KCB SPORTS AND SOCIAL DEPARTMENT

Young Dennis in action

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Kenyan Community Bedford has established a dedicated sports and social department in response to the growing recognition that sport and recreation play an important part in tackling a range of social problems. Sport can present an opportunity to engage young people in a positive alternative not just in terms of participation in activities, but across a range of social exclusion issues which include education, employment and training, community leadership and healthy lifestyles.

The organisation has dedicated and committed itself to using sport as a social intervention within our young people along side other educational and cultural activities.

Every Friday at 5.00pm, the community meets at Queens Park field to play football, netball, and lawn tennis. Under the leadership of Blue Belt Taekwondo holder Lukas Karanja, everyone is subjected to a series of jogging, warm up and fitness exercises before playing the games. The teams of young people, men and women then head off to play their respective games.

During the summer holidays, the ladies participated in the race for life 5 kilometre marathon, raising vital funds for the Cancer Research UK, while the men’s football team travelled to Swindon for a friendly match. All this came hot on heels after a very successful summer family trip where the organisation hired an 82 seat Coach for a day trip to Butlins Bognor Regis.

The sporting and social events have become an integral part of the community with most people reorganising their family commitments to include the Friday programme. 

In recognition to the interest generated and the enthusiasm created, the Kenyan Community Bedford organisation now remains committed to fulfil three main policy objectives in the sports and social division :

• to increase committed participation in sport, especially among young people;
• to improve sporting performance; and maintain a healthy lifestyle
•  to use sport as a social intervention for our young people
• to develop partnerships with a range of stakeholders with an aim of creating opportunities for our young people to excel to higher standards
• to increase fitness levels among the Kenyan and African men and women
• to prepare our young people for the London 2012 Olympics

The organisation now aims to work along governing bodies of sport, sports clubs, formal education and the local authority in a sustained effort to encourage participation and to improve standards of performance in sport. We intend to provide a comprehensive programme of education and training, to increase the knowledge and skills of people, therefore enabling them to contribute more fully to their local communities. These programmes will develop mentoring and leadership roles, helping others and encouraging long term involvement in sport.

 The intended outcomes are to establish:

• a reduction in youth offending;
• an increase in regular participation in sport and physical activity and encouraging a healthy lifestyle;
• an increase in personal and social capital and an increase in the capacity of individuals and groups to contribute to the development of their communities.