Sport In Action Supports Muchinga.

Sport in Action has supported its three hub-sites in Muchinga Province by donating a plethora of Netball Related kit that was gifted to them by their partners at the Wallace Group, a collection of 7 UK Based Universities.

Muchinga Province is Zambia’s youngest Province, being established in only 2011, bordering with Tanzania in the North and Malawi in the East.

Nonde, one of the hub-site coordinators in Nakonde, Muchinga Province explains how Nakonde is a transit town, where a lot of cargo passes into Zambia through the Tunduma Border post just outside Nakonde Town.Nakonde is roughly an 18hr drive from Lusaka (thats if you don’t need a toilet break or two!) but this doesn’t stop Sport in Action finding ways to support its communities nationwide.

Shem Hub-Site Coordinator, Nonde, spoke about how the hub-sites have managed to create a positive change in his community:

“The biggest challenges we have in Nakonde, are early marriages and young girls being used for and engaged in business at a tender age. The Hub-Site here has really helped the girl child to avoid these negative activities, and be involved in something really positive for them.”

However, he admits that there still remain some challenges:

“The biggest challenge we have is actually with the parents. We have engaged a lot of young girls and we are proud of this so far, but we can engage so many more if the parents don’t see sport as a ‘waste of time’. In the rural areas of our country, sport isn’t viewed always as in the same light as the Copperbelt and Lusaka, and through our work, and Sport in Actions support, we strive to change this perception”.

Muchinga Province boasts three hub-sites, Shem (where Nonde is the coordinator), Yolo, and Nchelenje.

Netball Development Officer, Felistus Nseba offered an important view on the growth of Netball outside of Lusaka:

“It is important that we continue to grow the game wide. The support that sport gets outside of Lusaka is often few and far between, but there is so much talent out there, and so many lives that can be touched through this game. We have to keep pushing and supporting our hub-sites across Zambia!”

The continual growth of hub-sites, is something that Sport in Action and Netball Zambia are committed to, and continue to work hand in hand to ensure this great game reaches and touches as many lives as possible.

The three Muchinga Province hub-sites were created through the Game Changers project, funded by the Commonwealth Games Federation, in which Sport in Action partnered with Netball Zambia to spread the game of Netball nationwide across Zambia, and use its impact to enhance the lives of young women and girls across the country.

Nakonde, Shem, Yolo, Nchelenje, keep up the great work, we are with you, we support you, and we are with you each step of the way!