Young Ghanaians Shoot Baskets to Achieve Life Goals

Accra — Two hundred young adults and children came out to Jamestown in the capital to play basketball on a completely refurbished outdoor court, thanks to the support of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the European Union. The court renovation is part of the Playground project which seeks to empower young people to create viable alternatives to irregular migration, in the heart of their own communities.

The returnees who have come back with support from the EU-IOM Joint Initiative have mostly been young people. In Ghana, over 60 per cent are between 18 and 35 years old. Among the drivers of migration, a move for better employment opportunities is often cited.

Sports can be a vector for social change and help young people achieve their dreams while building viable alternatives to irregular migration. Together with local partners, Playground builds a culture of self-development and pride on and beyond the court.

“In 2018, I heard about a place where boys and girls could play and learn without being discriminated against,” says Genevieve, captain of the girls’ team in the Jamestown community who regularly trains at the now renewed grounds. “Then I joined the girls’ basketball team, and I became the captain of the team in Jamestown in 2019. Due to the life skills training I received, I have increased my self-esteem and improved my leadership skills.

“I can now boast that we have the most beautiful basketball court in Accra, and this I know will encourage more at-risk girls to come to play and learn in this safe environment,” she says.

IOM partnered with the Sports for Education and Economic Development (SEED) Project for this initiative, leveraging the educational power of basketball to equip African youth with life skills and self-resilience.

SEED Project is an expert in developing and delivering unique court designs informed by the sociological codes and the local environment.

“Ensuring youth have access to safe places to play is fundamental, as it’s the place where all the life skills programmes, games and community outreach occur — it all begins on the court,” says Mactar NDiaye, Director of Operations for SEED Project.

In its pilot phase, the project partners refurbished existing outdoor basketball courts in popular areas in Senegal and Ghana that needed renovation urgently and were unsafe to play on.

The basketball court in Accra, Ghana, is located right next to the ocean and in the middle of a bustling fishing community, Jamestown. It received a full make-over and it now not only looks vibrant and beaming in bright orange and blue, it has also been upgraded to international FIBA standards.

Inspired by the court design, a local street art collective, Ghana Graffiti, extended the artwork onto the walls of the buildings surrounding the court featuring, among others, symbols of the local Ga tribe that signify life, hope, opportunities and leadership.

This inauguration event concludes a series of youth engagement initiatives designed to empower young people in West and Central Africa. Implemented under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration since 2017, these activities often happen in public space, using sports and art.

Going forward, IOM aims to include more innovative youth engagement and community-targeted awareness-raising initiatives.

Since 2017, IOM has supported over 1800 Ghanaian migrants to voluntarily and safely return home. Over 700 returnees have completed their reintegration to date, despite the challenges posed by COVID-19. Targeting especially the youthful population, overall more than 300 awareness-raising sessions have taken place in communities and schools across the country, while radio and TV broadcasts have reached approximately 1.1 million Ghanaians nationwide.

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For more information visit https://yenna.org/playground, or contact Luca Putteman, Regional Awareness Raising Officer, lputteman@iom.int, +221782935214.