BBC Learnings · Section 7

Sport against poverty

We all know that sport is great for our health and if you're talented, it can make you rich.

Level: C1 · 119 sentences

Transcript

We all know that sport is great for our health
and if you're talented, it can make you rich.
Many great champions have found a way out
of poverty through their sporting ability.
Think of someone like footballer Maradona.
But in today's programme, we're not looking at the superstars.
Instead, we'll discuss how sport can change the lives of young people
from some of the poorest, toughest backgrounds on earth.
And of course, we'll be learning some vocabulary on the way.
Many projects around the world use sport to change children's lives,
improving mental health, challenging stereotypes and giving hope.
Among them is the Ebony Club in Brixton,
which uses sport to help young people in London's most disadvantaged communities.
But which sport? That's my quiz question.
Is it a golf, b tennis or c horse riding?
Well, I can't imagine there's enough space for golf
and horse riding in the city,
so I'll say b tennis. OK.
We'll find out the answer later.
Just now we were talking about London,
but sporting projects like the Ebony Club
are happening all over the world.
In Cape Town, South Africa, British surfer Tim Conibear
noticed how kids from poor townships
hardly ever went to the beach,
so he started giving them free surfing lessons.
Tim founded the Waves for Changes project and now hundreds
of kids go along each week to get surfing therapy.
Not only is surfing giving them a buzz,
it's helping to improve their life chances.
Here he is talking to the BBC World Service programme, People Fixing the World.
Surfing also is quite difficult.
So you're learning a very challenging skill,
which takes a lot of confidence.
So these very small successes that children
have when they go into the water,
it is a really big emotional response.
So if you come from a background of trauma,
quite often you'll have a negative self-image.
And being able to try something new, achieve something new,
be recognised by a coach or a mentor
is very, very good for your confidence as well.
Most of the surfers have experienced trauma.
emotional pain and shock caused by very distressing experiences.
This has given them a negative self-image –
the way a person feels about themselves,
their ability, personality and value.
Surfing helps kids improve their self-image because it's challenging –
difficult in a way that tests your ability and determination.
So challenging, in fact, that the children have a mentor.
a trusted adviser who gives help
and support to a younger or less experienced person.
Tim believes that the concentration needed to surf
makes the children's other problems disappear,
at least for a short time.
And the results so far have been optimistic,
with a significant reduction in violent behaviour
reported among Cape Town's young surfers.
Surfing is quite well known in South Africa.
But what happens when you take a completely unknown sport
into one of the least developed countries on earth?
In 2007, Australian Oliver Perkovic was travelling in Afghanistan with his skateboard.
The children there were fascinated, so he
started showing them how to skate.
The idea grew and a few years
later he founded the organisation Skatistan,
giving free skateboard lessons to children aged 5 to 17.
with a focus on those with disabilities
from low-income backgrounds and especially girls.
Here's Skaterstan volunteer Jessica Faulkner explaining
how skateboarding reinforces positive educational messages
which Afghan kids don't always get at home.
There's a few things that the skateboarding
does as a kind of function.
It is really quite challenging.
It's not an easy sport for anyone whether
you're young or old and that means that it
also teaches quite a lot of life skills.
You have to fall off a skateboard quite a lot
of times before you get better
and it really helps children with things
like goal setting and resilience and determination.
Also, and really importantly, we do believe that children should have fun.
Like surfing, skateboarding is challenging and difficult.
It requires effort and Jessica believes
this teaches children important life skills –
the basic skills needed to solve
problems commonly encountered in everyday life.
One important life skill is goal setting –
deciding what things you want to achieve
and how you plan to achieve them.
Along with other skills like determination and resilience,
this helps kids improve their outlook on life.
And to experience one of the most important things – having fun.
Which reminds me about the kids
at the Ebony Club and my quiz question.
Remember that I asked you which sport the club
uses to support disadvantaged children in London?
Yeah, and I said b tennis.
But in fact it's c horse riding,
a sport normally associated with the elite.
In this episode we've been discussing how sport
can help improve the life chances
of young people from tough backgrounds,
many of whom have suffered trauma.
severe emotional pain and distress.
Such pain damages a child's self-image –
how they see and value themselves in the world.
This can be improved by taking part in sports like surfing,
skating and horse riding which are challenging,
demanding and testing of your abilities.
Often kids are supported by a mentor – a trusted,
more experienced friend who can offer help and advice.
And with this support, they learn life skills –
basic skills everyone needs to cope with everyday problems.
One important skill is goal setting –
deciding what you want to accomplish and planning how to do it.
And of course,
sometimes the most important goal is just to have fun!