By Cornelius Ehimiaghe
Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative and its partners have expressed their resolve to use access to playing netball in providing psycho-social support for Cameroonian refugees in Cross River State.
CSED Initiative said with support from Lord’s Taverners, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Cross River State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), and other relevant partners as well as stakeholders, it hopes to use the game of netball to create access to educational and life skills training opportunities for the residents of the three refugee camps in the state.
CSED Initiative is a sport for change Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) with a mission to use Nigerian children and youth participating in sports related activities to promote literacy and their social well-being. Its primary goal is to develop well balanced future sports men and women.
The NGO also aims at using sports to empower young persons to fulfil their potentials and achieve their dream of earning a living, while representing Nigeria in international sporting competitions.
In a statement made available to the media over the weekend, the organization also said its immediate goal is to build a multi-purpose cement playing surface for the use of the netballers in each of the separate camps.
“In addition, some of these netballers will have access to take part in the ‘Sporting Coders’ programme, which will allow them access to learn how to code, while at the same time playing netball”, the statement added.
As part of the sports events marking this year’s edition of Refugee Week and the International Olympic Day, a netball exhibition event involving netballers from Adagom 1, Adagom 3, and Ukende refugee camps were held recently at the netball field of Adagom 1 camp in Ogoja Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
Twenty netballers from each camp were kitted by Lord’s Taverners and CSED Initiative. Each netballer was provided a sport book entitled, “Kick It”. The book was donated by the Uxbridge library of London Borough of Hillingdon, United Kingdom (UK).
The netballers from the Ukende camp won the two exhibition games. The highlight of the event was the presentation of a five thousand Naira, educational vouchers to each of the sixty netballers.
The event which was powered by CSED Initiative with the approval and support of the head of SEMA, the Adagom 1 SEMA Supervisor, and the leaders of the three refugee camps, seeks to give the Cameroonian refugees a sporting chance to compete with other girls all over the world, in an attempt to feature in the netball event of the 2032 Olympic games in Brisbane.
“The Cameroonians will definitely be inspired by the story of Mary Cholhok Nuba, a former South Sudanese refugee, who is now a netball superstar in England”, the statement stressed.
It would be recalled that netball was recently introduced to the three Ogoja refugee camps after CSED Initiative ‘Project 2027’training of Physical Education (P.E.) teachers in Cross River state was held in April.
The Project 2027 training led to the certification of coaches Stephanie Obi, Marceline Ode, and Shantel Eseh, who are Cameroonian citizens. These three coaches are now charged with the responsibility of providing the girls and ladies in their respective camp with access to learn the basic of netball, identify, and nurture the talents of the budding netballers.