE lessons, we saw over 600 pupils a day, got the staff playing touch rugby and finished the week with a multi-year group tournament, with local staff refereeing some of the matches. It came as no surprise when Ethiopian TV journalists arrived with their camera to report on the action, featuring our visit that night on the news!

Results from the visit:
Number of pupils coached – 1240
Amount of pupils participating in 3 or more sessions – 44%
Male : Female – 60 : 40
Number of buddy coaches* – 7
Number of local staff empowered – 2

*Buddy coach = local member of staff supporting our coaches during a rugby session.

Abraham Legese, P.E. Teacher, Nafyad School said the following:
“We are very happy because having United Through Sport and Bhubesi Pride here is very lovely for us. It is important that all players are equal. Through learning about the values of rugby, people begin to respect each other, and there is a sense of unity and community in the school. The children must develop good behaviour and be sociable to each other”
Moving on to Kenya.

To reach our next partner school involved a long drive south to Nairobi in Kenya: Shadrack Kimalel, on the edge of the Kibera slum. A severely underprivileged community, we saw nothing but talent and enthusiasm for a game perfect for the pupils here, displaying natural ability and athleticism. Adding further value to our work at Shadrack, our coaching team was joined by students from our host school for the week, Brookhouse School, who autonomously delivered fantastic sessions.

Results from the visit:
Number of pupils coached – 450
Amount of pupils participating in 3 or more sessions – 60%
Male : Female – 60 : 40
Number of buddy coaches – 3
Number of local staff empowered – 1 (5 Brookhouse students develop coaching skills)

Thanks to all who are involved with this exciting project and we look forward to updating you again soon.