Child Headed Households exercise right to PLAY

The Edmund Garwe Trust is competing in an online competition forfunding. We need as many people to nominate us as possible. So below I have some detailed information about the project we are proposing as well as instructions on how to nominate us. Could you help EGT please?
The more votes we get the more likely we are to win. The website is http://sportforchange.changemakers.net/en-us/womeninsport
Our Project Name: Playing As The Grounds for Learning
Once you get on the website please press Nominate and I have provided the sample answers below. I have also provided the project as it is submitted in detail.
On behalf of the child headed households I thank you for your support
Project Name: Playing as the Grounds for Learning
Project Description: An integrated approach to education using sport as the primary means of instruction. The child headed households currently have nothing. Zimbabwe's school system has disintegrated. The Zimbabwean culture is in tatters. Zimbabweans have lost hope and lost sight of their humanity. This project embraces orphaned girls who do not have any access to parenting and/or education and teaches them through sport and team work life skills as well as educating them about basic concepts such as literacy - how to speak properly to people, mathematics - counting and scores, social skills -coordinating with others and team building, learning to trust and work as a group and emotional skills - good sportsmanship; learning to lose gracefully and succession planning in which one allows others to takeover. We are using an integrated learning approach using sport as the driving force of instruction. It is a wholistic approach to life and living through playing a sport which is disciplined.

Why are you nominating this project? Personal Answer
Category: The power of team
Sport: Other
Organization Name: Edmund Garwe Trust
Principle Person in Charge: Wadzanai Katsande
Email Address: edmundgarwetrust@gmail.com
Website http://edmundgarwetrust.blogspot.com/
Street Address: 734 Wattle Grove, Winston ParkCity Marondera
Country: Zimbabwe
Detailed Description
Entry summary
Playing as the Grounds for Learning
Author: edmundgarwetrust
Submitted: January 9, 2009 Edmund Garwe Trust Zimbabwe
Sport - Netball and yoga categories:• Other•
The Power of team

What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence?An integrated approach to education using sport as the primary meansof instruction.

What approach does your initiative incorporate? Knowledge/educational materials

What stage is your project? Ongoing project

Year the initative began: 2008

Website: http://edmundgarwetrust.blogspot.com/

Discovery Framework Barrier: Perception shapes the future

Insight: Embed sports with other activities

Do you have any existing partnerships? If so, please list and describe. Partnerships with the Community Mothers, the Department ofSocial Welfare, the Red Cross, the Victim Friendly Unit of the PoliceForce, the Judiciary, private sector business community in Marondera, churches and other religious institutions, community organizations

How many people does your innovation serve or plan to serve? Exactly who will benefit? Currently serving 50 girl child heads of householdand aims to service 300

How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? The girls are the driving force. They meet twice during the week to practise, they have formed supportgroups for psycho-social support and they play a match every Saturday.At every meeting we have a theme we address in one of the critical learning areas - Literacy/Language Skills; Mathematical Skills, SocialSkills and Emotional Skills. We learn by doing and through practice and reinforcement.
impact Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact: Learning through reinforcement and repetition to improve language/literacy skills, mathematical skills, social skills and emotional skills.
What does impact/success look like? Please list any tangible measuresof the impact of your innovation The child headed households currently have nothing. Zimbabwe's school system has disintegrated. The Zimbabwean culture is in tatters. Zimbabweans have lost hope and lost sight of their humanity. This project embraces orphaned girls who do not have any access to parenting and/or education and teaches them through sport and teamwork life skills as well as educating them about basic concepts such as literacy - how to speak properly to people, mathematics - counting and scores, social skills - coordinating with others and team building, learning to trust and work as a group and emotional skills -good sportsmanship; learning to lose gracefully and succession planning in which one allows others to take over. We are using an integrated learning approach using sport as the driving force of instruction. It is a wholistic approach to life and living through playing a sport which is disciplined.
Is there a chance that your project could change policy (within aninstitution or government)?We hope that the emphasis on sport will act as a catalyst to the government. We want our programme to be the harbinger of change. Sport is apolitical and communal. Both players and spectators can enjoy and learn through this communal spirit. We hope to unite Zimbabweans through this exercise using the girl child as the avenue for healing and restoration of cultural norms and education.
Aside from financial sustainability, how do you plan to grow the initiative or expand your intended impact?As this is an integrated approach to education we will show that the girl-child has learnt through sport and take our method to schools to demonstrate its effectiveness. We are also forming our own school beginning with a pre-school which uses sport as the main vehicle of learning using the directional perceptual concept. We will start with simple sports that require very little and can be made from local materials - for example balls can be made from paper and plastic
sustainability How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)?The programme will target child-heads of households, however we will also have competitions and exhibitions for fund raising. Through these fund raising efforts we want to start a school that goes from pre-school through primary to develop the gross motor skills of young children. The school will have 60% paying children based on our integrated learning approach and 40% will be non-paying child heads ofhouseholds. We already have the premises and the staff.
If your project is already up and running, tell us your:
Annual budget: Our current budget is a Euro 15,000 grant from Women Win
Annual revenue generated:vvMost contributions generated have been in kind in terms of food for the girls and clothing. We have not started the fee paying.
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers)3 full time and 30+ volunteers
What are the main barriers to financing your initiative, and how doyou plan to address these barriers? The biggest barrier is the hyper inflationary environment in Zimbabwe. Everything is astronomically expensive. We generally try to use forms of barter in this economy and buy most of our material (mostly food and medication) outside the country in bulk.
What are the major challenges with regards to partnerships? Communication - the communication system in Zimbabwe is very poor so we cannot communicate by internet and new technology. Thus we have to revert to making appointments and honouring them and sometimes this is not possible because of the economic constraints on individuals and organizations
about the author What was the motivation or defining moment that led to create thisinnovation? Tell us the story. I conducted an exploratory study on Violence and Abuse in Child Headed Households to ascertain the causes, effects and to try to find possible remedies as my Masters Research Thesis. One of the key findings was that child headed households lack time to play and timeto themselves. So I thought they can play and learn at the same time using sport as the medium of instruction.
Please tell us about the social innovator behind this initiative I am a 43 year old Wife and mother of 2. I have watched HIV/AIDS destroy the social fabric of my community. My passion is to give back to the children their rights beginning with the right to play. A child deserves a childhood and deserves the right to live as a child. Iwould like to help bring a semblance of childhood back to these children who have lost their parents and are forced to fend for themselves.
contact informationMrs. Wadzanai Katsande Director Edmund Garwe Trust 734 Wattle Grove, Winston Park edmundgarwetrust@gmail.com