Playgrounds & Vocational Project for Jamestown.

Our sport complex project is now officially in the work. Although still in it’s planning stage, ABaCoDe has some good news for its impacted communities, partners, and donors; a suitable location was found for our sport & development centre within Jamestown, the most deprived community of Accra.

A study conducted by our staff assisted by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) identified Jamestown, a community in which ABaCoDe is already actively involved, as an ideal venue to welcome our sport & development centre.

In partnership with GAMADA (Ga Mashie Development Agency), ABaCoDe would implement its sport complex within an already existing community centre. ABaCoDe would retain all rights, licenses, and freedom to implement its daily activities.

Consequently, we would be obliged to limit the centre to one court, one classroom, one storage room, and one office.

A smaller center implies a significant cut on projected expenses as well a shorter time frame in regards to implementation. This would generate a much greater impact in the community than initially projected.

The following report presents our adjusted plan in regards to the implementation of the complex in Jamestown. Our junior engineer, Jonathan Boulet, has modified his technical plans to fit the requirements of the smaller center.

Enjoy reading our Jamestown | "Education Through Sports" | Centre proposal.

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| EST. TOTAL POPULATION 80,000 | AV. MONTHLY INCOME OF $ 78.83 | AV. OF 26 PEOPLE/HOUSE | 16.6 % OF POPULATION SLEEPING IN STREETS | SEX RATIO M:F, 1:1.12 | 55.74% OF POPULATION UNDER 24 YRS | 30,000 CHILDREN BETWEEN 5-­19 | 13 KINDERGARDENS, 13 PRIMARY SCHOOLS, 8 JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS | NO SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL | VERY FEW ORGANIZED ACTIVITIES |

SUMMARY

ABaCoDe is planning the construction of a sport and development centre in Jamestown, an Accra community struck by unemployment, violence and illiteracy. This center would support sporting facilities and classrooms. ABaCoDe is dedicated to providing safe and healthy environments for youth in order for them to learn and grow as a community. We see sport as a way to enhance social interaction between youth from different backgrounds. It is also plays an important part of encouraging youth from underprivileged areas to excel in school due to its motivational aspect.

OUR CHALLENGE

All of the communities in which ABaCoDe is involved in are identified as deprived and marginalized areas where children lack supervision and opportunities. Jamestown is characterized by violence, unemployment and illiteracy. Moreover, girls are also secluded and do not enjoy the same rights as the boys do. ABaCoDe, by the means of all its activities, is promoting gender equality and encourages girls to join our program. Also, providing them with a safe environment to come together, keeps them away from bad influences and dangerous activities. The current operating ground lacks security and have to be shared with others from the community, hence making it subject to trespassing, theft, vandalism and limits the practice time.

OUR SOLUTION

The center will be a secure environment where children have the priority and can exercise their right to play, without interference or disruption. The court would significantly increase the number of training sessions that ABaCoDe could offer. Therefore, allowing more children to benefit from our activities. Moreover, the after-school learning classes would contribute to the improvement of the children’s behaviour and performance in their respective classrooms. Most children do not benefit from their parents help to study, given the fact that most parents are illiterate. Therefore ABaCoDe is bridging the gap in more ways than one.

OUR LONG-TERM IMPACT

With this project, ABaCoDe helps contribute to Ghana's social and economic development on a long-term basis. The centre not only provides a safe environment for children, it also provides the opportunity for children to play sports, helping ABaCoDe pursuing its mission. The centre would offer job opportunities to locals who would provide maintenance and would manage the property. It inspires children to take part in basketball practices, enables the possibility for more activities and helps contribute to the development and education of the Ghanaian youth.

• Plans (PDF)
  

ABaCoDe's Sports & Development Complex is one of the biggest projects that our organization has elaborated so far. This has the potential of reaching out to the entire country of Ghana and positively impacting countless communities. 

One of the project’s objectives is to create playgrounds where children and youth feel physically and emotionally secure. This has always been one of the main priorities honoured by ABaCoDe upon elaboration of ideas. As such, the organization feels that these playgrounds will create new places where children have the opportunity to make friends, learn, interact, and express themselves freely.

This being said, Ghana is faced with a growing problem. An increasing number of pieces of land owned by the community are being sold to private businesses, therefore leaving less areas for children and youth to come together, learn, have fun and grow as a community.

The construction of the Complex would be a milestone for ABaCoDe and for the sport in Ghana, as it would be the first premises of its kind and fully owned by ABaCoDe.

This project was the made possible through constant day-to-day planning since September of this year. It was only after being granted a permanent spot on the Global Giving platform, that the staff members joined forces with experts to plan the upcoming steps of the project.

Due to the nature of the project, the expertise of an engineer and many other professionals is required. A junior engineer by the name of Jonathan Boulet, member of Ingénieurs Sans Frontières Québec, accepted to join the ABaCoDe team in order to elaborate the technical plans and assist in the budgeting/planning process. Furthermore, we are constantly approaching new partners and elaborating creative funding strategies to ensure the completion of the project.

The Ghanaian government has endorses and approved the paperwork to implement this project amongst their communities. This creates an opportunity for ABaCoDe to concentrate on its technical aspects of the infrastructure and logistics without the burden of politics. As of November, a newly elected youth committee will be helping out the organization. Their first order of business, making the Complex a better place for the community to interact, a place where every young individual will develop and grow to their full potential.

In conclusion, we would like to personally thank every participant, donor and supporter that has been part of this project so far. Whether be in time, expertise or through donations, please know that each and every one of your contributions makes you a valuable "partner" to ABaCoDe, and will result in a positive change throughout deprived communities of Ghana.

Should you have any ideas or comments to make this project even better, please feel free to let us know. We appreciate your feedback and feed off of it.

Write us at info@abacode.org

Thank you for promoting "Education through Sports".

Links:

• Our Website
• Our Facebook Page
• Our Player of the Month

• Engineering technical plans to date (PDF)