Shaping the Future through Table Tennis
Promoting Life-Time Activities for the Youth (PLAY) Malawi
Boys and girls aged 10 to 19 years old in Malawi are vulnerable and lack access to critical health information on Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and HIV/AIDS. These reasons often cause issues like early pregnancies, early marriages, the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases, and high school dropout rates in the area.
Play Malawi aims to boost and expand the existing sport-for-development programme in Mzuzu City, Malawi, targeting vulnerable boys and girls aged 13 to 18. They will integrate Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and HIV/AIDS education into physical activities and table tennis sessions and promote equal participation of both girls and boys as well as male and female coaches. In the 3-year period, the project will train 25 coaches to support its implementation, construct 10 table tennis tables for the 5 targeted schools, train at least 500 boys and girls, and conduct school tournaments to reinforce learning and engagement.
Contribution to the Global Goals
Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere
Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
Target 5.6: Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
Target 3.7: By 2030, ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programmes.
- Individual Change
- Improvement of health knowledge about SRH and HIV/AIDS among participants.
- Increased physical activity participation for girls and boys.
- Improved table tennis skills among participants.
- Community Change
- Involvement of parents and community leaders engaged in the initiative.
- More sports teachers and head teachers are trained and engaged in the project.
- Institutional Change
- Expansion of the project to include more schools.
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Increased participation of both girls and boys in table tennis.
- Reduced rate of girls becoming pregnant before completing primary school.
- Decreased number of students dropping out of school due to early pregnancy.
- Reduced number of boys and girls entering marriage before finishing the primary school cycle.
- Knowledge and skills
- Improved understanding of SRH and HIV/AIDS among participants.
- Enhanced table tennis skills among participants.
- Increased knowledge of SRH among participants.
- Participants are better equipped to protect themselves from sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS.
- Circumstance, quality of life or well-being
- Increased engagement of parents and community leaders in the project.
- Increased number of schools participating in the project.
- SRH and HIV/AIDS knowledge will be shared with the youth involved in the project.
- 500 youth will be recruited for the project and receive training in table tennis and life skills.
- 250 girls are expected to participate in table tennis across the 5 targeted schools.
- 4 Play Malawi coaches and 10 volunteer sports teachers will be trained as Trainers of Trainers in both table tennis coaching and SRH education.
- 25 male and female coaches will be trained in basic table tennis coaching.
- A minimum of 1,440 sessions will be conducted by April 2027.
- 10 table tennis tables will be produced using locally available materials.
- 9 table tennis tournaments, combined with SRH awareness campaigns, will be organised by April 2027.
- The number of school head teachers, Parents and Teachers Association members, and community leaders who are engaged will be tracked.
- Table tennis coaching course for 25 coaches: The course will train coaches from the schools where the project is implemented. The primary target will be sport and physical education teachers. Additionally, the coaches will receive training from experts on SRH and HIV/AIDS.
- Table tennis coaching in 5 schools, integrated with an SRH and HIV/AIDS awareness campaign: Weekly coaching sessions will be conducted in each participating school. A minimum of 5 sessions will be held per week throughout the project duration. These sessions will also incorporate knowledge sharing on SRH and HIV/AIDS between coaches and players. In some instances, experts will be invited to provide additional knowledge to the players.
- School table tennis tournaments, integrated with an SRH and HIV/AIDS awareness campaign: Tournaments will be held once every 3 months throughout the project period. These tournaments will also serve as a platform for experts to educate players on SRH and HIV/AIDS.
- Construction of 10 table tennis tables: 10 tables will be constructed using locally available materials to reduce the high cost of importing tables into Malawi. These tables will be distributed to the schools participating in the project.
- Dream Building Fund powered by GSD
- Project leaders: Gracian Mkandawire
- Fund recipient: Promoting Life-Time Activities for the Youth (Play) Malawi
Project Partners
Lovetennis initiative, Z Zurich Foundation, Luke International, Table Tennis Association of Malawi
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