Children in rural areas of East Africa often do not come to school. Those who do are often experiencing old-fashioned ways of teaching, without much attention to SEL. Girls and disabled children are frequently left out during activities. This - in addition to daily struggles such as illnesses, violence, child marriages, early pregnancies, and child labor - leads to an enormous number of dropouts.
Science has shown that children learn better through play. We developed our sustainable sports and play program to change the mindset of primary school teachers on what teaching 'should be' and to teach them how to implement SEL through playful learning at school.
Teachers learn how to playfully teach children how to protect themselves against diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, and COVID-19 and how to discuss topics that are taboo in many rural areas, such as sexual violence, child marriages, and gender (in)equality. The sports and play activities specifically aim to develop life skills for children, such as assertiveness, emotion management, empathy, self-confidence, and respect. For children with a disability, sports, and play are powerful means to make them look at possibilities instead of limitations.
This way, all children gain the competencies necessary to build a positive future and succeed in school, work, home, and their communities.
Besides training primary school teachers, we recently started incorporating the Join for Joy teaching method in East African Teachers’ Colleges. Training aspiring teachers who are still in school allows us to share our knowledge of sports for development on a larger scale. Besides the headquarters in Amsterdam, we opened an office in Lusaka, Zambia, and Lilongwe, Malawi. Being present regionally makes us more flexible in adapting to local situations and responding to local needs. We expect to be better equipped to develop integrated projects and partnerships with local schools, community centres, and companies. Over the upcoming years, we aim to spread our innovation to new regions and reach over 50 schools yearly.
Please contact Join for Joy for more information about playful learning, the sports and play program or possible collaborations by e-mailing to info@joinforjoy.
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