Sports for Social Change Initiative - Term Paper Example

Sports for Social Change Initiative Affiliation Sports have been one of the key installations through which the youth take meaningful strides against the tide of poverty and unemployment. Sports for social change study brings out the achievement and contribution of sports in third world countries. Countries such as Kenya South Africa and Nigeria have gained from sports and will be reference points in this paper. The study will give an in-depth analysis on: examples of sporting activities offered, examine their effectiveness and help create awareness. There has been a significant improvement in the quality of life in areas practicing sporting events. Data will be a collected from journals, books, and interviews. More research needs to be done to establish the reason as to why these clubs are not famous and the societys view of the organizations. The study identifies the need for further research on the contribution of these sporting organizations towards the improvement of the economy and the potential future of the clubs. Keywords Sporting Clubs- Organizations formed where people come to partake in games Social change initiative- Undertaking by the community aimed at improving the welfare of its members Sporting activities – Activities carried out in the sporting clubs Introduction Third world countries have successively incorporated sporting activities as a means to create social change. Local sporting clubs and organizations have introduced sports with the aim of creating awareness and also empowering the youth. Sporting clubs attract young people and equip them with life skills and an opportunity to explore sports for better life. Most sporting clubs are non-profit oriented organizations and are funded either by the community or donors. The sporting clubs offer a range of activities ranging from field games to indoor games depending on the funding available. Most sporting clubs are in sprawling urban settlement like slums where they target the unprivileged in the society. Street children and orphans are the highest beneficiaries of community-based sporting clubs as they lack guardians to cater for them. The sporting clubs established for orphans and street children offer holistic care to the children including sponsoring their education Literature Review The literature review explores the broader picture of the impact of sports in changing the social life of citizens in third world countries. The Chapter will discuss the rationale for setting up the clubs, whom they target and where they are preferably set up. The review will highlight achievements of sporting activities in other countries notably the developed country and how third world countries can borrow from them. Sports for social change is a community initiative aimed at tapping youth to invest in sports. The idea borrows from developed countries where talented young people join academies for a career in sports. In developing countries, however, sporting clubs aim at helping the vulnerable in the society by offering them a chance to change their lives (Nijman, 2008). Sporting clubs in South Africa are iconic at nurturing talents for children of humble backgrounds like Soweto (Collins, 2014). A Study conducted in Morocco and Kenya shows that African athlete advocate for social change and youth empowerment through sports. Tegla Laroupe was the first Kenyan to introduce peace marathon to unite warring communities in Kenya. Nawal was the first African woman join the Olympics Committee and advocated for sports for social development in Morocco (Lyng, 2005). Nike Inc. in collaboration with Sports for Social Change Network in South Africa works to draw children out of the streets into playing soccer. The network organizes marathon races and soccer clinics to street children and the community as a whole to partake in social transformation. Sports initiatives through international partnerships undertake campaigns for global goals such as gender equality, environmental peace, and youth empowerment (Green, 2008). German sponsors of the games for social network create awareness in Europe and beyond on youth empowerment in Africa. Methodology The chapter presents the methodology that was used to carry out the study. It describes the research design, the target population, collection tools, and data analysis method. The idea was to identify the target sample and come up with a concrete description of the mechanisms and modalities how various factors affect sports for social change. The target population was the developing countries that have embraced sports mostly in Africa. Random sampling was used, and conclusions drawn from questionnaires filled by respondents. The questionnaires used were open-ended to allow a variety of answers rather than restricted responses. Secondary sources used were journals and books on social empowerment through sports. The target population was carefully scrutinized to give high-level information. The research was professionally carried out, and bias of report nullified. . Data analysis This chapter explains the steps taken to collect the data; clean the data and draw conclusive report on the collected information. The data received was cleansed, and relevant information to the thesis of the report extracted. The key aim was to answer the hypothesis of the report. The following null hypothesis were to be answered by the research. Ho. Sports do not contribute to the social change. Ho. Sports have not had meaningful progress in the eradication of poverty and unemployment Ho. Sports for social improvement is not worth investing. Pie charts were used to represent the collected. The results were; 1. The rate of employment vs. unemployment in countries that have embraced sports for social change . There was a continuous drop in the number of unemployed youth and a steady rise in employment 2. Economic development for countries based on the adoption of sports for social change. The objective is to compare countries economy as relates to the enactment of sports for social change. Countries that endorse sports have a higher economic growth rate 3. Advocating sports for social development The objective is to identify the societys opinion on adopting games for social development. More people advocate for sport on social improvement of the community. The research answered the hypothesis by proving them wrong. Results The research shows that sporting activities have contributed towards the economic growth of their respective countries. Financial improvement is as a result of youth empowerment