COACH SPORTS TO UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN LIVINGSTONE

Help ‘Sports for all’ in Livingstone, and give children an opportunity they will never forget ... and neither will you. You'll coach underprivileged children in poor schools on our Total Sports programme. Travellers teamed up with the Ministry for Youth and Sport to establish a programme that enables enthusiastic sports volunteers an opportunity to coach a big variety of sports in one place, including Basketball, Cricket, Football, Netball, Rugby, Volleyball.

Also on this page:

• Accommodation

• Travel and Support & Backup

PROJECT OVERVIEW
Our Total Sports Project is based in the quaint and lively Livingstone Town, right next door to the incredible Victoria Falls. Travellers has teamed up with the Ministry for Youth and Sport enabling your work to reach as many areas as possible. In this partnership we have set goals of re-igniting the passion for sports which has gradually dwindled in Zambia over the past 10 years. In this partnership we work with schools, sports clubs, academies, and are also arranging for street orphans to be taught English and sports during the week.

You'll also cover training techniques which are useful here but have not been used in Zambia. These workshops are excellent for sport in Zambia and you will be given a lot of help from our local manager with preparing these workshops (who is actually an ex-head teacher). With these work shops you may also actually go with representatives to rural villages to help promote sport and set up sports coaching for the villages.

While on your project you may also be asked to help arrange workshops, where you will help teach local sports teachers (including school coaches, sports club coaches, and even local rural chiefs) about the importance of sport. Not only will you help in the field, but you will also be in high demand at the head quarters helping plan yearly goals and aims for sport in Livingstone and the Southern Province, which may then ultimately have a huge effect on sport as a whole in Zambia! Below are a few examples of sports you can teach, but any sport is available - please contact us for more details if you would like to do something that isn't listed.

WHAT YOU'LL GAIN FROM DOING THIS PROJECT:

• An exciting, never-to-be-forgotten adventure into Africa and the Zambian culture.

• 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!

WORK CONTENT:
1. Coaching Football:
Football in Zambia, like the rest of Africa has a massive following! You will see many children playing in the street kicking home made footballs (plastic bags tied in a ball with string) as well as children and adults walking around in worn out replica Premiership football kits. This passion for football is also shown by the government and National team who use football as a tool to gain recognition of Zambia as a Nation. . 

Many schools practice football in Livingstone, but many lack good sports equipment. Where facilities are available it is generally a pot holed pitch with two warn goal posts (some made of metal and a lot with tree trunks with no nets), and a deflated football. Therefore, all schools appreciate the your help, but also the new footballs, cones, bibs etc that many volunteers kindly take with them, and the donations that Travellers continues to provide.

You will coach football to children at schools and also assist the staff to arrange matches and tournaments. You'll also coach football in one or more schools in the local area, working together with the teachers. We are also arranging for volunteers to teach local orphans who would not normally receive such teaching. Here we will arrange weekly slots at certain sports grounds to provide coaching for this worthwhile cause.

Coaching takes place from Monday to Friday with optional training on the weekends. You will be coaching during P.E. lessons in a number of surrounding schools, usually from 9am – 3pm. After school, usually from 3:30pm – 6pm, you will be coaching a number of sports teams and even academies.

As many people in Zambia will never have played rugby before, this project will be quite unique. We are keen to develop rugby in this area at the grassroots level and expose as many people as possible to the sport.

4. Cricket:
Cricket in Zambia is seen as an elitist sport, many people don’t get the chance to play cricket. As a Travellers cricket coach you will be working in a number of schools from Monday to Friday around Livingstone from 9 – 3 coaching cricket during P.E. lessons. From 3:30 to 6.00 pm, you will be running coaching at after school clubs to a variety of ages.

5. Netball/Basketball:
Netball and basketball are popular sports in Zambia. Many people play Netball and Basketball, but very few receive proper coaching on how to play. A lot of schools also have very poor facilities, so with Travellers' help and over time we hope to improve this for many schools in the area.

Read about how your placement and money contributes to helping an extremely poor community school in Zambia and to paying for the education of the poorest children

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:


 

Click here to see an article published in the Western Morning News on Adrian Miles about his Sports Placement in Zambia

Click here to see the video!
(courtesy of Tongabezi Lodge)

You will be accommodated in a small, modern, and lively hostel situated in the center of Livingstone. The hostel has a very large private garden shaded with huge mango trees, and a crystal clear swimming pool. It also has a lively, sociable bar area where many activities are arranged.

Livingstone has a Colonial feel to it and you will find a wide variety of restaurants, bars, and shops. Your accommodation is ideally situated and can offer excellent trips to places such as Lusaka. You will be required to share a room with other volunteers or guests of mixed gender. Food and drink is not provided on this placement. There is a local supermarket for you to buy food from and the hostel has cooking facilities for you to use or you can pay for meals at the hostel if you wish. Even better still why not try out some local dishes for a real Zambian experience!

At the time of writing, facilities at the hostel include; a swimming pool, recreation room with TV, internet cafe with internet access, a dining and kitchen area where food can be stored and access to telephones.

The hostel also has an in-house booking centre, where many local activities can be booked (wildlife safaris, river cruises, river gorges, bungee jumping, white water rafting, treks, etc). They guarantee to offer the best deals in town and to beat any other lodge or booking centre!

Many guests comment on the quality of their staff. They are their greatest asset and many have worked for them in excess of 4 years with the longest serving 8 (since they first started). Staff turnover is very low and a family atmosphere has been created that adds tremendously.

They are also involved in a number of community projects. Recently they raised over US$2000 for a local school. They sponsor a local youth football team, the police regatta team, local fund raising events and an annual day out for orphaned children on World tourism Day. They also sponsor Independence day celebrations.

There are plenty of opportunities to socialise with other volunteers and travellers.

Livingstone: Africa is all about hope and colour!