ANTANANARIVO (International Basketball Foundation) - The International Basketball Fondation (IBF) is helping to make a difference to the lives of children in Madagascar through the use of basketball to promote education and grow the sport.

In a project which is financed and governed by the IBF and executed by the National Basketball Federation of Madagascar with the support of the Ministry of Education in the country, hundreds of children across a range of primary schools in the most impoverished neighbourhoods are ready to reap the rewards of the initiative.

Participants will not only receive a basketball education, but basketball equipment will also be delivered alongside meals and school materials.

Scheduled to run over three years, one of the main objectives is building a legacy through the training of teachers, who will be at the heart of the project's ongoing development. This strand of the strategy is very important with an emphasis being placed on the local coordinators taking the project from strength to strength - with mini-basketball and 3x3 being used to help facilitate this. There is also a strong desire to encourage the participation of girls and women.

The first stage of the initiative is progressing well, with a Memorandum of Understanding having been signed with the Ministry of Education. More than 200 students have already engaged, with a Project Manager in post and a number of school coordinators undertaking their valuable work.

The IBF have also contributed in the new socio-sports complex built in partnership with the Presidency of the Republic and a valued partner in the shape of SEPA (Sports and Education for the Future). This has led to the inauguration of an outdoor court.

Meanwhile it is also hoped that the project will strengthen the administrative structure of the Federation, according to its President, Jean Michel Ramaroson.

"The project is a lever for development Malagasy basketball in terms of strengthening the administrative structure via the recruitment of an Executive Secretariat which will professionalise its operation," he said.

"This will enable elected representatives of the federation to focus on their mission alongside the existence of a permanent and professional administration, which will give new momentum and the scope to expand activities.

"The socio-educational component of the project in the provision of school kit, teaching and the canteen facilities which accompany the sports component of basketball training, successfully highlights the originality of an initiative that fully answers the real needs of a lack of resources in schools and for parents who are no longer able to ensure their children have access to the minimum level of education.

"Basketball remains one of the most effective means in the education of young people from an early age in Madagascar.

"This project is timely and our hope is that it will be a good model throughout the continent for countries with similar characteristics to Madagascar."

The sentiment was shared by IBF President Yvan Mainini who added: "According to development indexes published by the United Nations, Madagascar belongs to the countries that need support the most.

"Africa will remain one of the focus regions of our activities.

"There is a vivid interest for basketball among girls and boys in Madagascar, and the co-operation with the local schools and the Ministry for Education enables us to use our sport for development programmes.

"The humanitarian and educational aspect of the program is exactly in line with our strategy."

FIBA