ISMP will partner with Centre Presbyterien d'Amour des Jeunes (CPAJ) child rehabilitation center to provide a basketball program in the form of coaching and equipment (shoes, basketballs, jerseys) to benefit 50+ children ages 5-15 in Kigali, Rwanda. Basketball gives these children a chance to do something they love and wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to do, thereby bolstering mental and physical health while providing a foundation for positive intra-community connection
CPAJ child rehab center in Kigali has basic resources but lacks funding for programs enhancing children's emotional well-being, such as basketball which the children are passionate about. These children aged 5-15 face extreme hardship in their lives and lack an expressive outlet to be themselves, be kids, and have fun. ISMP has worked with CPAJ on both sports and music programs in the past and we are looking for funding to continue the basketball programming for 50 children at CPAJ.
This project will allow ISMP to fund CPAJ's basketball program in 2020. This will enable ISMP to help CPAJ to locally source equipment including jerseys and basketball shoes for the children to play in. Also, this project will enable CPAJ to bring qualified instructors to coach the children and further enhance their skills. Together, this program gives these children, most of whom have broken families or no family at all, something to wake up and look forward to every day, and lets kids be kids.
Basketball teaches these 50 young children the value of teamwork, leadership, and overall will boost their mental health through sports expression. Basketball gives the children a structured and positive way to channel their emotions during their time at the shelter, helping them create a more stable life after leaving the shelter. This will help in the child rehab center's goal of rehabilitating these children so that they can be reintegrated into society and placed with a family to live with.