at the sporting clubs. Young people engage in income generating activities and help build the nation. Active young people become independent and generate revenue for the government. The government uses the money to develop the economy. The youth also joins the economic productive people thus reducing poverty. Countries that embrace games for the youth empowerment have a continued employment trend while minimizing unemployment. Sporting clubs equip the young people with skills for employment or even self-employment. Successful students receive scholarships and peruse careers of their choice. The other youths get skills in daily activities like computer skills, art, and drawing and employ themselves. Sporting clubs have successfully contributed to the creation of employment. Third world citizens feel that sports for social empowerment is a good initiative and worth investing. The main reason is its contribution towards the personal development and the economic contribution it brings to the country. Donors introduce new sports in the sporting clubs. New sports are widening the range of available sports for the young people to participate. Discussion It is conclusive to say that sports have contributed to social change in developing countries. Results indicate that the highest beneficiary of sports is slum dwellers owing to donors support. The study also noted that the availability of sports club has helped reduce unemployment levels over the years. Sporting clubs offer games like football and rugby academies, boxing, and athlete. The sporting academies produce well to do sports persons who have impacted primarily in the world (Atherley, 2006). In the Kenyan slums, young children are taught self-defense owing to the high crime rate in the slums. Sporting clubs based in Nairobi and Johannesburg have invested in street children. Most street children live at dumping sites where they sell off scrap metal and other recyclable material for a living (Delva, 2010). Sporting clubs take the children and rehabilitate them through sports. In Kenya, some sporting club adopts the children orphaned maybe due to AIDs or crime. AIDs is the highest contributor if deaths in slums followed by crime. Orphaned children result to prostitution among the girls and crime among the boys (Wamucii, 2007). The sporting clubs facilitate homes for these children where they offer them education and other life skills. Rehabilitated children are sponsored throughout their education and pursue careers of their dreams. As part of the awareness program, the clubs carry out roadshows to motivate other young friends to join them. They engage in community work like environmental clean-ups and planting trees as a give back to the Commonwealth (Levermore, 2009). Sporting clubs offer short courses like computers to raise literacy level among the youth. The young people learn about their rights and good citizenship. Sporting clubs teach the youth life skill like sex education. Sex education is considered a taboo in many African communities and not taught in class. Sporting clubs use an active approach to teaching the youth sex related diseases as well as help them cope with their emotional stress (Rosser, 2012). The young people learn about on social evils like gender violence and drug trafficking. Youths are mentored on life skills and taken through self-dependency training. Sports help the children feel loved and members of the community. They relive away stress and open issues affecting them sharing their experience. In the rural areas, the youth participates in locally arranged tournaments mostly for recreation purposes (Penney, 2002). Life in the rural area is challenging and constrained by customs making sporting challenging (Shor, 2012). Lack of vision and cut from the world, the youths have limited sports activities to undertake mostly settling for football and other minor games. Although the impact may be smaller as compared to slum areas, the villagers still gain valuable information from sports. Youths find solace in games. The community on its part appreciates sporting by actively spectating different games staged. Clubs generate income from fees levied during derbies and other income generating activities and grow the youths involved. Empowered young people generate revenue through own means reducing unemployment in their countries (Unger, 2007). Citizens living in slums are appreciating the impact of sports through improved quality of life. Slums are slowly turning into productive centers where the young people actively engage in economic activities. Lucky beneficiaries always come back to support the initiative along with other well-wishers (Kirk, 2004). The African society is changing fast owing to modernization and globalization. More people are learning to embrace sports not for recreation but as a career. The unprivileged in the community in developing countries use games to achieve a better quality of life (Grundy, 2001). Diverse sports attract many young people to participate in sports. Membership makes the young people feel members of the community and proud. Young people in slums and children home for the destitute get an opportunity to impact change through sports (Davis, 2006). Organizations create a sustainable life for the youth and a bright future for a country. Conclusion Sporting activities helps improve the lives of most people in third world countries. Sporting clubs empower youths and help them generate income as well as become responsible citizens. Sporting clubs should be advocated for and endorsed by the public. The governments of third world countries should invest in sporting so as to nurture talent as well as create employment for the youth. Sporting clubs offer a variety of services to the youth equipping them with life skills. Continued participation in sports for the young people in the community reduces poverty and has a positive impact. There has been meaningful progress towards poverty eradication through sports. As part of the millennium goals, sports contribute towards the creation of employment to improve the quality of life. For third world countries to overcome the menace of unemployment and poverty, they must embrace sporting as a key contributor towards achieving a good society and responsible citizenship. There is hope towards poverty eradication through empowered young people. The economic contribution of sporting clubs in third world countries is enormous and promising. References Unger, A., & Riley, L. W. (2007). Slum health: from understanding to action. 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