It's 2:00pm on Sunday and coaches and players start to arrive at GPS field, well before scheduled kick off time of 3:30pm. This is an amazing achievement in itself. If you are familiar with the concept of "African time", you know what we mean. The CFDP management team has been on site since early in the morning, arranging the canopy (tent), high table and chairs for distinguished guests, marking the field and hanging nets in the goals, and situating the PA system and cranking the speakers so that the neighbors will know a great event is happening at the field today.
Soon, members of the surrounding community begin to arrive. Supporters of the two clubs playing in the opening match of Kumba's first U-14 league season. Then other community leaders, coaches, supporters and affiliates of CFDP. Finally, Chairman of the Kumba Board of Commissioners, Divisional Delegate of Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, with his entourage. Everything is set for the Opening Ceremony of the first-ever full season of the CFDP Community League and after a few welcome words from the Director of Operations, Diony Collins, pre-match activities begin.
CFDP football (soccer) matches are different. We transform the playing grounds into a place of learning - for both players and spectators. Before kick off, players will run warm-up drills/games based on educational football drills they learned from Coaches Across Continents training last June. The referee will "quiz" players on each team about what they have learned from their coach in training sessions leading up to the match. Players will read motivational statements to the crowd, reinfocring their role as young athletes in the community to be role models, create awareness and promote social change Finally, shaking hands between teams and promoting fairplay throughout the game concretizes the values of CFDP: this game is about more than winning.
The theme for this first season is GENDER EQUITY. Every match will highlight a different component of this crucial social issue, and Sunday's opening game was no different. The league will run from February through May, thanks to the generous support of donors like you and FIFA Football for Hope.
As for the outcome of the opening game between Kumba Lakers FC and St. Peters FC, it was a draw 1-1. But one team will go ahead in the table because of their adherence to CFDP values and our new points system.
None of this is possible without your support. We want to first THANK YOU IMMENSELY for supporting our activities in Cameroon and second invite you to follow along on our blog, social media, and website. Stay connected and see what kind of IMPACT YOU CAN CREATE.
Our Youth Enrichment Football League was launched in Kumba in the summer of 2013. We started with a few reluctant coaches and wanted to see how we could incorporate our life skills and health education into competitive soccer. After a few successful attempts and a few failures, too, we found the perfect combination with a balance of learning and play. This gave us the confidence to move ahead with our regional youth league.
In October, we launched our Coaches' Clinics aimed at bringing together amateur coaches and referees, and anyone else who loves soccer, to share with them our new approach to the game. As training workshops continued, more coaches began to see the vision: a holistic approach to youth player development, where there is as great focus on performance on the pitch as their is in the classroom and at home. By the end of the month, we began to see a shift in attitudes of coaches in the three communities where we have planted our roots: Kumba, Mamfe and Ndu. With this new approach, we are creating Community Impact Coaches!
The feedback we got from one of our coaches, Harrison Tetu of Wumjeck F.C. sums it up best:
"The kids are really enjoying the new model. They are seeing improvements in their behaviour and are having the most fun when they are playing the game. They shake hands to show respect to their peers and do not fight with other teams like they used to. We are teaching them so many things through football that they can never learn anywhere else."
As the saying goes in Cameroon, "Long Live the Republic of Cameroon. Long Live CFDP. "
Stay tuned for more exciting updates as we roll out the league in new communities in the Southwest and Northwest Regions.
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Summer is half-way over for us – the holidays are in full swing and we are right in the middle of training Peer Leaders, a new initiative of our Peace Corps Volunteer, Adrian, to promote a more sustainable and engaging approach to youth development. Thanks to your support, we have been able to focus much on improving our after school programs over the last year. And it’s working… More and more school teachers and administrators (and of course, students) want our programs to come to their school!
But we are happy to share with you more about another exciting moment at CFDP… a shift in our social and health education initiative is happening. We are preparing to make some bold moves in the months ahead. And we need your help.
From July 29th until August 18th, I will travel around the Southwest and Northwest Regions of Cameroon, working with our staff and partners to revolutionize our approach to community development. We have improved our Youth Enrichment Football League based on lessons learned from the one-year pilot project we ran in Kumba this past year. We’ve found a unique way to take our educational discussions – typical of our after school programs – and infuse them into soccer practices and games with certified Coaches who double as mentors. Of course, as you know with CFDP, girls play too.
