Back On-Field With Green Kenya
Our longtime partners Green Kenya have been back on field impacting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDG) using CAC’s Purposeful Play! Check out the blog below written by David Mulo, Founder of Green Kenya, and part of the CAC Instruct team!
60 hours, this is the amount of time we have spent on field running Kenya programs. We have played at least 21 games with Green-Kenya, Far East Basketball and Futaball Mas addressing 7 different UNSDGs, that is, SDG 3 Good Health and Well-Being SDG 4 Quality Education, SDG 5 Gender Equality, SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 10 Reduced Inequalities, and SDG 13 Climate Action. The programs took place in some of the most challenging environments, like Kibare, which is one of the largest Slums in Africa and Mathare where majority of residents live below 2 dollars a day.
The on field training took 3 days per organization unlike previously where we conducted training for 5 days, this was due to strict Covid-19 protocols. We facilitated education around the UNSDGs on-field by engaging coaches through discussions and having vital conversation through different games.
During the 3 programs, we had a huge number of youth leaders attending the program, out of 128 coaches who attended that training, 90 of them were youth leaders, the high number of Youth leaders was steady in all the programs.
We also had an emerging Community Impact coach during the on-field training by the name Titus Musyoka, who is a community Coach at Green-Kenya, Titus has been committed to impacting many Children in Mukuru Slums since 2019 and he has been part of CAC training in Kenya since then. The emerging young leader was part of the implementing team in Nairobi and we believe he learned new skills that he will use to impact many young people not only in Nairobi but in different parts of the world.
We believe that our partners, through the youth leaders, learned that they would have to apply what they learned during the training because they hold the key to the future of teaching through play in there communities, they would have to stand in the gap to be counted as change agents through the power of play.
The on-field in Kenya impacted 4512 Children directly, out of these 2915 were boys and 1597 were girls 128 Community Coaches, that involved Physical education teachers.
Coaches Across Continents Launches Global Day of Play
Coaches Across Continents is excited to launch the first-ever Global Day of Play on the 27th of August 2021 – an annual celebration on the positive impact of play.
This year we want individuals, organisations and communities who believe in the importance of play to take the #PledgeToPlayEveryday HERE!
On the 27th of August we are asking communities and organisations to join us by holding an hour of safe, fun and inclusive play with people in your community. Please tag us @coachesacross on social media with the hashtag #PledgeToPlayEveryday.
Research has shown that young people are playing less and one of the main barriers to children and young people participating in play is a lack of time. Play is often seen as ‘silly’ and ‘non-educational’ but as Albert Einstein once said “Play is the highest form of research” and is vital in cognitive, emotional and physical development.
Organisations all over the world have already signed up and are excited to celebrate on the day. Organisations from 29 countries, out of CAC’s global network spanning 132 countries, have already taken the pledge. Groups participating range from an Australian Rules football team in Edinburgh, UK to Kusewara (which means PLAY in the Chichewa language) in Malawi.
One example is training4changeS in Stellenbosch, South Africa. International Director Daniel Thomae said “we believe Purposeful Play helps children grow as self-directed learners. For the upcoming Global Day of Play on 27th of August our futsal academy players will design and lead play sessions with their peers. We’re excited to see what these young leaders come up with.”
Jaspreet Kaur from YFC Rurka Kalan in Punjab, India tells us that “at YFC Rurka Kalan, we believe young people are the backbone of society and providing play based activities is crucial to their health and well-being. We are thrilled to be a part of the first Global Day of Play on August 27th and are celebrating with our whole community, including the schools, with lots of different activities and dancing!”
We are also delighted to have generous support from leaders in the sport for social change sector including the Aspen Institute, Beyond Sport, Laureus Sport for Good, Michael Johnson Young Leaders, REMS Brazil, Sportanddev, and streetfootballworld who will all be engaging their global networks.
Together we can work together to raise awareness of the importance of play and #PledgeToPlayEveryday
CAC Delivers Purposeful Play in Paris Refugee Centers during the Women’s World Cup
July 11, 2019. CAC’s Nora Dooley writes from Lyon, France where she watched USA vs. England in the World Cup semifinals after finishing On-Field trainings for CAC partners in Paris.
Six years of working with Coaches Across Continents and our incredible partners have given me the most unimaginable (at least to my adolescent brain!) education in empathy. From mid-May to mid-June I traveled from Brazil to México to Colombia to the USA to Tanzania and landed in France just in time for the most important football event in the world.
I list these travels not to boast my privilege nor shame my environmental footprint, but rather to share facts about the access that I have to the world because of the circumstances of my birth. Access granted to some people, denied to more people, and likely never even to be pursued by most people.
Then I think about the humans I shared space with in Paris for 8 days of Purposeful Play trainings with CAC partners who serve refugee and displaced communities across the city. Long-time partner, Fútbol Más France, and new partner, Kabubu, run different types of programs for refugees and migrants from dozens of countries including Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Congo, Romania, Angola, Eritrea, Senegal, Mali, Sudan, Tibet, Iraq, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria and others who are living in mostly short-term refugee centers in the south of the city. Fútbol Más runs weekly sports sessions for girls and boys of all ages as well as separate sessions for adult women and men. Their unique challenges include communication across language barriers, gender inequalities arriving from different cultures, and building an adaptable set of activities that can be used in different contexts and especially as participants come and go from the short-term establishments. CAC supports Fútbol Más and now Kabubu to integrate Purposeful Play methodology into their sessions to address these challenges and more intentionally educate and empower using play-based activities.
Through this work in Paris – and generally with CAC – I have shared and played with humans with stories I will never be able to fully understand, histories that bounced them across borders and oceans in search of safe, welcoming homes. I think about them as I bounce around this world searching for something else, while finding a humbling fulfillment in knowing that people from perhaps the most challenging, conflict-ridden circumstances find joy, safety and identity through CAC games.
