Sports Development Expedition (SDX)

As an SDX volunteer, you will travel to Kenya as part of a team on a 4-week expedition where you will spend a month working with several local schools coaching football, netball, athletics and hockey and improving school and community sports facilities.  The month culminates in a two-day interschool sports festival, which your team will organise and run.

Whether you are currently on a sports related course, or simply have an interest in sports development, this structured programme will train you up on all the skills necessary to effectively coach sports overseas before you travel out and work on this incredibly rewarding project.

Established in 2007, SDX has been running for three years and has grown year upon year, receiving national awards and recognition. To date 80 volunteers have worked with 3 under-privileged Kenyan schools, coached 1,200 children and benefitted a further 6,500 people by improving community sports facilities and creating opportunities.

We’ve developed partnerships with Bournemouth and Portsmouth Universities as well as partnering with Southampton University, Surrey University, the charity Boots for Africa and professional football club Portsmouth F.C.

What ARE THE MAIN ISSUES?

• Sport and P.E. not part of the National Curriculum
• Lack of sports teachers
• Run-down or non-existent school and community sports pitches and facilities
• Lack of school sports equipment and student kit
• Gender inequality

PROJECT TIMELINE

2007:  

• Constructed sports pitches – Constructed full size football pitches and netball pitches for three schools and a 100m Athletics track for the Festival at Makongeni Primary School
• Sports kit - Took out three full squad football strips donated by Bournemouth University
• Sports equipment – Took out a full set of footballs, netballs, bibs, cones, pumps, sports bags and first aid kits for every school. Installed 2 full size metal football goals at Makongeni, 2 full size wooden goals at Kinondo and Muhaka and full size wooden netball posts with metal nets at all three schools
• First inter-schools sports festival – All three schools competed against each other in Football, Netball and Athletics (100m) in a truly unique tournament. Attended by the local press, the Kenya National football captain and over 500 villagers
• School Physical Education programme introduced – Shared best practise and lesson plans with head teachers and subject teachers from all three schools
• Gender inequality – Used sport to address via training on the same pitches, at the same time, playing the same sports and competing in the same inter-schools tournament
• 2007 Champions – Kinondo School

2008:  

• Maintained sports pitches – Re-marked, cut grass and painted all the pitches and made all necessary repairs to football goals and netball nets
• Sports kit - Took out three new full squad football strips donated by Portsmouth University
• Sports Equipment – Provided new full sets of footballs, netballs, bibs, cones etc for all schools
• Second inter-schools sports festival – The re-match! After a year in waiting, all three schools turned up determined to claim the crown. This time 200m was added to the sports being battled out. Over 600 villagers turned up to watch and the local press attended to interview the volunteers, students and teachers
• School Physical Education Programme – New P.E. best practise and lesson plans were shared and an agreement was struck to send out lesson plans throughout the course of the academic year, which would be taught by our gap volunteers
• 2008 Champions – Muhaka School

2009:

• Maintained Sports Pitches – Similar to 2009, re-marked, cut grass, painted all pitches and made necessary repairs to football goals and netball nets
• Sports kit – Took out 100 pairs of new football boots in conjunction with the Boots For Africa Campaign and Sheffield F.C. Also took out three new full squad Portsmouth F.C. football strips as donated by Portsmouth F.C.
• Sports equipment – Provided new full set of footballs, netballs, bibs, cones and sports coaching chalkboards for all schools
• Third inter-schools sports festival - The lead up to the tournament was reaching fever pitch! News had clearly spread and this time the local and National press were in attendance along with over 800 local villagers. A cross-country fun-run was added to the line-up.
• School Physical Education programme – Continued P.E. knowledge sharing with teachers and lesson plans produced and donated by Portsmouth F.C.’s Pompey Study Centre.
• 2009 Champions – Makongeni School

YOUR ROLE AS A VOLUNTEER

• Planning and delivering multi-sports coaching sessions as part of a team
• Improving school sports facilities via low level construction work
• Planning, organising and running the end of month inter-schools sports festival
• Liaising with school teachers to share Physical Education best practise and lesson plans