Zebaldt Ngaruka
The Omaheke National Youth Sports Development Platform (NYSDP) held an orientation session for sports volunteers in the Otjinene constituency over the weekend.
About 17 participants from Otjombinde, Epukiro, Mooidraai Farm and host Otjinene took part in a three-day workshop that started on Friday and ended on Sunday.
NYSDP coordinator Mervin Tuaire told New Era Sport the session was primarily aimed at enlightening and empowering the sports volunteers with skills in various aspects.
“The NYSDP programmes covered include rights for
children to play, scholars for athletes, the WiGirls programme, financial literacy, as well as management and administrative skills, and they were facilitated by Isa Saidi, the director of NYSDP,” explained Tuaire.
The coordinator added that the three-day seminar was aimed at inviting more volunteers who have passion for youth activities in the region, and it attracted sports lovers from the Otjozondjupa region’s Okondjatu.
“This was all with the purpose of developing sports in our rural areas, as Okondjatu is our neighbour, and this will benefit the communities in surrounding villages. We hope the participants will plough back into their respective youth groups,” he said.
Abraham Pikinini from farm Mooidraai, who is a football team coach, told New Era Sport that the workshop was an eye-opener for him, and that he was hungry for the information shared, despite the short period.
“It was my first time attending this important event, and we need it very much, especially for us coaching farms and village teams to learn from,” Pikinini said.
The Mooidraai coach added he learnt how to administer his team’s finances and manage players in different age groups, among other things.
Pikinini said with the skills gained from the session, he will start training athletics for the under-13 youth in the Mooidraai area in addition to the football team.
On her part, Anita Kaihiva from Otjiteke village in Otjinene constituency said team management, administration and financial management were among the major topics that caught her attention.
“It was indeed a good seminar, and I learned a lot in a short period. I am currently busy with the netball team, but I would like to add women’s football to the Otjinene setup. The skills gained here should be utilised. Thus, I am taking this opportunity to thank the organisers for coming up with such programmes for the development of sports in our constituency,” Kaihiva said.
The coordinator, Tuaire, said the workshop gave them the opportunity to prepare different sports clubs in the region to be ready for the upcoming Athletic Carnival, slated for end f July.