Ileje teachers train on managing Unified Sports

DAR ES SALAAM: SOME 60 teachers from 20 primary schools located in Ileje District Council, Songwe Region benefited from a two-day drill on how to manage Unified Sports.

The workshop that was conducted recently in the district was organised by Special Olympics Tanzania (SOT), through the Unified Champion School project.

The project funded by Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan aims at encouraging the spirit of playing together between pupils who are intellectual disabled and their normal colleagues.

In his opening speech at the event, Acting Director of Ileje District Council, Selemani Kateti urged the beneficiaries of the training to incorporate pupils with intellectual disabilities in different sporting activities.

“Learners with intellectual disabilities should be included in sports that you organise in your schools in order to scale up the spirit of playing together with their normal friends.

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“We are happy to see that this project has come here and it is my hope that it will be properly managed in order to fulfil its target,” he said.

On his part, Songwe Region Sports Officer, Mtaka Chibwi hailed SOT for continuing to facilitate the culture of Unified Sports in various schools around the country.

“I believe that these teachers will be able to amicably apply the skills they have learnt on the ground thereby meeting the requirements of the project,” Chibwi said.

Similarly, one of the trainees Victor Mwakatoga from Itaba Primary School encouraged his colleagues to ensure that they work hard and value the Ileje District Council through the project.

“The issue of fostering togetherness via sports is very important and this should not end here but also, when pupils go back to their homes, they need to maintain the same culture,” he said.

SOT National Director, Charles Rays, urged the teachers to play a critical role in implementing the goals of the project, in order to leave behind a longlasting legacy as far as Unified Sports is concerned.

Aside of the training, the targeted schools were awarded various sports gears like balls, netball nets, whistles and many others. The Unified Champion School initiative is targeting to reach 60 Primary Schools in five regions of the country and impart training to teachers on how to conduct Unified Sports.