The project

I'm raising £800 to travel to The Gambia, with fellow Football 4 Peace (F4P) volunteers and staff, to help run a programme of activities and a festival to over 250 disadvantaged Gambian kids, teachers and coaches. We will teach the F4P methodology using a specific 'values-based' approach which allows the participants to develop crucial life skills and values, e.g. trust, respect, inclusion, responsibility, equity etc. That will hopefully stay with them and positively shape their lives.

Football 4 Peace is a research and education organisation that uses sport to deliver bespoke ‘values-based’ coaching programmes for areas suffering from frequent inter-community conflict and political disorder. Instead of focusing on the development of a sporting technique, F4P focuses on developing the child and their values. We do this by assembling children from multiple communities in conflict together, mixing them up and running activities focused on the 5 F4P values (Trust, Respect, Responsibility, Inclusion and Equity). This puts the children out of their comfort zone and forces them to rely on one another, breaking down the social boundaries, building their character and allowing them to make new friends in the process. The wider impact of the project is that it allows members of conflicting communities to interact and socialise with one another, allowing for relationships to be made and progressing towards the main goal of a mutual understanding and peaceful co-existence between the different communities in The Gambia.

About me

My name is Harry Barnes, I'm currently studying in my second year at the University of Brighton and my career goal is to become a Secondary School Physical Education teacher. I've always been passionate about teaching and coaching, having coached in multiple schools and various after-school clubs/sports days with a wide variety of children from all backgrounds. This will be the most unique coaching experience of my life, but I'm sure it will be as unforgettable at it is challenging!

The story

F4P is important to me because, even having only been involved with the organisation for a year, I already recognise how life-changing and important it is for so many people, both the participants and the coaches. In the short time that I've been involved, I have already taken part in multiple F4P events. These include travelling to Northampton to teach the F4P methodology to adults and teenagers with learning disabilities, as well as Chelsea Children's Camp, in which the same 20 residents travelled to Eastbourne, where myself and other F4P volunteers cared for them and gave them a holiday.

Most recently, I have helped run an all-day Football 4 Peace festival in Falmer, in which over 110 children from 6 local schools attended. This may be the most impactful event as it allowed me to see, first-hand, the difference before and after the children being taught using the F4P methodology. At the start of the event, the participants were understandably shy and didn't interact with pupils of other schools, however at the end of the day, all the participants felt integrated into their team, knowing everyone's name. Afterwards, they were entrusted to referee their own tournament matches in which everyone could see a noticeable difference in the pupils' honestly and respectfulness towards each other.

Where will the money go?

The £800 will cover my cost to travel to and stay in The Gambia, as well as the cost of running the training camp e.g. equipment. It will allow myself and other F4P volunteers from around the world to implement a training programme like the one mentioned previously, impacting hundreds of disadvantaged children's' lives.

Moreover, it will have a profound effect on me, allowing me to grow and develop as a coach whilst also giving me a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to coach children from around the world. This will benefit both my professional and personal future, allowing me to become a more rounded and experienced teacher, whilst also helping shape myself as a better individual.

Rewards

Due to the area of The Gambia we are going to and the intensity of the work we are doing, this has restricted the amount of rewards for any donations that we are able to provide. Although, to anyone who does donate it will greatly benefit many lives around the world, and everyone at F4P is extremely grateful.

Help us succeed!

• You don’t just need to give money to help us succeed!
• Please share this project with anyone you think would support us – on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, by email, telephone, in a chat over the fence or on your blog.
• In fact, share it with everyone you know as we think it's a great idea, and the more people who know about it, the more likely we are to make this work out brilliantly.
• And we know we said that money isn’t all we need, but we’d love it if you could donate. Please support us and help make this project happenTHANK YOU!