WINDHOEK – The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has partnered with the Namibian National Olympic Committee (NNOC) in support of the aiming to provide financial assistance to NNOC to support the planned activities the Queen’s Baton Relay.
Globally the Unicef strategy is known for using sports-based programmes to improve children’s lives, as well as strengthening communities to achieve goals relating to HIV. Unicef Namibia has selected ‘sport for development’ as one of the key priorities for the Namibia/Unicef country programme cycle (2014-2018). Unicef has embarked on several key partnerships with sports organizations like the Namibia Football Association (NFA) and Cricket Namibia (CN) and now with the NNOC. The UN agency will support the NNOC in line with its sports development strategy and donated N$100 000.
This collaboration will advance joint efforts to promote child protection and healthy recreation in furtherance of the principles contained in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The partnership also aims at giving young people a purpose, and a belonging. Through the participation of both girls and boys, the strategy will help challenge existing norms on gender biases, as well as discrimination by providing an excellent space for promoting healthy lifestyles, including building their skills for identifying risks as well as reducing their vulnerability to HIV, alcohol abuse and exploitation, said Micaela Marques de Sousa who is also the Unicef country representative in Namibia. Hon. Agnes Tjongarero, who is the Secretary General of the NNOC said “they are very excited about the partnership, the Namibian National Olympic Committee is really honoured. Sports is not only for the youth, but also children, children like to play, that’s what they want, they want to play and sports development for the children is actually played.
They must play but when it is organised in the case of the Olympic committee you just don’t allow them to play you guide them, you guide them with some sort of discipline, you guide them on how to behave and in a little way how to handle their stress levels, because there are different levels in the Olympics.” Tjongarero also emphasised that this the partnership with Unicef is important.
By John Muyamba