Some teachers have reported that the turn out in a number of schools has risen as the pupils head along for a chance to take part in Just Play, an OFC initiative designed to promote football and healthy living for children aged between six and 12 years.
Commins Menapi, the technical expert for Just Play in the Solomons, recently returned from a visit to Marovo Lagoon, where he spent a week assisting the schools and collecting data for the pilot phase of the programme.
“After being told they cannot join Just Play unless they go to school, some students have actually made the decision to go to school so they can be allowed to join the programme,” Menapi says.
The Solomon Islands international says a number of schools are finishing off the pilot phase but some have already completed the six-week implementation.
Many teachers in Marovo described the programme as a blessing for their schools when it was launched in the area.
Chuchulu Primary teacher Jeffery Ngasi says he and his colleagues are trained to organise physical education programmes but there is often no equipment for them to use.
Just Play solves this problem by supplying schools with a kit bag packed full of football equipment, such as balls, cones and bibs, as well as activity manuals and other resources.
Joseph Christmas from Seghe Primary is also thankful for the project, saying it has answered a great need.
“I have been running a football programme for my school for some years but the availability of equipment has stopped me. Now that we have the equipment I am determined that my school will be a top football school,” he says.
Solomon Islands Football Federation (SIFF) special projects manager Phillip Ohoto’ona is encouraged by the news from Marovo.
He says one of the main aims of the programme is to encourage children to go to school.
“With what has been achieved in Marovo, I am confident to say that Just Play is already proving its worth by meeting one of its objectives,” he says.
SIFF general secretary Eddie Ngava is also pleased to see school attendances rising but says Just Play has a lot more to offer the country’s young children.
“Besides football and education, Just Play can prepare young children to pass on the legacy of sports and healthy living to their children when they grow up,” he says.
“Football is also now a money-earner and maybe in the future some of the children who benefited from the Just Play programme can go as far as Asia or even into Europe to play football. These are the possibilities Just Play can create.”
Just Play was developed by the OFC social and technical departments and is led by OFC Head of Social Responsibility Franck Castillo, Technical Coordinator Colin Tuaa and Just Play consultant Vania Kenning.
As well as the Solomons, Just Play has already been introduced in Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, Tahiti and South Auckland in New Zealand. Next on the agenda are Fiji and the Cook Islands while OFC is also currently working in New Zealand with Special Olympics (NZ) on a Just Play programme for people with mental disabilities.
OFC is working closely with the Government of Australia – through its agencies the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the Australian Sports Commission (ASC) – and Football Federation Australia (FFA) to roll out the programme across the Pacific. The Australian Government has shown its support to the project by contributing AU$4million.
In South Auckland, Just Play is supported by OFC’s partnership with the Sir John Walker Find Your Field of Dreams Foundation, Counties Manukau Sport and Auckland Football Federation.
Story and photo courtesy of SIFF Media.
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