In August, we will launch our new youth league model in two communities, Mamfe and Ndu, and lay the groundwork for a regional network to build social infrastructure with youth soccer. It won’t be easy; but our team is ready. The time is now.
Please check out our new project on GlobalGiving. I know that you believe in our mission to leverage the beautiful game as a sustainable platform for community development. If you are inspired and able to give, please don’t hesitate. The time is now. Check out my itinerary for the trip and select a specific activity that you want to fund and let me know what it is. I will be sure to report back to you upon my return. No amount is too small; every little bit helps.
Thanks for your consideration.
Kind Regards,
Justin
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A total of 100 students from our partner schools came together to participate in our annual end-of-year Games Day. Ten student representatives - the best in each of the CFDP clubs - were selected to represent their schools. While a few schools were unable to participate due to exam schedules, those students who were in attendance will carry forth the great vibes from the day. As usual, our team of dedicated staff and volunteers in Kumba created a most memorable experience for the youth.
The morning activities featured five competitive soccer games, including challenging ones like chipping the ball into the oil drum and a juggling competition, where some youths acutally 'tapped' the soccer ball over 200 times! The afternoon activities were the most interesting part of the day! In the classroom, student groups faced off in a quiz to test their knoelwedge of the educational topics we discussed over the past year. All of the CFDP clubs competing scored greater than 70% on the team quiz and the top two teams received over 90% scores. This is really encouraging because it demonstrates that students are learning from our programs. The schools that performed the best are those where the CFDP programs have been running the longest: GSS Nkamlikum (Champions, First Partner School - since 2010), BHS Barombi Kang (Most Dedicated Volunteer Leader, 2nd Place), and GBHS Kossala (First Partner School - since 2010).
The number of lives that our after-school programs have touched over the past year is nothing short of amazing. From student leaders who are finding their hidden potential and working towards new goals to the volunteer leaders who act as mentors and provide guidance through the challenging times of life as an adolescent in Kumba.
As we get ready to break for the summer holidays, we are excited to announce a new initiative we will launch in four schools: peer educators. Those students who have excelled (especially from the top performing CFDP school clubs mentioned above) will now be trained to run after school sessions on their own and gain invaluable leadership skills in these new positions. We are excited for next year and look forward to sharing more on our progress later this summer.
Thank you for supporting our after-school programs. Without you, none of this is possible. It's just that simple. Thank you for helping to change the lives of 500 boys and girls in Kumba, Cameroon.
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Happy New Year from Cameroon! It’s a great pleasure to update you, our supporters, on our after-school programs in K-town. I am excited to write to you after returning from two weeks in-country, engaged with our team in a strategic planning sessions and discussing potential expansion to two cities in the SouthWest Region via two partner organizations – more on that in our next update! Out first semester of the 2013-2014 school year was one which involved new schools, new leaders, and several new students in our innovative approach to youth empowerment, health and social education.
We kicked things off in late September with the official launching of our programs with a 2-day event sponsored by a grant from our partners, the U.S. Peace Corps. Our own Peace Corps volunteer posted in the office, Ryan, helped coordinate things so that more than 200 students from 13 schools participated in soccer activities, quizzes, debates, and other friendly competitions. The weekend was completed with voluntary HIV screening for older youths in our program. More than 70 young men and women were tested and all of the CFDP youth tested results were NEGATIVE! The event was a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the good decisions our youth are making to ensure a healthy, long life.
Weekly sessions continued in each of the 14 participating schools in the months following until early December when the students went on Christmas Holidays. With creation of CFDP clubs in half of the schools (we are working on the other half now!), we are working towards sustainability to ensure student-driven programs continue for a long time.
To complement our after-school programs, our community-based youth enrichment football (soccer) league combines friendly competitions with health and social education. Every match that teams play has a theme. I was at the field to watch some games last week and the scene was nothing short of amazing. Team captains were engaging their players in discussions about the theme “self-respect” during their warm ups. Motivational statements were read via loud speaker right before the game to let everyone in attendance know that the game being played was about more than just soccer. I tell you, I was inspired! We are truly changing the way youth soccer is being played here in Kumba!
We look forward to a great second semester of activities in our schools. The focus for 2014 will be a shift to training more peer educators. Empowering this group is another step toward sustainability; plus, who else better to invest our training resources than the youth? They are our future. I invite you to stay connected with CFDP on our blog and via newsletters (sign up here) for more updates.
Wishing you all the best in the New Year!
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