Timeline

In early March 2020 our partner, Kickin Back held their Shamrock Shootout soccer tournament. This fundraiser filled a 40 foot container with school supplies and soccer equipment! The container is ready to be shipped once Covid-19 restrictions are lifted.

The Mzuzu City primary schools fielded four girls’ teams and held their first soccer showcase in 2019. Banda Bola Sports Foundation supports this program with soccer equipment and uniforms

This grass roots coed soccer league is engaging children at a young age. The goal is similar to our older scholastic league: to encourage kids to attend school, stay in school and have fun playing with their friends. Children are being sensitized at a younger age to be inclusive and respect each other.

Kickin’ Back, LTD, based in Poughkeepsie NY, became a partner in 2017 and shares our belief that sports can be used for social change. In 2018, Kickin’ Back shipped a 40-foot container of supplies to our program in Malawi. The soccer equipment, sports bras and children’s books, which were donations from clubs, players and families in their area, were distributed to over 35 schools in Malawi.

Coaches Across Continents returned to Chituka Village and completed its 3-year in-country commitment to help build infrastructure and support for our programs. In 2018 CAC trained 60 volunteer coaches, quadruple the number from the first year (15) and three times more than the second year (20). CAC ran soccer clinics, taught in schools, and discussed development issues like human rights and gender equality. CAC will continue its partnership with us through its resources and training webinars.

Banda Bola Sports Foundation registered with CONGOMA and is established as an NGO in Malawi.

Historic First: Three students from Malenga Mzoma Primary School were selected for National Secondary School.

The Scholastic Soccer League expanded beyond the Bandawe zone to include the Kachele and Tukombo school zones in Nkhata Bay South. Now 30 schools have boys and girls playing soccer and over 1,500 students are participating in the region. Ten schools qualify to play in League sanctioned games. There is one girls team and one boys team from each school. Our goal is for all Nkhata Bay South schools to meet the scholastic league criteria so they can participate in official league games.

In addition, the Foundation encouraged the creation of the first Mzuzu area women’s soccer league. We support the league by providing them with equipment and plan to include them in future coaching clinics. These young women will be able to mentor the local girls in the primary schools.

We entered into a Memo of Understanding with Mzuzu University in May 2014. Our respective purposes, goals and commitments to advancing the education of children of Northern Malawi are consistent and compatible. We anticipate fielding interested students and staff volunteers, as well as community members, as coaches in our scholastic soccer league program and as mentors in our after school program. We are supporting the Mzuzu University Library/Children’s Library initiative to identify volunteers and donors to help in their rebuilding process since the devastating fire of 2015.

A second container of donations was shipped in September 2012 and arrived in December. In addition to donations from individuals and organizations who helped with the first shipment, we had the support of local Rotarians and more local Capital Region organizations, churches and schools, as well as from universities around the country.

The Primary School League expanded to include all 10 primary schools in the Bandawe zone. Each school fields and supports 2 boys teams and 1 girls team in the league. A committee of representatives from each school was formed to oversee the league, enforce rules, manage equipment and schedule matches. Over 650 boys and girls participate.

Volunteer coaches from Holland and the US brought extra equipment and ran clinics for the coaches and for the school children of the Bandawe school zone.

Coach Kalekeni Banda, a village native returned to Malenga Mzoma Primary School in Chituka Village in Traditional Authority Malenga Mzoma in November 2011. The first shipment of school supplies and sports equipment arrived in January 2012. This shipment contained donations of equipment by many universities, youth soccer programs, churches, school districts and community individuals, a container of school supplies and sports equipment and thanks to the generous support of the Jack Brewer Foundation, it was shipped and distributed to the children in the area. These supplies launched phase one of the Chituka Village Project.

Coach Banda worked with head teachers and sports masters to organize the first co-ed primary school soccer league. The Banda Bola Sports Foundation Scholastic Soccer League for Girls and Boys in Nkhata Bay District is the first of its kind in Malawi. It promotes attendance retention and graduate rates for primary schools. Its motto is “Sports for Education”. The league, which includes two teams from each of seven primary schools in the Bandawe zone of Nkhata Bay South district, has over 350 boys and girls participating.