Idp Camp Uhogua Blaze The Trail In Sports Life Skills Training In Nigeria

By Cornelius Ehimiaghe

Community Sport and Educational Development(CSED) Initiative recently the biggest educational and sports life skills event in Nigeria for school aged children. This four day event which featured training in eleven different sports events was held at the IDP Camp Uhogua (Edo State) was attended by the more than 4,700 residents of the IDP Camp.

Twenty sport coaches and nineteen demonstration athletes from the Edo State Sports Commission were in attendance to discover the talents and lay the foundation for nurturing these talents in netball, cricket, badminton, table tennis, chess and scrabble. The children and youths played and received guidance on these six sport codes for the very first time. Under the guidance of the ageless Alabi Assien; ex- Golden Eaglets and now coach, Tony Emoedofu took the young footballers through their paces.

True to the gentleman/woman code of their sport; Barrister Abraham Oviawe led the cricket Team that were fully kitted for this occasion by Lord's Taverners (Sports Charity). The cricket Team was made up of five coaches and seventeen demonstration athletes. Twenty-five cricket starter packs were used for the training and handed over to the Management for the future training of the residents.

Three table tennis boards were used by the participants at this event to learn how to play table tennis. Ex- Super Eagles player, Edema Fuludu (KNVB trained football coach) with the help of youtube transferred his coaching knowhow to netball, where he taught the enthusiastic girls some of the basics of netball.

Fuludu used the life story of Mwai Kumwenda (Malawian netballer) to inspire the girls. Fuludu mentioned that Mwai learned how to play netball with rolled up plastic bags that were moulded into a ball in the village and she did not wear a shoe until she was 11 years old. But all this initial setback is now history, as Mwai has represented Malawi in the netball world cup and Mwai is currently playing professional netball in Australia. Fuludu stated that if Mwai can do it for Malawi, some of the newly discovered netball talents can make Nigeria's team to the 2027 Netball World Cup.

The other sports that were held at the this life skills events were athletics, volleyball, basketball and handball.

Social worker/Community Development Consultant, Clara Ukulu; trained the staff of the IDP Camp on "Safeguarding," in respect of their duty of care to the children and youths of the Camp. As encouraging and protecting these "special children" most of whom are orphans; is the responsibility of all the staff of the IDP Camp.

The National Coordinator of CSED, Edema Fuludu presented two hundred and fifty novels and general interest books for the library of the IDP Camp. Three thousand anti-drug abuse brochures that were donated for this occasion by Foundation for a Drug Free World, were also presented to the Management of the Camp for free distribution to the children and youths.

The remarkable thing about this event was that 80 percent of the participants that took part in the field events did so with their bare feet and slippers, without playing boots and basic sports training kits. But they were all willing to learn and impress the coaches with their determination and enthusiasm. The children are fully aware that taking part in sports and combining it with good educational qualifications will give them the opportunities for a brighter future. Hence CSED decision to make the IDP Camp Uhogua that already boost of having 45 of their residents in universities all over Nigeria, as their second EduSport Hub (Centre of Sports and academic excellence) in the Niger Delta area.