Mbale is a town with 15,000 children under the age of 16 who have no organised sports programmes outside of school. Mbales sports facilites are either in very poor condition or constantly used by adults. Our Tag programmes have been working in the local primary schools for 4 years and we are re-building the Rugby Club after 40 years of neglect. The new building and grounds will cater primarily for children, womens teams and be made available to the many hundreds of NGO projects in the region.
In Uganda 49% of the population is under the age of 16. Primary schools are packed with children (thanks to Universal Primary Education), but secondary education is beyond the means of many families. With teenage boys and girls having so much time on their hands they are extremely vunerable to bad influences and have predominantely negative role models. With no out of school activities and no postive role models this cycle would only be perpetuated for future generations.
By creating a "hub" for the Tag Rugby activities that have been working in the town for 4 years, young boys and girls will be able to participate in a fun, challenging and enjoyable sporting activity. Older children will be given the opportunity to take part in Young Leadership programmes and pass on their skills to younger primary school students. Importantly, positive influences and role models from within the Rugby club will be able to guide the behaviour and activities of the children.
There are two key long-term impacts on Mbale Town of the Clubhouse and Community Centre. 1. As the Rugby Club strengthens, mens, womens and childrens (mixed) teams will be able to participate regularly at the facility without having to stop when other "big boys" turn up. The teams will host and travel to neighbouring towns to compete, providing a great opprotunity to broaden their horizons. 2. The Community Centre will be made available for non-rugby NGO developmental activities
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