Empowering Leaders Globally
March 22, 2019. CAC has helped to develop and empower 22,000+ community leaders over the past decade. Our investment in creating leaders goes far beyond our On-Field Purposeful Play: Creating Education Outside the Classroom trainings. Professional Development is a key component of our strategy, which is best highlighted through three of our year-round strategic resources: Global Networking, Community Impact Coach Initiative, and Global Leadership Courses. Engaging in our year-round strategic resources is necessary for to be accredited by CAC in Purposeful Play.
Global Networking: Recently we invited five local leaders from CAC’s network from Jordan, Lebanon, and India to join Chief Executive Brian Suskiewicz at the EMPOWER Conference in Doha, Qatar. They assisted in delivering two workshops and one On-Field coaching education in Purposeful Play to some of the 650 participants attending the conference from 50 countries. The focus of the conference was the role of youth as agents and catalysts for peace and dialogue for sustainable development. The full CAC team was Chief Exec Brian and SDL Educator Jamie Tomkinson, along with Benny Marcus (Parikrma Foundation, India), Tejas Ramakrishna (Sparky Football, India), Jaspreet Kaur (YFC Rurka Kalan, India), Rose Abou Elias (Arcenciel, Lebanon), and Wala’a Abu Shihab (Reclaim Childhood, Jordan). The team was recognized for their efforts on stage by the EMPOWER Conference at the conclusion of the event. CAC continues to look for professional development opportunities, like this conference, to benefit the most promising leaders in our network.
Global Leadership Courses: CAC currently is an implementing partner with the MJYL Program that just accepted it’s fourth class of leaders. CAC is instrumental in assisting Michael Johnson in selecting promising young leaders from around the world and developing them over the course of the year both at Michael’s high performance training center in Dallas as well as throughout the year through CAC’s 28 year-round strategic resources as they implement their own legacy projects to impact their communities. In fact, one former MJYL, Jamie Tomkinson, recently joined the CAC senior staff full-time based on his growth and development over the past several years. CAC is exploring being able to provide other similar initiatives to give even more opportunities like this one to promising leaders on a continental and global scale.
Community Impact Coach Initiative: Our CIC Initiative is the most widely known strategic resource that CAC offers to promising leaders each year. We provide opportunities for coaches in 25+ countries to join and travel with the CAC staff each year as we deliver Purposeful Play On-Field Education in other communities. This provides for intense professional development and learning, cultural exchange between individuals and communities, and giving our host communities multiple voices and perspectives to implementing Purposeful Play. For many CICs, this is the first time they have flown on an airplane, traveled internationally, or even seen parts of their own countries.
Investment: CAC already invests a great deal in leaders to implement Purposeful Play and impact communities and countries around the world. With a strong corporate or foundation partner – our efforts could be magnified immensely. And for just a small individual donation, you can empower a young leader globally which will benefit the hundreds and thousands of children they work with directly and through their community organization. #WhatsYourLegacy?
Beginning in Bangladesh
December 10, 2018. Dhaka, Bangladesh. This past week we implemented programming through our partnership with the Asian Football Confederation. We are in Dhaka, the capital of the 8thmost populous country in the world. In addition to the AFC, we are also working with the Bangladesh Football Federation and the Jaago Foundation (UNSDG17: Partnerships for the Goals). Our work will benefit thousands of underprivileged children throughout Bangladesh by empowering Jaago volunteers to use CAC’s Education Outside the Classroom methodology and curriculum.
We believe, football (sports) is the one of the most powerful tools to bring a positive impact for any nation. This is something, which represents youth, energy & friendship all together. – Jaago Foundation
With a strong background in classroom education and extracurricular activities for disadvantaged children, the Jaago Foundation is a natural partner. 42 volunteers came to Dhaka from across the country, and we implemented a curriculum that will address UNSDG #3: Good Health and Well-Being and UNSDG #4: Quality Education; while also implementing a strong program to address Safeguarding Children in Sport. This is especially relevant, especially after our global work last month for Universal Children’s Day.
“I am a passionate traveler, I often go to rural areas in Bangladesh to teach tribal children. They don’t speak Bengali but through football I connect. Now, I can teach them health and lifestyle through CAC games as football is a global language.” – Rafat (Kazi): Jaago, Dhaka.
Stay tuned next week as our AFC/BFF partnership will bring us into the world’s largest refugee camp, Cox’s Bazar, home of over 900,000 refugees including half a million children under the age of 17.
#BeAChampionForChildren: Universal Children’s Day
We at Coaches Across Continents applaud all our partners who joined with us, and with UNICEF, to champion the rights of children on the recent Universal Children’s Day (November 20th).
Initially Coaches Across Continents invited partners to begin creating a Child Protection Policy unique to their community. Over 100 partner groups responded.
Together we raised global awareness of the need to safeguard children in 105+ countries on 6 continents.
Partners were asked to identify the form of child abuse they most wanted to change within their community. Physical, emotional, sexual and verbal abuse were identified and next steps considered.
Key issues emerged. These recognised that abuse is often a taken for granted cultural habit, as well as being an abuse of power. Respect for young people was thought to be crucial, while bullying should be avoided.
Partners who had created a Child Protection Policy asked CAC for curriculum games and online education. CAC distributed a curriculum packet of five games which addressed the four different forms of child abuse, as well as showing how to prevent child abuse in the future.
Stories flooded in showing the many CAC games that had been played around the world on Universal Children’s Day.
Additionally CAC invited partners to download and use UNICEF’s International Safeguards for Children in Sport, where CAC was a pioneering member.
Together we all lived up to the hashtag #BeAChampionForChildren, knowing that by protecting children we were advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
#WhatsYourLegacy?
