‘TEAM UP’ AND EMPLOYABILITY
The origins of Red Deporte lie in Zambia, back in 1997. It was there that our project was born, with its seed being the self-construction of facilities as part of a community initiative that was just beginning at the time. The City of Hope had just opened a community school for 550 children from the poorest neighborhoods of Lusaka, the capital of the country. At that school, during recess, both boys and girls would patiently wait for the next school bell to return to class. Behind the precarious classrooms, shaped like small round huts, there was a large empty piece of land, perfectly suited to host sports facilities. The school management was approached with a proposal to clear that land and prepare it to host some basic but fully functional sports facilities, with the purpose of providing the schoolchildren a place for recreation and fun. The school management gave their approval, and that’s how we got to work.
At that time, the City of Hope was home to 15 girls whose parents had died as a result of the AIDS epidemic that exploded in Africa in the early 1990s. With these girls and using hoes and machetes, we transformed the land. We cut the grass, filled in the holes, and marked out the lines for the football, basketball, and volleyball courts. Mr. Kakuwa, the construction foreman at the City of Hope, helped us secure the goals and hoops with cement. In this simple, inexpensive, and fun way, more than decent sports facilities emerged where previously there had only been an empty field.
Two years later, Red Deporte y Cooperación was officially founded. Since then, we have carried out human development projects through sport in more than 20 countries. Dozens of volunteers, aid workers, and local staff have taken part in our program in Zambia, which serves 2,500 boys and girls from the marginal neighborhoods of Lusaka. Our main reference setting is the City of Hope, where we work with our implementation partners using sport for HIV/AIDS prevention, life skills development, and the empowerment of young women.
Several sports facility modules have been built, and we have organized tournaments, fun runs, Olympic-style games, training for leaders and coaches, as well as the Lusaka Race Against HIV. We work with various sports such as football, basketball, cricket, badminton, netball, and athletics.
This is a very special and symbolic date for our organization, which we celebrate with everyone who is part of this story—the thousands of friends of Red Deporte, including collaborators, partners, volunteers, media, aid workers, coaches, trainers, local partners, and most importantly, the children and young people who are the recipients of our community intervention programs. From Red Deporte, we express our gratitude for the support and closeness of so many people who make us feel proud of the work we do, with the desire to grow and improve every day. And as it could not be otherwise, twenty years after our beginnings in this country, our commitment to Zambia and its people remains as strong as ever.
