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COACH CRICKET TO UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN ACCRA
AKWAABA
- Welcome to Ghana! On this project you can coach cricket to
children who've rarely seen the game played - but it doesn't stop their
enthusiasm to learn! Your role will be to coach cricket at
poor schools during lesson times. After school you could be involved in
selecting and coaching an Under-12s and Under-14s team for all of the
schools. On the weekends you might have the opportunity to coach and
train with the Ghana National Cricket team, depending on the season. Travellers
Worldwide, together with the Ghana Cricket Association, have set up a cricket development program to develop the sport in Ghana and to give
Ghanaian children the opportunity to learn to play an exciting sport that is new
to them.
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►SUMMARY
FACTFILE |
| Start Dates |
All year round - you choose your
start and finish dates! Please check the school term dates below
when planning your programme. |
|
Duration |
2 weeks to 1 year, subject to visa
requirements |
| Requirements |
Minimum age 17.
You don't have to a great
knowledge of the game and the rules, but you must be an enthusiastic person who
enjoys playing the game. |
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Price |
From £795 for 2 weeks, ranging to £1,795 for 12 weeks.
Full Price List |
| What's included |
►Accommodation
►Food
►Meeting you at
the Airport
►Transfer to your accommodation
►Transport to and from your project
►Full
pre-departure support
►Local in-country team support and backup
►24-hr emergency
support
►Two free T-shirts. |
|
What's not included |
Flights, Insurance, Cost of Visas (if a
visa is required, but we'll provide necessary documents and assistance), Return transfer to
airport. |
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Who can do this Project? |
All projects are
open to all nationalities.
Unless otherwise stated, you need to be aged between 17 and 70+ |
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Ghana is a
wonderfully welcoming country and the people are overwhelmingly hospitable and
friendly. They love their music, dancing and socialising, and this, together
with lots of glorious open African country and sunshine, contribute to making
your travel adventure to Ghana very special.
You'll probably work in a few different schools, depending on your
timetable. Part of the uniqueness of Cricket is that the game also embodies a
philosophy and discipline based on "fair play" and other life skills - so you'll
actually be teaching the children more than 'just cricket'!
The schools are a mixture of primary and junior secondary. You
will generally be asked to teach cricket to all age groups. You are very likely to be
in popular demand everywhere - in and out of the classroom.
We're looking for cricket enthusiasts as volunteers who can
continue with the ground work started by previous volunteers. We run a number of
successful cricket tournaments and you can get involved in the running
of these tournaments.
OUR CRICKET DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
Travellers Worldwide and the Ghana Cricket Association are working hand
in hand to develop cricket in Ghana. As a Travellers cricket coach, you'll
assist in this development programme that is designed to strengthen the sport of
cricket in Ghana.
As we are trying to strengthen the sport of cricket in Ghana, three times a year
Travellers hold tournaments for the 4 schools involved, who all play for the
Travellers Trophy. Your role in this will be to organise the tournament, as well as
select the players and run the operation of the tournament. These tournaments
are a great way for children to put into practice
the skills you have taught them. These tournaments are the only opportunity that
Ghanaian children have to play cricket anywhere in the country.
"The level of cricket at the
Tournament may not have been
high, but it was one of the most enjoyable days I have spent on a
cricket pitch. I've watched and played cricket all over the world, at
all levels and only on rare occasions have I felt like I did after the
Tournament was over. The rush of pleasure from seeing how much the
children enjoyed it was for me unrivalled." Tom Thorley
At the same time
as teaching Cricket, you can also teach other subjects, such as conversational
English or even other sports, if you'd like to.
You don't need any qualifications
to participate in a teaching placement in Ghana (but if you're
combining Cricket with teaching English, you do need to be fluent in
English).
Some of the teachers are also keen to
learn the game and help out in
cricket sessions, and we believe that this will help to expand the game not only
in the schools, but also in the entire community. Your help is very much appreciated and schools
embrace our volunteers wholeheartedly. Before you leave to do your placement, you'll be provided with
a mountain of information on just about everything to do with Ghana and your
placement.
Our Ghana Manager and his team will look after you well.
You'll get lots of advice about the do's and don’ts of Ghanaian culture, what to
do and where to go.
WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:
The enormous satisfaction of helping disadvantaged children and
knowing that you made a difference to them.
New skills, more confidence, a greater understanding
of a different culture, invaluable personal and professional
development.
An entry on your CV or résumé that will put you head
and shoulders above most others in the job market
And best of all ... an unforgettable experience!
SCHOOL TERMS 2010:
Coaching is not available during
school holidays, so if you're planning to participate in a
placement, please take the school term dates
into account when planning the timing of your project.
On the other hand, if
a holiday falls during your proposed placement, you
could use this time to do any independent travelling
and sightseeing.
Dates for the school terms (semesters) are given below (These dates are used as
a guideline and can change yearly)
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Term 1: 12th Jan – 15th April
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Term 2: 11th May – 29th July
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Term From 30th Sept – Still to be confirmed
FREE COACHING MANUALS
As a volunteer
sports coach with Travellers, you'll be provided
with
a large number of coaching manuals for each sport - these manuals have
been produced in-house by our Sports Manager and are very
useful in helping you to plan coaching sessions for your students.
"The
pleasure for me is in seeing youngsters learning to catch,
throw and hit a ball and play in a team game where healthy
competition is encouraged and where they encourage one another to do
well. You do not have to be a good cricketer to teach this. Occasionally I have had more than
one class at a time and it is quite difficult keeping control of large numbers
of kids and ensuring that everyone has a chance to
have a bat and a bowl.
The older kids are so competitive
that they have latched on to the idea that if they sneak into the queue for a
second bat then their team will score more runs!!!”
Paul Edmunds
WHAT IS
REQUIRED OF YOU
You don’t have to have a great knowledge of the game and the rules, but you must
be an enthusiastic person who enjoys playing the game. So if you have a passion
for cricket then why not become a Travellers cricketer and help to develop the
sport to the children in Ghana?
Self-reliance, independence
and initiative are highly
appreciated and a sense of humour when the electricity fails, or buses don't
turn up, will help you to make the most of this
wonderful opportunity!
Like all our destination
countries, the culture in Ghana is different
to what you're used to. For example, the people are exceptionally
friendly and helpful, with big smiles and a relaxed attitude. On the other
hand, the
living standard falls short of UK or Western standards. And Ghanaian time
is when someone says, "See you at 10.a.m.," - what he really means is, "I'll see
you sometime tomorrow" ... And then he may not turn
up at all.
The pace of life is slower and more relaxed. This must be borne in mind and you are
naturally expected to live within local cultural rules. But
you'll quickly get involved in the daily life
of the local people and pretty soon you'll feel completely at home - Ghana has
that effect on you!
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The first school cricket team!





ADDITIONAL INFORMATION




The BBC filming one of our
volunteers, Paul Edmunds, during his placement, giving his first cricket
lesson to the children. The BBC "Grown-Up Gappers" series.

Paul Edmunds giving the children the
basics of the game
“We took the
Kwik-Cricket equipment out to one of the dusty fields, while the kids all
gathered around in curiosity. Ghana does not play cricket so for most of these
kids this was the first time they had seen a cricket bat.
...Paul then did an under-arm throw. To my
amazement, this young boy's swing was very natural and he gave the ball a good
belt! It zoomed across the air and one of the girls jumped up high and caught
it. I think England may have found new team to give us a good bashing in the
future!!!” Andrew Kemp
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