Experiencing Self-Directed Learning
November 14th 2016. CAC Global Citizen Dylan Pritchard wrote about his first experience with CAC and Self-Directed Learning in Punjab, India during our partnership with YFC Rurka Kalan.
This was my first week being a Global Citizen with CAC and it could not have gone better. This week we were in Rurka Kalan, Punjab, India working with the Youth Football Club (YFC). During my preparation for the first week I had no idea what to expect but with YFC in their third year of the Hat-Trick Initiative, it gave me a perfect introduction to what CAC is all about.
At about 1 a.m. Sunday morning, amidst all the smoke and pollution, we pulled up to the YFC facility. The building was equipped with a classroom, a dinning hall, offices, and some rooming for guests. I came to find out later that they also provide room and board for twenty-four football players to play for the YFC competitive teams. We were served breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and I got a taste for the culture because the food was traditional Punjab food, which is not as spicy as I thought it would be. The rooms we stayed in were great and we had nothing to complain about. Then the next day we walked out to an awesome grass pitch with big concrete stands, goals, and all the other equipment we needed. Now it was time to coach.
I’ve done some coaching before but I’ve never done it for social impact or to incorporate Self-Directed Learning. To sit back and watch Markus and Mark my first week was a great experience because I got a feel for what the coaching style was. I grew up believing sports are like life so it was awesome to see Markus and Mark introduce a game and then relate it to the social issues specific to their community and culture. The topics that were discussed this week were gender equity, conflict prevention, drugs and alcohol, and having your own voice paired with communication. They would not just introduce a game and then say this game is for this social issue but they would ask the participants what they think this game is for and walk through it step-by-step on how they think this correlates with a certain social issue. By doing this they were able to introduce the questioning of social and cultural issues through Self-Directed Learning.
The coolest experience this week was on Thursday when we went to visit schools and after school programs to see the coaches that Markus and Mark coached and see how they did with their players. It was great to see that all the coaches did a good job but it was even better to see them have room for improvement, which is very promising. That was not the coolest part though. The most satisfying part was after each visit; every single kid and player would come and shake our hands with a huge smile on their faces. It showed the respect that the coaches had for the CAC curriculum to have their kids come and shake our hands but it also showed the fun the kids were having while participating in the curriculum. It was awesome to see in the first week the effect that CAC has on a community and see coaching for a social impact accompanied with Self-Directed Learning is working.
Lessons and Hopes for Women and Sport
November 4th 2016. ASK for Choice Strategist Nora Dooley presented our female empowerment program at the IWG Africa Women and Sport Conference.
Why did a white woman from the US go to the Africa Women and Sport Conference in Gaborone, Botswana?
Because our ASK for Choice program is much, much more than any one human being.
But I will not pretend representing something so massive and impactful – and potentially/hopefully revolutionary for the education of girls (and boys in the context of equality) – was easy.
ASK for Choice does not fit into any one box. I would even venture to say that it takes a different shape for every individual who engages with the ASK for Choice curriculum and methodology. But these wonderful, self-directed circumstances of our gender equity program make it quite challenging to present in a 10-minute space for a group of people that have hardly (if ever) come into contact with development through sport (rather than the more widely understood strands of S4D: ‘sport plus’ or ‘plus sport’).
So how do we tell the story of ASK for Choice? And how do we tell it in a way that will somehow allow the magic of it to reach the people who might benefit from engaging with ideas in the spaces that ASK for Choice creates?
I don’t know. But in Gaborone I took a shot. And I met and learned with incredible women (and some men sprinkled in) about their thoughts on the current reality for women in sport in Africa.
In two years the international community will have its turn in Gaborone. And here are my hopes:
– That those present are ready with ideas on the “how” while still engaging with the ever-important “what” and “why”.
– That we don’t forget that less than 1% of all people who play sport are professionals and focus our collective brainpower on the 99%-plus
– That we continue to challenge all sectors to join the conversation and take collaborative measures to move society towards equality
– That the women of ASK for Choice get an opportunity to contribute and share their triumphs
Help Celebrate An Unsung CAC Hero
October 31st 2016. If a picture is worth a thousand words then how many words is a video worth? For CAC the value of a video is immeasurable. It is a universal problem for non-profit organizations all over the world- how do you tell the story of your work simply. Without question the best way, without actually taking people directly to our programs, is through video. That is why the importance of CAC resident videographer Kevin O’Donovan can’t be underestimated. Kevin (or OD as he is commonly referred) brings CAC to life through his inspirational vision and ability. Every year OD leaves his regular life for 2 weeks and traipses to whichever far-flung location CAC request his presence. In the past this has meant charter planes in Kenya, 10 hour bus journeys to rural Uganda, bumpy roads in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and filming in some of the most disadvantaged areas of India and Cambodia. The destination of the CAC films in 2016 has still to be revealed…
Now we are delighted to say that OD has been recognized for his incredible work by the Charity Film Awards who have nominated his film about our ASK for Choice initiative. BUT, we need your help to ensure he is rewarded further! We NEED you to go online and vote for this film to win the award! Click here to vote. With your help we can fully celebrate an unsung hero of CAC’s success.
