Breaking/Building Walls for Afghan Women & Girls
RTP built a a 6 meter-high fence around a play field, where women could be safely outdoors, and be trained as coaches.
About You
Contact Information
Title
Mr.
First name
Michael
Last name
Bedford
Your job title
Asia Regional Director
Name of your organization
Right To Play
Organization type
NGO
Annual budget/currency
$27 million USD
Location
Project Street Address
House No. 285A, Street 40, F-10/4
Project City
Peshawar, Quetta
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
44000
Project Country
Pakistan
Your idea
Choose your sport: (check all that apply)
Other
If you chose "other" for Sport, please define in 1-2 words below
Volleyball, badminton
What approach does your initiative incorporate?
Knowledge/educational materials
Year the initiative began (yyyy)
2002
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If your project has a website, paste the web address here:
Plot your innovation within the discovery framework:
Barrier
Girls internalize cultural stereotypes
Insight
Visibility multiplies participation
This field has not been completed.
Name Your Project
Breaking/Building Walls for Afghan Women & Girls
Describe Your Idea
RTP built a a 6 meter-high fence around a play field, where women could be safely outdoors, and be trained as coaches.
Innovation
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?
RTP built a a 6 meter-high fence around a play field, where women could be safely outdoors, and be trained as coaches.
How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit?
Direct beneficiaries: 6,400 children, youth and adults
Indirect beneficiaries: 50,000 children, youth and adults
Do you have any existing partnerships? If so, please list and describe.
Local schools
Local government
Afghan refugee community leaders
Afghan Consulate (Peshawar)
Basic Education for Awareness Reforms and Empowerment (BEFARe)
In which sector do these partners work? (Check all that apply)
Citizen sector (non profits, NGOs) .
How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing?
Gender empowerment is based on a multiple of exercises and activities. RTP uses sport & play as a training tool for women, allowing leaders to emerge within the safe environment. Those who show themselves as leaders become role models for younger women. The lack of formalized structured sport & play denies a vehicle in providing children & youth with life-skills training. Using the Red Ball Child Play curriculum, children learn about how to take care of themselves and one another. Children learn best when having fun and RTP addresses the lack of physical activity to bring this empowering message to youth & children.
Impact
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact
Promote peaceful communities and healthy behavior through sports for children and youth in selected communities, with primary focus on girls.
What does impact/success look like? Please list any tangible measures of the impact of your innovation
Schools receive government money based on number of students. School principals report increased enrollment, especially girls, from other villages to RTP schools, and support the activities. RTP withdraws from any school using corporal punishment. Parents witness daughters having fun, and allow them to play in the protected enclosed area. This attitudinal change within family marks change of values. Girls become leaders in community.
Is there a chance that your project could change policy (within an institution or government)?
The concept of including more girls in school has attracted the attention of the Pakistan Ministry of Education. A new project in Madan is starting under guidance of MoE, and will work with two teacher Colleges. RTP coaches returning to Afghanistan reportedly started same project there.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow the initiative or expand your intended impact?
Females and children with a disability have been encouraged to participate since project inception. As a result, 80% of the total beneficiaries are female. Females are leading on both project sites; they are in larger numbers as Coaches and there are more girls’ schools participating than boys’ schools. In addition, women’s badminton and cricket teams have been formed in both Quetta and Peshawar. School principals seek RTP programs to increase attendance and funding.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?
RTP in Pakistan is funded by RNMFA [since 2002], a private Swiss donor [2005], and the Norwegian Embassy in Islamabad [2009].
Financing source
Annual budget
$284,000 USD in this project; $400,000 in two other projects using same approaches of inclusion of girls.
Annual revenue generated
none
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)
27 full-time staff; score of local volunteers; teachers
What are the main barriers to financing your initiative, and how do you plan to address these barriers?
Lack of volunteer culture jeopardizes sustainable participation in RTP project; Internal conflict within communities create exclusive projects; Sport can lead to a highly competitive environment, which may cause conflict; Activities are not completed as scheduled due to external factors beyond the control of RTP such as political unrest; Large scale voluntary repatriation/ resettlement of Right To Play trained coaches back to Afghanistan.
What are the major challenges with regards to partnerships?
Government inertia; conservative community values; NGO competition.
The Story
What stage is your project?
Ongoing project .
What was the motivation or defining moment that led to create this innovation? Tell us the story.
The core value of RTP is inclusion; yet in the field witnessed girls and young women not present in outdoors activities. In understanding the conservative values of the Afghan community led to discussions of how to adapt RTP model to the community. The protective wall emerged from such discussions.
Please tell us about the social innovator behind this initiative
The Winter Olympic’s Organizing Committee conceived Olympic Aid (now Right To Play) in 1992. Emerging out of this initiative, the four-time Gold Medalist Johann Olav Koss, who donated a large portion of his winnings to Olympic Aid, and challenged fellow athletes and the public to donate money. An unprecedented $18 million US was raised. Johann Koss then founded Right To Play.
(Optional) To be eligible for an additional prize, please select age range
27 or older
 | 173 weeks agoRahul (Robin) Brahmbhatt said: Hello Michael, What a great initiative. I am curious to see how your efforts in Pakistan and Thailand are different from some of the ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 174 weeks agoNsazimihingo Ruzibiza John Bosco said: Hello mfbedford, Am glad to here that you identified sports as a healing tool and a possible therapy for post conflict societies like ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 174 weeks agoRenata Affonso said: Hello Michael, I would like to invite you to join the Women Win group. Women Win is the first ever international women’s fund ... about this Competition Entry. - read more > |
| 174 weeks agoMichael Bedford submitted this idea. |
