Global Forum for Sports and Environment
Nature & Sports Camps 2006
This year’s program took place over 2 weeks from 31 July to 11 August at the Sadili Oval, located just outside Nairobi. Professional coaches from the United Kingdom, Japan, Kenya and Zimbabwe welcomed 100 children to the camps. Though most of the children were from Nairobi, Mombassa and Nakur, some had come from as far as Burundi and Sudan to take part. In addition to sport training, participants in the camps received health and environmental education in the hope of fostering educated and aware leaders in the local community. The camps have earned themselves an enviable reputation and are the largest of their kind in central and eastern Africa. The sports club offers excellent facilities that are also used by some of Kenya’s top athletes and national team players. Unlike many members clubs, the Sadili Oval is a true ‘community club’, offering lessons to those on very limited budgets, and providing free lessons and a meal every Saturday to children from the local Kibera slum (the second largest in Africa). The only club of its kind in the region, the Sadili Oval has drawn a lot of attention and was recently visited by the King of Sweden and the International Olympic Committee’s President, Jacque Rogge. In addition to tennis, the camps offered training in aerobics, gym and field sports, and the curriculum included classroom time, where participants studied video presentations of tactics and technique, as well as learning about social and environmental problems. To mark the beginning of the event, an opening ceremony was held at a hotel in Nairobi on 1 August. Special features of this year’s event were introduced, including the “UNDOKAI Ecoflag@school” event--a Japanese style school sports day--and the “Meet a Star Programme”, where some of Kenya’s top athletes, including football national coach, Jacob Mulee; boxing champion, Conjestina Achieng; and national rugby player, Moses Kola dropped in to greet the participants. Visitors to the Nature and Sport Camps also included UNEP’s new Executive Director, Achim Steiner, who dropped in to see one of his organization’s environmental workshops that emphasized the important role that a healthy environment plays in our enjoyment of sport. GSA and UNEP’s cooperative projects were also outlined, including last year’s Sport Summit for the Environment and this year’s Global Forum for Sport and Environment (G-ForSE), to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland. The 2-week event was wrapped up with a closing ceremony that marked the 10th anniversary since the camps were first opened, and it was a proud moment for the Sadili Oval’s Dr. Liz Odera, who could reflect on the tremendous success that the camps have enjoyed in their ten-year history. The children carry with them the hopes that they will become future community leaders in a healthier global environment. Report by Katsuya Otsu LINKS LINK : |
The 2006 Nature & Sports Camps, supported by Global Sports Alliance and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) took place at the Sadili Oval Sport Club, Kenya, providing professional coaching and equipment to children in developing countries that otherwise would never receive such a “sporting chance”.