The Social Tennis Development for

Children in Tanzania

1st 2013 Report

The Social Tennis Development for Children in Tanzania 1st 2013 Report

Introduction:

“S.T.D Tanzania” project was preliminary prepared with a series of preparatory activities in 2012, to reach the official start up at the beginning of 2013.

The present 1st report is the result of the operative activities carried out in the first 6 months of the project.

Project background: Sport is a universal language contributing to educate people on the values of physical, mental and financial diversities, and as a means to combat poverty, discrimination, and related

intolerance. Awareness-raising campaigns are tools to prevent and combat any type of intolerance within the civil society and to give realistic hope for better future for everybody, including the less privileged people. In line with the above mentioned rationale, the charity Association Tennis for Africa started a new tennis development project in Tanzania, aiming at promoting the social development among children through the sound principles of sport and specifically through the discipline of Tennis. The current framework in Dar Es Salaam and Tanga: Dar es Salaam is the largest city in Tanzania with a population of 4,364,541. Most of tennis courts are located in the eastern sector of the city, next to the coast. The main facilities are the Gymkhana Golf Club (14 hard courts) and the Kijitonyama Tennis Club (4 hard courts). In the other urban areas people have difficuties to find availble tennis courts: some are connected with shools or univerisities, others are mainly on a desert slab of cement with a temporary net. In addition, the access to tennis is limited by the lack of tennis equipment and by the not uniform distribution of available tennis courts in the city. The main public transportation named dala-dala is not efficient due to the traffic jam and the taxi is too expensive for the population. Dispite those difficulties, around the Gymkhana Golf Club and Kijitonyama Tennis Club, approximately 5 hundred tennis players attends the tennis courts, and this number should not be underestimated. Tennis for Africa consider this platform a fruitful basis to develop this charity tennis project.

Children at Gymkhana Golf Club

View of the hard courts

Tanga is one of the largest city in Northern Tanzania with a population of 243,580 citizens. The city has not public tennis courts except for two courts which unfortunately needs to be completely rebuilt. The unique efficient hard tennis court is managed by a private company which is involved in this project. The location of the court and facilities fits perfectly for developing tennis camps with children and coaches.

Main project goals:

The project aims at spreading the sport through the promotion of tennis in the schools with a particular attention to less privileged children and players affected by disabilities. The goals are achieved through two specific actions:

- the forniture of basic tennis equipment to assure the developing of tennis among the communities in Dar Es Salaam;

- the developing of tennis camps for local coaches and young talent players in Tanga Tennis Centre.

The role of Olivier Rochus and Stéphane Houdet:

Olivier Rochus, best ATP ranking N.24, and Stéphane Houdet, current N.1 in the world in wheelchair Tennis ranking, are the ambassadors of Tennis for Africa and have agreed to support the promotion of the Association activities and projects among the international Tennis tour in 2013. Their collaboration is attracting the attention of media and sponsors.

Tennis for Africa, through Olivier Rochus, received the support from ATP in the framework of the program “Atp Aces for Charity”. The grant made possible the beginning of the project since January 2013.

Stéphane Houdet is cooperating for developing wheelchair tennis events for reinforce the fundraising to achieve the project targets.

What we have done in the first six months

Since January 2013 the Association provided to purchase tennis equipment involving an important technical sponsor for the forniture of racquets, Volkl, and an Italian factory for the provision of T-shirts.

Totally 200 Volkl racquests and 250 T-shirts were prepared to be shipped to Tanzania by the end on June.

Important meetings took place in Dar Es Salaam and Tanga from July 5 to 12 2013. The meeting were attended by the founder of Tennis for Africa, Lorenzo Turchi, and the tennis manager and VOLKL tour manager Fabrizio Caldarone. During the stay in Tanzania the following activities were realized:

The project includes the support to wheelchair tennis players

Priority is given to less privileged children

- Presentation of the project to the Italian Embassy and the Ministry of Information Youth, Culture and Spots of Tanzania;

- New agreements with the two on site managers (in Dar Es Salaam and Tanga).

- Preliminary visits to local sport/tennis venues; meetings with local tennis coaches and communities;

- Presentation of the project to Tanzanian jounalists; - Review of the project targets with refer to the main

needs and the availability of sport facilities; - Scheduling of the activities concerning the delivery of

tennis equipment provided by local managers: - Official presentation of the project in Dar Es Salaam

and Tanga.

Project managers in Tanzania:

The project is managed through three levels of collaborations: the central financial coordination is provided by the Tennis for Africa direction; the project coordination and operative management is provided by Fabrizio Caldarone, member of Tennis for Africa and expert in professional tennis players management and coaching; the control of local activities is provided by two local managers in Dar Es Salaam and Tanga with a specific professional skill, specialized in tennis with a deep working experience inside the Country, in detail:

Inger-Johanne Njau, from Norway, is responsible for all the project activities developed in Dar Es Salaam, including the connection with the authoriies, the tennis coaches and managers. As she had an important role inside the TTF, Tanzanian Tennis Federation, her support will be important to keep good relations with institutional and technical partners.

Alessandro Caldarone, brother of Fabrizio, is a former official of the UN; he dedicated his effort specifically in African Countries, like Mozambique, Rwanda and Tanzania. Actually he is living in Tanga and is managing the unique tennis facility in the city, working as a tennis teacher and organizer of sport events.

The cooperation of those experts assures the good managemet and control of the project.

Updated project targets:

According to agreement reached in July 2013, the project aims at providing the support for:

- Beneficiaries: able body less privileged tennis players and wheelchair tennis players;

- Subjects: provision of Volkl tennis equipment; in addition to T-shirts and racquets, the Association will distribute tennis balls, strings and one stringing machine.

- venues: Dar Es Salaam will be the site where the distribution of tennis equipment will be prior;

The project managers Fabrizio Caldarone (centre) and Inger Njau

(right)

The Association founder Lorenzo Turchi (centre) with two coaches in

Dar Es Salaam

Group photo during the cerimony for the deliver of Volkl racquets

- Tanga Tennis Centre will be the site where tennis camps will take place.

Funding: at the moment the activities receives the financial support from ATP Aces for Charity program; from September 2013 Tennis for Africa should refer to other resources coming from the Association fundraising.

TENNIS FOR AFRICA ONLUS