How a sports NGO can empower the marginalized

SPORTS makes the world go around. Just like music or art, sports is a unifying force that enables people from different countries and cultures to speak the same language. In each major global sporting event, we can see this with passionate fans supporting one another, cheering one another on or enjoying being a spectator of the sport. Sport can also be a powerful force for good. It can help build bridges between communities, mend broken relationships between nations and even uplift the marginalized and give them opportunities to shine.

 

In India and across the world, sport is used to empower people from underprivileged communities and build their lives in a manner that helps them improve in other areas of their lives. For example, children from remote and tribal communities who lack access to a school education and decent jobs can have their lives turned around through sports. In building a child’s life through sport, a child can learn valuable life lessons that help them have better futures through education and employment that is facilitated through sport. 

 

International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is dedicated to exactly this. Each April 6th, International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is celebrated and observed by individuals and organizations around the world as a force that is constantly “fostering positive change, bridging barriers and transcending boundaries.” NGOs across India have recognized and witnessed the positive impact of sport upon disadvantaged communities and are using innovative methods to improve the lives of children and young people through sport. 

 

Here are 5 campaigns by NGOs to improve lives through sports:

 

Simply Sport Foundation

Tribal children suffer from problems such as hunger, anemia, malnutrition, stunted growth and the bleak future this leads to. Simply Sport Foundation is a sports NGO that works in remote and tribal areas of Madhya Pradesh and trains children in football. But before training, the sports NGO ensures that the children are fed regular and nutritious meals, educated in their residential school, trained in football and given opportunities to achieve their goals through sports. For Simply Sport Foundation, it is considered a great success that one of the children the NGO trained is now the captain of the Under-17 team of Mohun Bagan which is one of India’s oldest and most famous football clubs. This child is just one of many children whose lives are being transformed through sport. To support Simply Sport Foundation: 

 

Donate to Simply Sport Foundation

 

Monkey Sports

In homes, domestic violence is one of the most dangerous crimes to exist because it shapes the minds and behaviors of not just the perpetrator and the victim but also all those who witness the violence – including the children in the home. It creates and perpetuates harmful gender stereotypes that impact entire communities and societies for the worse. But a sports NGO named Monkey Sports has an ingenious way to break the cycle of gender based violence – through sport. Monkey Sports is training 150 children in Chhattisgarh in Kho Kho and in training both girls and boys, the sports NGO is instilling in them the values of gender equality, team work, trust between genders and the positive power of happiness and laughter which comes out through sport. To support Monkey Sports: 

 

Donate to Monkey Sports

 

Pro Sport Development Trust

In slum communities in Odisha, there is such a severe lack of access to education and employment opportunities that generations of people live in poverty without the chance to improve their lives and futures. Pro Sport Development Trust is a sports NGO that understands that to end generational poverty, opportunities must be provided and the organization is accomplishing this through sport. The sports NGO is running a community sports program for 150 children in Bhubaneshwar to develop their communication skills, build confidence, defeat gender stereotypes and end the stigma against menstruation and other issues. In developing these skills, children are better able to interact and integrate into mainstream society and access education and jobs. To support Pro Sport Development Trust: 

 

Donate to Pro Sport Development

 

Khel Khel Mein Foundation

In schools across India, the lack of sporting facilities in low-income schools prevents children from having a comprehensive educational experience and from being as physically fit as possible during their growing years. To boost student participation in schools, sport is a powerful tool to encourage and energize children. Khel Khel Mein Foundation is a sports NGO in Delhi that introduces children to sports through a school program that incorporates sports into schools and gives students sports training for one hour a week. The sports NGO also runs a community program that builds specific sports skills for four hours a week. The organization has reached thousands of children and promotes gender equality, fitness, nutrition and community engagement. To support Khel Khel Mein Foundation:

 

Donate to Khel Khel Mein Foundation

 

Bridges of Sports Foundation

Here’s an example of how sports can connect cultures and races. In areas of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat, there is a tribal community called the Siddhi community who are of Indo-African heritage. Facing xenophobia, the Siddhi community has largely been pushed into pockets in forest areas where it is difficult for them to integrate into mainstream society. Bridges of Sports Foundation is a sports NGO that has reached out to members of the Siddhi tribe and is training them in sports and athletics. In addition to coaching, the sports NGO provides nutrition, coaching and education. The sports NGO has empowered athletes that have participated in competitions and is aspiring to train athletes for the Olympics. To support Bridges of Sports Foundation: 

 

Donate to Bridges of Sports

 

Support a sports NGO 

Sport is a powerful force for good. When sports is utilized to do more than entertain, we can see the transformation of individuals and entire nations through the doors it opens to education, employment, crucial skills and the manner in which our minds regard others and the world around us. This International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, support a sports NGO that is working at the grassroots level to reach the most underprivileged citizens and build their sporting skills to help them achieve their dreams and improve their lives.

 

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