Unicef innovative programme - Development through Sports

"Main Hoon Champion" - Development through Sports, an innovative programme of Unicef, was launched at Bagula Sai and Ranikudar under Jadugora of East Singhbhum district.
Organised jointly with the Sport department of Jharkhand, the programme was aimed to promote physical fitness, mental well-being, and life skills of youth on leadership, communication, team work and self-discipline, said Job Zachariah, Chief Unicef, Jharkhand.
Zachariah said Unicef identified 40 villages in 12 naxal-affected district of the state, where 20,000 youths including girls have been actively taking part in the programme launched formally three months.
The youths in the age group of 15 to 24 years are involved in the programme being implemented by Nehru Yuva Kendras, he said.

It builds their knowledge base on issues such as health, nutrition, protection, sanitation, education and culture through the medium of sports, Zachariah said adding that under the programme, about 30 boys and 25 girls in each village form separate boys and girls club.
A village coach selected from the village on consensus is trained by unicef, which also provided sports kits containing footballs, handballs, volleyballs, volleyball nets, inflating pump, skipping ropes, stop watch, jersey for each village, he said.

Each club has its own name, flag, song and playground and undertake at least 20 sports and learning sessions of two-hour each in the morning and evening in a month, the Unicef official said.

Parents and community members of the village were also involved and gram sabha in each village actively supports the club, he said.
Zachariah claimed that the programme has been able to mobilize youth in the villages and channelized their energy through sports. Apart from building life skills leadership and team work, youth of the sports clubs are powerful agents of social change in the village, he said.
Every one rupee invested in sports related activity will save three rupees on public health care cost, Zachariah said.
The Education specialist of Unicef, Binay Pattanayak said altogether 960 boys and girls comprising of 12,000 boys and 8,000 girls have been formed in these districts so far.

Initially, the girls, mostly from conservative tribal community, were reluctant to speak or interact with others but today, their confidence-level was not only enhanced but also playing footballs and handball forming a mixed team, Pattanayak added.
They have been keeping their surroundings as well as playing fields neat and clean, he said.