Empowering Girls Through Sport

Akwaaba Volunteers are using the power of sport to empower young girls across Ghana’s capital.  There is evidence to show that sport has the power to generate real social, economic and environmental change as well as social cohesion and challenge misconceived mind sets and prejudices.

Netball is the world’s leading female sport and we are using it to inspire and encourage a community of women and girls.  By creating confident, strong and talented leaders on and off the court, we aim to challenge cultural norms and promote gender equality. Through sport, girls and young women can develop transferable skills and knowledge in a safe and supportive environment. These skills include discipline, leadership, teamwork, decision making, communication and cooperation. During our coaching sessions we help girls to consolidate these life skills. We are also teaching sexual and health education to empower girls from disadvantaged communities, promote further education & employment opportunities.

The role of netball as a tool for female empowerment in Ghana is more important than ever before;  16% of girls in Ghana are never enrolled in school.  17%of girls aged 15-24 are illiterate. 34% of girls are involved in child labour.  20% of girls are married before the age of 18.  53% of adolescent females are victims of wife beating or abuse.

OUR IMPACT:  500 Girls, 50 Local Coaches and Teachers, 45 Schools 

Education.

Across the world there are 100 million young children who don’t attend school. By providing educational opportunities for girls we can decrease gender disparities in education, improve female literacy rates in Ghana and lay the foundation for new opportunities.

Team. 

Sport is a force that can amplify women’s voices and tear down gender barriers and discrimination.  Women in sport defy the misconception that they are weak or incapable.  Every time a girl intercepts a ball or scores a goal they are demonstrating physical strength, leadership and strategic thinking and are taking a step towards gender equality. Sport can boost self esteem and make every girl a valued member of our team.

Invest in Girls.

Investing in women can make a huge impact in gender equality and creating social and financially independent girls. “Investing in their today is investing in our tomorrow”. We are not just providing education and sexual health classes for our girls, we have also set up a vocational centre for women in our community. This targets young girls who have dropped out of school due to lack of funds, teenage pregnancy or child labour and enables them to learn a skill or a trade, such as sewing or hairdressing, so they are able to support themselves and their families financially.

Mentor a Girl. 

Each day we are spending a small amount of time reaching out to girls in the community. By doing this we can understand the day to day issues that girls are faced with. Our weekly Sexual health education classes allow girls to speak up in a supportive and encouraging environment.  This act of reaching out could be the saving grace in a young girls’ life.

By volunteering on our Netball Project you can help to empower young girls from Accra. You will spend time coaching, teaching, listening and creating a fun and supportive environment through Netball.