Sporting Coders Pilot programme completed in Nigeria

During the 12 weeks’ period of this novel programme, 21 netballers trained for four hours every Saturday. At the end of this life skills training, to the delight of their cheering parents and fellow students, they were awarded with a certificate during the graduation event that was held on 22 March 2024 on the school premises. Tare Pet School is currently the champion of the Bayelsa Netball Challenge, and Bayelsa State is currently the leading netball State in Nigeria.

During the training programme, the students were provided with netball kits and balls that were donated by Lord's Taverners, a UK-based sports charity. A brand new laptop and 110 general interest books were donated to the school library by CSED Initiative. Educational vouchers were also presented to the graduating netballers, as well as to three of their former students who are currently studying in the university. Apart from learning how to code, the graduating netballers were also taught about safeguarding in sports.

The Trustee of CSED Initiative hopes to roll out the "Sporting Coders" programme in other parts of the country, and more importantly they hope to use this programme to reach out to some residents of hard to reach communities (IDPs, refugees and looked after children).

This article has been edited by the sportanddev editorial team.