Group Train Students on Basketball Skills, Public Health
Kasim Sumaina in Abuja
Power Forward Initiative (PFI) and its partners, ExxonMobil, Africare and the National Basketball Association (NBA), has continue its training and guide for secondary schools students in Abuja on basketball and public health.
The aim for this is for students to know how to play the game and to also benefit immensely by taking it as a career as well as promote their well-being.
Speaking at the event, Vice President NBA Africa/Country Head Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu hinted that the programme is aimed at imparting leadership and lifestyle skills on the students as part of tools for community development.
Abudu said they were keen to grow the game of basketball in Nigeria and throughout Africa to empower the students.
She added that the skills the kids learned in these programmes not only enrich their lives but also the decisions they make. “It might interest you to hear testimonies from several principals who were saying the students who are part of these programmes for over the years are more focus and they perform very well.”
According to her, the power forward programme is all about transforming lives and that is what the programme represents and that is part of our activities.
She said: “the grassroots basketball is a big mandate for us here in Nigeria. One of the key mandates for us is to make sure that the game of basketball is accessible for more boys and girls all over the country.
“So this not only for the kids to learns the fundamental skills about baseball but to develop the skills of basketball and also been able to exercise and develop the good health, leadership skills and coordination and learn how to work with others. All these skills that I mentioned here are not just skills that are applicable right now but skills that will help them for the rest of their lives.”
Speaking in a similar vein, Country Director of Pan Africare, Dr Patrick Adah, Pan Africare is a health organization, which have found partnership with private organisation sector, civil society to make impact in the students and the principals can testify to the impact of the project over the years.
He said: “We Not only grooming future for players but also developing our youths. And you find out just yesterday we saw a raw talent talking to us. These are those who have been in the programme expressing themselves.
“So these projects not only impact on basketball but also impact on the general development of the students. The coaches have been trained over the past weeks and you can see the numbers of coaches there. This has given us opportunity for the project to have interface at the highest level with NBA and the people who have played the game of basketball at the top level.
“These projects had given opportunity to train the children and expose them with the NBA players who have leave a mark in the game of basketball and encourage to play the best of basketball and also develop their skills,” Adah said.
He therefore, appreciated the Exonmobil foundation, NBA Africa, for finding Pan Africare worthy of being part of this programme.
The list of schools in the competition includes; Government Secondary School Karu, Government Secondary School Zone 3, Raberto Schools Wuse2, Community Secondary School Asokoro, and Government Secondary School Tudun Wada Wuse Zone 4.
