Designed to enhance the lives of low-income youth through athletics and academics, our programs will offer extracurricular exercise, sports, and education that will set students on the path to prep school, college or the professional ranks, through world-class service, facilities and programs all within a safe environment of active fun.
“DO NOT LET WHAT YOU CAN NOT DO INTERFERE WITH WHAT YOU CAN DO".” - JOHN WOODEN
THE PROBLEM
The effects of living in low-income, underdeveloped surroundings like Sierra Leone, such as the lack of adequate infrastructure and transportation as well as the absence of equipment and technology, make it difficult for youth in these areas to advance academically and athletically compared to their peers in more developed regions of the world. For example, Freetown, a city with a population exceeding one million, currently only has ten unevenly paved basketball courts, nine run-down volleyball courts, seven dirt soccer fields, two destitute tennis courts and two misshapen tracks. Furthermore, all of these locations are either at schools that have restricted hours which only begin in the evening or multi-use public-private venues that require fees most citizens can’t afford. These issues also make it harder for youth to progress culturally beyond their immediate environments.
“IMPOSSIBLE IS JUST A BIG WORD THROWN AROUND BY SMALL MEN WHO FIND IT EASIER TO LIVE IN THE WORLD THEY’VE BEEN GIVEN THAN TO EXPLORE THE POWER THEY HAVE TO CHANGE IT. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A FACT. IT’S AN OPINION. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOT A DECLARATION. IT’S A DARE. IMPOSSIBLE IS POTENTIAL. IMPOSSIBLE IS TEMPORARY. IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING.” - MUHAMMAD ALI
OUR SOLUTION
To combat these challenges and produce an enormous positive impact in Sierra Leone, STK has employed a decentralized approach to youth development. Rather than creating a single focal point within Sierra Leone to host youth development activities, STK brings the activities to the communities throughout the country. In the communities where the various schools reside there is currently an assortment of sporting venues. However, they are all in poor condition and can only be used after the second shift of students are finished school in the evening. This leads to the underutilization of valuable resources in both the morning and afternoon that could be used to improve the well-being of local youth. STK plans to collaborate with each school to rebuild these venues and establish before and after school programs for the students. In addition to athletic training, these programs will include an educational component using modern technology and contemporary academic curriculums.
In each neighborhood STK will identify leaders within the community who buy into our vision to act as community organizers that help to coordinate efforts and promote the values and mission of STK. After each community’s program has matured, regular tournaments will be held between the communities to further challenge the children and give them exposure to new regions of Sierra Leone.
Through the program and tournaments, talent will constantly be evaluated to discover the most elite athletes in their respective sport. Twenty of these youth will receive scholarships to the STK PRIDE program. By establishing an athlete sponsorship program, we will work with U.S. based universities to create a study abroad program and connect young athletes with collegiate and professional scouts.
Will you help make our vision a reality?
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