Stories from the field

A number of individual contributions about the personal experiences of Sport & Development volunteers, programme leaders and project participants have been recently posted on sportanddev.

Parallels with Sport & Development discussions in Israel
In light of the Sport as a Mediator Between Cultures conference held in Israel, these contributions are timely. The conference raised related questions directly or indirectly among speakers and attendees alike. These questions included:

• volunteerism in Sport & Development programmes;
• the role of sport coaches and programme leaders in transmitting values; and
• long-term commitment to Sport & Devevelopment programmes.

Recent posts on sportanddev point to various aspects of 'the individual in Sport & Development'. Take the example of the remarkable progress of Kate Syprine, who's story was told by Wilson Masaka Magambo. Her own personal development within the MYSA programme underpins the success of the MYSA initiative as a whole, as well as indicates the further heights she wishes to reach either through obtaining a scholarship or professional football contract.

Volunteerism in Sport & Development
Volunteerism in the field of Sport & Development has been showcased through the stories of:

• Fiona Campbell - co-founder of Friend of EduSport
• Silver Malele - named Volunteer of the Year at the South African Sport Awards for his work with the Silver Stars development project
• Molly Lao - a Cambodian volunteer with the Cambodian National Volleyball League Disabled Organisation (CNVLD)
• Tom Farrar - a Canadian volunteer with WhizzKids United (WKU) in South Africa.

The stories of Molly Lao and Tom Farrar relate to their personal experiences of volunteering within their respective organisations and what they have retained from their experiences, including: working with others within the organisation and being inspired by altruism. The stories of Fiona Campbell and Silver Malele describe their roles as founders of their initiatives and their commitment to working within the Sport & Development sector.

Read these personal accounts
Read about Kate Syprine's progress in MYSA
Read about Fiona Campbell and her nomination to carry the Olympic Flame, based on her work with Friend of EduSport
Read about Silver Malele, named Volunteer of the Year and his work with Silver Stars development project
Read about Molly Lao and her experience with CNVLD
Read about Tom Farrar and his experience with WKU