AN INCREASING NUMBER OF HUB-SITES NATIONALLY

The growth of hub-sites Nationwide in Zambia can be attributed to the self-sustainability of hub-sites and grassroots sports concepts through games such as Netball, Basketball, Football, and others.Hub-sites play a major role in ensuring participation and attraction of new members because everything is run by, for, and within the community.

Mr Peter Kalonje, a primary school teacher and coordinator at Mapalo Hub-Site in Ndola, Copperbelt Province stated that the growth of his Hub-Site came about as a result of overwhelming requests from the public to join every time they’d watch school participants being trained.

“I started the program when I was preparing the school team to participate in the interschool ball games at Mapalo Primary”. He said.

Mr Kalonje further went on to say “I started with the under 13 and 17, little did I know that people were interested in what I was doing until individuals from outside the school who weren’t already in education started asking me if they could join”.

Due to the hub-sites being completely community inclusive, Mr Kalonje was able to positively engage the interested children in the activities and ensure that they had the opportunity to play, learn and grow like others who are already involved.

811km away from Mapalo hub-site in Ndola, in Eastern Province, The Mutenguleni hub-site was initiated by Mr Manyaya, a coordinator who had attended the hub-Site training that was run in Choma Southern Province. This training was delivered by Sport in Action and Netball Zambia as a part of the Game Changers Project, funded by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

After being transferred to Mutenguleni, eastern province, He initiated the Introduction of a Hub-Site through the knowledge he acquired from the training.

Participants in these hub-sites can attest to being positively impacted by the lessons taught and are happy to have a place that keeps them away from bad vices.

A 13 year old participant from Mutenguleni Hub-Site, Catherine Manda expressed her happiness for being involved in her newly formed hub-site.

Catherine said “When I’m playing football, I feel good, and when me and my friends meet, we really encourage one another” – Catherine also eluded to certain areas that have indicated she is both feeling and becoming much healthier since she joined the hub-site.

As Sport in Action it is important that we not only develop sport, but also capitalise on the power that sport has to inherently enhance lives, and we continue to strive to ensure that we facilitate this through our hub-sites as they continue to spread and grow.