The goal of the Dream Camps, UNEP's Nature and Sports Camps, is to set up educational institutions and programs for generations of youngsters to come, providing an opportunity for children from developing countries to learn about the environment through sport. Education is the key and eco-leadership training is being achieved through play acting & dance, active clean-ups, recycling projects, discussion groups for problem solving, development of life skills, and community action.
UNEP Nature and Sports Camps
The Nature and Sports Camps of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) are leadership training programs on sport and the environment for children from underprivileged communities.
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31) states in part ”that every child has the right to recreation opportunities” and the Nature and Sports Camps endeavour to deliver this right to underprivileged children who are seldom the priority of policy makers in developing countries. The camps combine sport training through tennis, football, basketball and volleyball with community environmental activities such as recycling, clean-up activities, workshops, tree planting, environmental awareness and water management programs. They provide the children an opportunity to actively contribute to environmental activities and become role models for other children and adults in their communities.
The camps primarily involve children who have no regular access to structured sport activities and facilities or to environmental education. The camps aim to provide basic skills to these children, giving them an opportunity to realise their sporting dreams and build their capacity to become environmental leaders in their communities. They provide educational opportunities and exchange programs to enable the children to interact with and share experiences with children from privileged communities.
The camp uses the services of foreign volunteer coaches and interns who not only provide training on sport and the environment for the children, but inspire them to work hard and become role models for their communities.
Objectives
- Creating awareness on various environmental issues among children and their communities;
- Building the capacity of children in underprivileged communities to cope with the environmental problems in their communities;
- Training children to become environmental leaders and role models in their communities;
- Providing sport opportunities to children who do not have access to regular sports facilities and equipment;
- Providing exchange programs for children in developing countries;
- Involving children in practical environmental activities;
- Involving children from underprivileged communities in efforts to seek solutions to their environmental and social problems through discussions and actual participation in projects.
Why establish an environmental program that uses sport as its main vehicle?
- Sports help children develop physical skills, get exercise, make friends, have fun, learn to play as members of a team, learn to play fair and improve their self-esteem;
- Recreation and sport activities have an obvious positive link to excellent physical growth in children through the development of gross motor skills (running and jumping), strength and endurance;
- Participation in physical activity contributes positively to physical health and well-being and also promotes social and emotional growth;
- Positive play experiences also foster moral development in children by helping them to learn to give up instant self-gratification for a more sophisticated moral code based on fairness and mutual satisfaction. By learning to respect and apply the rules of the game, children learn to empathise with others and appreciate fair play;
- Elevated self-esteem, which can be developed by participation in sport and recreation, can lead to a higher level of motivation and can buffer young people against adverse influences, such as substance abuse and delinquent behavior;
- Academic performance may be enhanced by an increase in a student’s habitual level of physical activity. Participation in extra-curricular activities lowers rates of school dropout, especially among at-risk children;
- Physical activity and recreation provide youth with the opportunity to develop leadership and organizational skills by participating as coaches and team leaders.
|
Activities
The Nature and Sports Camps provide a wide range of environmental activities which seek to increase environmental awareness among children and their communities. The activities which seek to promote practical involvement of children in environmental issues include the following:
Environmental workshops and seminars
The camps offer workshops to children to raise environmental awareness. The camps also offer seminars to provide teachers with ideas on ways of incorporating environmental issues in the activities of their children.
Recycling
The camps offer opportunities for children to learn about ways of recycling products and the importance of recycling.
Tree Planting and Clean-ups
One of the main activities of the camps is to involve children in the UNEP Plant for the Planet campaign, a global tree planting initiative for schools and community groups. Children in the camps are involved in regular tree planting exercises and clean-up activities. These clean-ups involve picking up of household waste in their communities and around their play areas.
Play-acting and Dance
The children are actively involved in plays, dances and skits that tackle environmental themes. This is a very effective form of capturing the imagination of the children, especially if they are able to relate to what they see in the play.
The camps also provide children with the opportunity to engage in actual sport activities. These activities include football, tennis, basketball, volleyball and swimming.
Weekly sport training
Regular training is organised for children to learn and engage in their favorite sport on weekends.
Sport tournaments
The camp organises tournaments for the children to compete among themselves.
Holiday camps
Holiday camps are organised during school holidays for children in the camp to learn about various types of sports.
The camp in Nairobi
The first camp was launched in Nairobi, Kenya, in August 2001 and it is managed by the Sadili Oval Sports Club. Since its creation, the camp has engaged over 7,000 children, mainly from the Kibera slums – one of Africa’s biggest slums - in sport and environment activities. The camp in Nairobi has been visited by several high profile dignitaries including the King and Queen of Sweden and the President of the International Olympic Committee.
Some of the important achievements of the camp in Kenya include:
- Twenty-six children are now top in tennis nationally, with one in the Davis Cup team, two in the Fed Cup team, two in the Under 18 girls team, seven in the Under 18 boys team and four in the Under 13 national teams.
- The camp is defending champion in the national junior tennis league (1999 to 2005).
- Sadili Flames is the youngest team ever to advance to the Premier League in Basketball in Kenya.
- Three of the children attended the 2000 International Children's Conference on the Environment in Easbourne, UK, four have attended the ICCE in Canada in 2002, two represented the camp in the G-forSE Conference in Japan in 2003 and one attended the ICCE in Conneticut, USA.
- The level of truancy has reduced from 65% in participating schools in Kiberia to less than 12%.
- Girls have received a much-needed opportunity to acieve self-actualisation through sports.
- Girls are performing better in school by 31% and more girls are staying in school.
- 6400 kids from schools in Kiberia slums (Nairobi) and Kondele slums (Kisumu) have benefitted from the sports and environment leadership.
- The Nairobi City Council and the local leaders have come forward and assisted during the clean-ups, tree-planting and sports events.
- The sports programme is now the high point in the lives of the children and has inculcated good community spirit.
Similar camps are envisaged elsewhere.
Business case
- High profile media announcement of exclusive partnership for the camp.
- Branding on venues of the camp.
- Branding on sport kits for the children.
- Visibility on the camp web site.
- A profile on the UNEP website on sport and the environment as a partner.
- Acknowledgement in releases, video, brochures and publications on the camp.
- Use of the camp for companies' CSR.
- Synergy with the partner’s existing environmental programs.
- Further features to be agreed between UNEP and the corporate partner.
View the video >>> |
