By CrossRiverWatch Admin
In celebration of Refugees Week and International Olympics Day 2024, not less than sixty female netball players from three Cameroonian refugee camps – Adagom 1, Adagom 3, and Ukende, in Ogoja Local Government Area of Cross River State, are being groomed for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
This initiative, organized by Community Sport and Educational Development (CSED) Initiative, is supported by the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), the Adagom 1 SEMA Supervisor, and leaders from the three camps.
Each camp saw twenty netball players outfitted by Lord’s Taverners and CSED Initiative, along with sports books (“Kick It”) donated by Uxbridge Library, London Borough of Hillingdon (UK).
The Ukende camp team triumphed in the two exhibition matches. A key moment of the event was the awarding of five thousand Naira educational vouchers to each of the sixty players.
Netball was introduced to the three Ogoja refugee camps following the CSED Initiative’s “Project 2027” training for Physical Education teachers in Cross River State in April 2024. This training certified three Cameroonian coaches: Stephanie Obi, Marceline Ode, and Shantel Eseh, who will be responsible for teaching netball basics and nurturing talent within their camps.
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CSED Initiative, with support from Lord’s Taverners, UNHCR, Cross River SEMA, and other partners, aims to use netball to provide psycho-social support, education, and life skills training to the camp residents.
Their immediate goal is to build multi-purpose cement playing surfaces in each camp. Additionally, some players will participate in the “Sporting Coders” program, combining netball with coding lessons.
The organizers’ ultimate aim is to give the refugees a chance to compete globally in netball at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. They hope the players will be inspired by Mary Cholhok Nuba, a former South Sudanese refugee who has become a netball star in England.
