A couple of weeks before we left the UK Andy and me visited Ben Tegg, who allocates funding for Sports Relief to discuss our trip. Ben had a lot of interesting advice especially regarding organisations using football for change in Africa.
In his opinion a project needs to be set up for the long term and run by local people with a deep understanding of local issues. High-profile European charities backed by Premiership superstars often promise a lot but under deliver because they are often too short term and often ill considered to be of lasting benefit. He gave an example of a project in South Africa sponsored by a big sports brand that handed over expensive sports equipment to slum kids only to have them return bruised and upset a week later, their kit all stolen to sell on.The organisation Ben gave as a model for football related community projects in Africa's MYSA or Mathare Youth Sports Association.
Mathare is a slum in Nairobi and home to hundreds of thousands of people, 70% of which are mothers and children. In response to demand for a football team MYSA set up as a small group in 1987 and have grown to become a top level football club, Mathare Youth FC, that last year won the Kenyan Premier League and producing a huge contingent of the Kenyan National Team’s squad. MYSA are now the largest self help youth sports and community organization in Africa and have major projects covering community development issues from HIV awareness, environmental awareness, working with jailed youths to providing photography, music and drama training. They have been nominated for Nobel Peace Prize twice.
We interviewed the senior administrator at MYSA, Steve, second in charge of the whole operation. Steve’s journey was typical of many that worked in MYSA, firstly he started out purely as a footballer, then moved into coaching, an obligation that MYSA place on their players. This meant he got a taste for the administrative side which in turn got him interested in pursuing a career with MYSA. He was very keen to stress that MYSA’s strength came from onus it placed on people under its umbrella to re-invest in the club and the community. Top players for the Mathare first team are obligated to do a month’s community work in a year. That could be in anything from coaching to cleaning up litter in the slums. Can you imagine Ronaldo knocking around Salfordwith a dustpan and brush?
Their projects are initiated by issues that surround the Mathare community. Their clean up and environmental project started because they needed a pitch. There was an area of disregarded flatland caked in rubbish which the kids cleaned up. Now all teams playing in the MYSA leagues are required to do clean up work to get 6 bonus points, which contribute to their league standing and without which they can’t win a league.
MYSA really are the gold standard in community development projects. Their model of using football to incentivise individuals to help the community is being replicated so that other communities can benefit by their example. An impressive organisation, MYSA emphasise how important it is to focus on local and long term solutions for community development. Find out more www.mysakenya.org
Ed
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