Sport Relief 2018

Sports is more than a kick about in the park. It creates communities, improves health and wellbeing, saves lives and brings about social change the world over. The benefits of sports to children cannot be over-emphasized; from camaraderie, learning to lose graciously, respecting authority, discipline, controlling emotions, self-esteem to patience. The list goes on and on.

At the International School of Ahafo, we have sought to use sports as an agent of change in our communities. We have done this through Sport Relief, a biennial UK charity event which brings together the worlds of sport and entertainment to raise funds for people living incredibly difficult lives in the UK and the world’s poorest countries. Sport Relief alternates with Red Nose Day, another fundraising event.On Friday 23rd March, the Student Council organized our own fun Sport Relief in order to raise funds for our community service project at the Methodist School in Kenyasi. 

The day was laced with elements of competition, urgency and excitement. It began with a special assembly which showcased the school's community service projects with the Methodist School and we were joined by parents and friends throughout the day. The dress-up theme for the day was either pyjamas or sporty clothes and all famillies had to pay for joining in everything. The first set of outdoor activities began on the football field. The egg-and-spoon relay, a classic game of balance and co-ordination, had children concentrating right up to the finish line. The trick was to see which child could race as fast as they could without the egg rolling off the spoon to the finish line.

This was followed by a sack race, where children stepped into jute sacks and hopped down the length of the football field to the finish line. As usual, children proved their tenacity by running in spite of the obstacle and the competition was fun to watch.

Although the children were far away from the beach, they were determined to hone their beach ball skills by participating in a shoot-out. The queue was long but each child took it in turns to hit the ball with everything they had. Many missed, but a lucky few scored enviable goals to the admiration of all and the chagrin of our resident goal keeper.

There was also a Tug of War in the courtyard with teams comprising parents, students, and staff. Our youngest classes played the oldest classes and won.

Parents and staff battled it out and children beat their parents to it. The Tug of War proved extremely exciting and went right down to the wire!

After snack break, there were some more fun indoor activities in response to the sweltering heat of the sun outside. There was a wide variety of interactive fitness videos and pillow fights in the library. Children had a fair dose of yoga and aerobics dancing and many were reluctant to stop when it came to an end.

Pillow fighting was seriously fun and such a playful way to release pent-up emotions and stress. It was hilarious to see siblings settling old scores in a very entertaining environment. After lunch, children were sent back outdoors on a scavenger hunt and given clues to collect a number of miscellaneous objects on school grounds.

The highlight of the day was the sponsored swim from 1.45pm to 3.00pm. Sponsorship forms were sent out earlier to parents and an amount had to be pledged per the number of lengths (or widths for younger swimmers) children completed in an hour. Sponsorship could start from as little as GHC1.00 per length, but it was up to sponsors to decide how much they could afford. In the end, the performance of the children far surpassed our expectations; Sankofa class swam further than they had ever swum before and we had outstanding performances from our older children too. Some of the children showed impressive resilience and refused to give up until they had met their personal challenges. They did us proud!

Sport Relief brought us together to get active, learn about sportsmanship and winning or losing graciously. Most importantly, we raised funds for those who are most in need and with your help, we raised GHS 3,090.00. We are truly grateful to all who helped in diverse ways to make Sport Relief a success. Whatever moved you, you did it for Sport Relief! For more information about Sport Relief, please visit https://www.sportrelief.com/