Watch the nominated video below. For more of OD’s work please go to our videos page.
Diversity Enhances Growth
September 30th 2016. CAC recently ran a short program in Durban, South Africa with two local organizations.
South Africa is a diverse country, starting from the landscape and its vegetation to the people and their different cultures and languages up to the various social issues that people face in their respective living environment. Since I have lived and volunteered in Durban between 2012 and 2014 I have been coming back to stay in touch with people that I have met during that time. After working with CAC for 2.5 years I was very lucky to get linked up recently with two organizations called iThemba Lethu (which is isiZulu and means “I have a destiny”) and The Domino Foundation who were excited to run a short 2-day program with us.
Whenever I run a CAC program I am always amazed by the diversity of the group. Each group contains different characters: you have the funny person that is joking and making silly comments, other participants are listening carefully and engaging in discussions, others engage with the games, but rather keep quiet during the discussion and others don’t say much, but I can see in their face that they are taking in everything that is going on and that has been said. These are just a few examples of the many different characters that make up these wonderful groups that I am privileged to work with. We all learn differently and therefore it is so important to allow everyone to engage with the content in its own way. I love diversity and so I was very happy to welcome 16 individuals who were eager to learn about Sport for Social Impact. And they confirmed my past experience by engaging with the content of the program in their own individual way. They were very experienced facilitators who already work with children and youth to educate them on Life Skills, HIV/AIDS prevention, nutrition, entrepreneurship and much more.
During the 2‑day program we explored many different topics that can be addressed through sport: Skills for Life, Health & Wellness, HIV/AIDS Prevention, Female Empowerment and more. The game that was most popular was “95% Football”; a game that created a lot of conflict which then led to discussions and negotiations amongst the participants. The rules of the game are pretty simple. The player with his/her hand on the head possesses the ball. The opposing team can gain the ball by tagging the person that has the ball. A team scores when a player runs with his/her hand on the head into the goal. Each team needs to come up with a strategy on how they want to pass the ball to each other. The group loved this game. As we played the game we faced different challenges: Sometimes the teams were confused, because nobody knew where the ball was or there were multiple balls in the game; another time somebody cheated which caused protest from the opposing team; then somebody didn’t pay attention when he/she was called by a teammate to receive the ball; sometimes players lost the ball, because they didn’t pass quickly enough which then tested the loyalty of their teammates. Despite these challenges and conflicts everybody was smiling while playing and everybody was excited when he/she had the ball running forward trying to score.
When the participants came back on the 2nd day they asked if we can play the same game again, but because I love diversity I decided to show them more games from our curriculum instead of repeating a game from the first day. The introduction into Sport for Social Impact was successful and CAC looks forward to developing a long-term partnership with iThemba Lethu and The Domino Foundation.
Shoutout!!!
September 27th 2016. CAC volunteer Alicia Calcagni gives a shoutout to the coaches of Sorong, Indonesia and our partnership with Uni Papua.
My shoutout this week goes to all of the coaches I have worked with in Indonesia. My partner, Mark Gabriel, started ending our sessions with a “shout out.” Which includes all of us standing in a circle while he screams, “I have a shout out,” and us yelling back, “shout out!” Then, he recognizes the exemplar leader of that day. After that, we huddle around him or her and do a cheer. This ritual isn’t designed to single one person out as the best, but to appreciate someone for being a good person. I have noticed it also drives the other participants to improve. For example, at our first session in Sorong we gave a shoutout to a coach named Aroses. We chose him because he came prepared with a notebook and wrote down every game played and the social impact of it. He also had an answer for every question, while encouraging others to speak up as well. Following his lead, two aspiring coaches came ready to play with a notebook in hand the next day. No matter the age, shining someone in a positive light (even for the little things) boosts their confidence and pride. Which has the ability to boost the confidence and pride of the whole group. Creating this ritual developed a personal connection with the coaches, making our differences fade away. Mark also started ending every session with a handshake. The coaches ticket to leave was giving us a high five and a fist bump. It is difficult going into a community as an outsider and talking about specific social issues, especially since we only have a limited number of days. However, these little acknowledgements builds trust and comradery. Thank you Uni Papua for embracing CAC’s work and making a difference.
Kindness
