The lights of Intercontinental Hotel in Lusaka with its smart guests, huge rooms and luxurious mirrors for one night has taken the place of the fascinating and simple life of Chikupi whose rhythm seems to come from a different era of many decades ago. Dorothy Shawa, young promise in the Never Give Up cross-country running circuit, was nominated in the category Outstanding Contributions and Achievements in Youth Sport by a Player in the Sport for Development Awards 2010 organized by Sport in Action; together with a small group of team mates from Chikupi and the Senior champion Gillias, she looks around with curiosity and admiration almost unaware of the fundamental role she plays as a young woman in a reality where sport is not among the socially accepted activities of women. The acknowledgement of such role in a national platform like the Sport for Development Awards is not only a great personal achievement in Dorothy’s career, but also a step towards a very important goal in the field of Sport as a tool for social change and development: the inclusion and integration of women in sport and society.
The amazing presence of coaches and organizers of the Never Give Up project is a clear sign of the commitment and success of the program, which since 2006 has been organizing cross-country running circuits and a football league under the principle of sport for social and personal development in Kafue and its surrounding rural areas. Among the finalists in different categories: Danny Polomondo, great football coach admired by his young players and their families; Wellington Mwansa, whose role in the development of girls’ football is recognized not only in Kafue but also at a national level; Regina Chipwele, Headteacher of a small Community School in Chiparamba where she uses sport as a tool of physical and psycho-social development among her pupils; Edith Kalunga, a model of inspiration for her young athletes with her mottos such as “Self-discipline and Self-respect! We say NO to drug and alcohol abuse!”; Borniface Tembo, coach of the strongest runners in the Never Give Up cross-country circuit and outstanding Sport Teacher; New Sports’ Horizons, new local organization which is starting to take charge of the Never Give Up activities with the aim of achieving long-term sustainability.
“And the winner is” announces the Master of Ceremony, while we excitedly wonder who will walk to the podium to receive the award live on national television on ZNBC. Dorothy Shawa lifts the trophy for Outstanding Contributions and Achievements in Youth Sport by a Player, Regina Chipwele for Outstanding Achievements by a Female Coach as a Tool for Social Change and Borniface Tembo for Outstanding Achievements by a School Sports Teacher.
It’s surely a very special evening for all the winners and the finalists whose role in sport has been recognized at national level, but one cannot ignore the impression that this event live on national television is more of a well-thought out publicity stunt for sponsors and governmental officials than an actual celebration of those who are working on the field of sport for development and social change trying to achieve better conditions for young Zambian athletes; proving once again that the interest of the private sector in project of cooperation for development is tightly connected to advertising and marketing campaigns and still far from a philanthropic ideal of social responsibility.