MBARE Tigers came out victorious at the International Day of the Girl Child basketball round robin tournament at Stoddard grounds in Mbare over the weekend, beating Mbare Grind A in the finals.
BY GARISH PHIRI
They narrowly won the match 24–21 in an exciting finale, to scoop the gold medal in a tournament for girls under the age of 19.
The tourney was hosted by Justice for Children Trust (JCT) whose mission is to promote transformative justice and enjoyment of human rights by children, in particular the girl child.
Dadisayi Gwaunza, who is the projects officer of the youth and JCT member, highlighted that the main objective of this programme was to empower the girl child through sports.
She said they also want to eradicate the stereotype that surrounds basketball, a sport regarded as elitist.
“More often than not, girls from marginalised communities are left behind in sporting activities such as basketball and yet if their talents are nourished to their full potential, they can go far. Some of these girls are really talented girls. We are saying, give every girl child equal opportunities and leave no child behind so as to create child and young people communities where no child misses out on any opportunity to develop to their fullest potential” Gwaunza said.
The tournament entered its third year and targets marginalised areas such as Epworth, Hatcliff and Mbare.
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Besides playing basketball, the participants were also trained on other life skills, including leadership, project management, financial literacy, advocacy, legitimacy, transparency and accountability.
“Equipped with these skills, the young people (girls) are now in position to actively take part in developmental projects in their communities,” she added.
