Success Can Mean Trying Something Different
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B for BOLD
“Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.” —Winston Churchill
Amina knocked on the Director’s door with resolution, heard him call out and stepped into the room. She blinked in the sudden change from the sunlight corridor, and made a sudden gasp when she noticed that the room there were other people in the room. She recognized the local Chief and District Officer amongst them. The Project Director, Mr. Rishi, smiled at her, and turned to the guests at the table. “As you know, I make it a point to invite one stakeholder to our Board meetings to give us a chance to get some feedback on how well our organization is performing. This time, I have invited Amina, who is captain to one of our football teams”.
All eyes turned to Amina, and her hands shook as she pulled out a folded sheet of paper from her back pocket. She realized that she had to step up and be counted. She had to take a stand. It was going to be tough, especially if no one believed her. She cleared her throat, “I want to tell you a true story, about neglect and abuse of our football team. “ What she talked about was heart rending, and when it was over, there was shocked silence in the room.
She took a stand
Then Mr. Rishi turned to Douglas, the Head Coach, “Would you like to explain why you ignored when the girls reported all this to you two years ago?”
A visibly shaken Douglas, said “I was convinced that it was all a lie, a way to get attention.”
“I agree, growled Chief Omumbo. “These girls need to appreciate what is being done for them. All they do is gossip, trying to change the system!” The room fell silent for a moment, then the Mr. Rishi turned a questioning gesture to the Development Officer, Rukwaro, who spoke up, “I agree that the girls are expecting more attention, with the increase in funding”
“What would you like us to change, Amina?” interrupted the District Officer gruffly. Amina hesitated. “We want to choose our own coaches, and set our own rules”.
“I couldn’t agree more. It’s time we all trusted and supported the girls. We would like to apologize for what you had to go through. As Chairman of the Board, I would like to apologize for what happened.”
Amina smiled for the first time that day, and turned to the Mr. Rishi, who winked at her and said, “Thank you, Amina, you have helped us make an important decision today!”
This story explains a lot about how much we face a sport and development leaders. Every day, there are acts of courage, but also lack of it.
Searching through the story, you will come across many people who are bold:
Amina took a great chance, faced her fears, and spoke up for her team.
Mr. Rishi showed courage by giving her a chance to talk, He is genuine and authentic.
The District Officer was strong enough to apologize and promise to trust and support the team in making changes.
Do you display these acts of boldness:
- delivering a report
- volunteering as a mentor or youth group leader
- stepping away from unhealthy friendships
- resisting the temptation to lie
- allowing others to be right
- admitting mistakes
- apologizing
- keeping your word
On the other hand, you come across what does not represent boldness:
Douglas was defensive and unwilling to take responsibility.
Chief Omumbo is suspicious, and unwilling to change
Rukwaro probably knows what has been happening but does not want to rock the boat.
Ask yourself if at any time you have been involved in the following:
- allowing others to make your decisions
- being a bully or a passive bystander
- gossiping and lying
- running away from a mistake
- placing too much reliance on the rules
- remaining silent in the face of injustice and rationalizing lack of action
- choosing sides after seeing which way the wind is blowing
- breaking promises
Do you ever allow others to expose the weaknesses in your organization?
Are you ready to go the extra mile, to protect those you represent? Just remember, to be a leader you must be bold.
If you wish to learn more about becoming a stronger leader, or exchange views, please write a comment below
Tennis & WASH Improves Health & Schooling
Kibera, Africa’s largest and poorest slum, is characterized by drug & alcohol abuse, violence & crime. Poverty is acute, where 66% of girls regularly trade sex for food & glue sniffing is common practice. A study by Oxfam deduced that 37% of children in Kibera were excluded from the education system, only 30% of the remaining children received free formal primary school education & the remaining 70% only had access to a limited education at community centers. A lack of clean water & poor sanitation & hygiene practices lead to dysentery & diarrhea, particularly from pit latrine usage, which are poorly maintained & the ratio of people to latrine is high at 500:1. 73% of preventable illnesses in the Kibera slums are caused by poor hygiene practice. People without access to improved sanitation are 1.6 times more likely to experience diarrhoea. Our baseline studies (2016) on 672 children aged between 4 and 12 years old, showed that 48.4% kids attend school irregularly due to illness, resulting from unclean water, poor sanitation & hygiene.
Our goal at non-profit Sadili Oval Sports Academy (www.sadili.com) and partner International Inspiration is to use Tennis to promote WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) activities amongst 2100 children aged 4 – 12 years in Kibera, to improve health, school attendance & performance, within three years (April 2016 to March 2019).
Each child is provided with 1-3 hours per week of tennis coaching where life skills are embedded into sessions such as: confidence building, communication, health & relationships. Primary children are invited to receive further training in leadership, where they can assume additional responsibilities such as caring for & mentoring other children, serving as positive role models for the children to emulate & assisting with the delivery of tennis coaching sessions. Children will also attend homework clubs (minimum of one hour per week) so they have a dedicated environment to receive support from their peers & community leaders. Sadili mentors embed life skills across the sessions where each week we focus on a particular theme, including: how to wash hands, use of the toilet, bathing, brushing teeth and hair, preparing for school, unsafe habits, and survival skills. We run each week, a girl-cantered tennis and empowerment session, in coordination with our Girl Power Clubs program, in order to teach girls sexual and reproductive health and survival tools, encourage them to openly discuss and come up with solutions for problems that they face in their community. We ensure that we can provide a nourishing snack to all to improve participation and engagement of children.
Target Beneficiaries:
The following from Kibera in Nairobi, Africa’s largest slum: Direct beneficiaries within a 3 year period (April 2016 – March 2019) are 2100 children (3-12 years old), 30 nursery and primary school teachers. Our first year, April 2016 – March 2017, we reached 672 children (181 nursery and 491 primary) in 16 schools.
Indirect beneficiaries: 2100 Parents (at least 1 per family), 38 Schools , 3400 other primary children (for every direct beneficiary, 2 children will indirectly benefit). 6 Youth coaches, 2 Mentoring trainers, 1 Project Coordinator, 1 Monitoring and evaluation officer, 30 Teachers
Impact In The First Year (April 2016 – March 2017)
When comparing baseline results and end line results between April 2016 and March 2017 amongst 672 children (181 nursery and 491 primary):
· 48.2% (176) of out-of-school children returned to nursery school.
· 48.8% (480) of out-of-school children returned to primary school.
· 50.41% (91) more nursery children (52 boys and 39 girls) showed improvement in test scores in Maths and English
· 50.03% (246) more primary children (136 boys and 110 girls) improved in test scores in Maths and English
· 62.5% (418) children progressed to the next class in primary school.
· Majority of parents and teachers openly admitted that the children were more alert in class. They also reported improved ability to listen and follow instructions.
· 71.1% (478) more children use sanitary facilities where there is a no-cost provision, with 63.3% (426) more children knowing how to correctly wash their hands.
· Parents and teachers confirmed that they observed that their children had improved their understanding from the practical behaviour and actions in hand washing and use of toilets.
· More parents showed support by paying of school fees, buying of uniform, books and other scholastic materials.
· More parents sit down with children to help in schoolwork.
For video on the project, please go to: http://www.sadili.com/assets/ocv.mp4
Acknowledgements: Project Partner: International Inspiration. Funding Partner: Comic Relief.
eodera
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eodera
Thank you! I will be posting more regularly and hope to add value for you.
Danette Lazare Janie
A good blog! I will bookmark a few of these.. Danette Lazare Janie