Salesians Partner with Spanish Football Club, Foster Children Sports in Equatorial Guinea

They add, “For kids, sport is an outlet and a means of socialization that helps them develop on a human and educational level.”

Among the beneficiaries of the socio-sports project is 16-year-old Mayoka who plays basketball for the Don Bosco School.

“What I like most is the joy and the atmosphere of camaraderie between us. They help us with our studies and we really enjoy learning the sport we like; indeed, we wouldn't mind if it were every day of the week!” Mayoka has been quoted as saying in the report.

During the first quarter of an academic year, SDB members in Malabo help the children know their fellow participants in the games and explain the activities, with friendly tournaments, while in the second quarter, “the emphasis is on training the coaches and supporting the project beneficiaries in the studies, through reinforcement lessons.”

While COVID-19 restrictions halted the sporting activities, the members of the 162-year-old Religious Institute say they have now resumed the events while observing the laid down protocols such as frequent sanitizing, wearing of masks, and social distancing.

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“What does not change, despite the circumstances, in the socio-sports schools of the Real Madrid Foundation is the joy and the motto that benefits thousands of vulnerable children all over the world: ‘They play, we educate,’” SDB members say in the March 3 report published by Agenzia Info Salesiana, the information service of the Religious Institute.

Founded in 1859 by 19th century Italian educator, St. John Bosco, SDB members strive to be at the service of young people, especially the poorest and most abandoned.

This story was first published by ACI Africa on 05 March 2021.