Don’t sleep on India, these girls came to play…
Football has taken me to a lot of new places over the years. I also often find myself in the same places (Cameroon and Europe) where I feel comfortable getting around, speaking another language and understanding how things work.
Mumbai, India was all new to me. I thought of myself as a strategic tourist. I took it all in, learned as much as I could, asked a lot of questions and tried anything I could. 4 days wasn't long enough.
I was able to see some girls football programming in action firsthand on this trip to Mumbai. My work with Goals for Girls helps build programs that provide leadership, confidence and sporting skill development. Most of my consulting work as a strategic advisor involves roadmapping, program development and impact measurement (from a desk) so this was a nice break to see the action in real time.
The Leadership Summit brought together teams of girls and their coaches. They came together from all over the country, some taking 24hr+ train rides! This collaborative event shows how powerful teamwork is. Many of the girls had never left their villages and for some it was the first time on escalators, meeting foreigners and seeing a big city!
The summit consisted of field time, classroom and be the change project sessions. The themes throughout touched on leadership, confidence and how important it is to work together to create change.
A few highlights:
Football brought together young girls from remote areas and sparked friendships and collaboration. Some of my closest friends started through sport! Seeing this happen each day was really special.
Change Projects: Each team was tasked with identifying an issue that their team could address in their community. Throughout the summit we guided each team through a basic project management process that lead up to presentations on the last day. Each team was able to share about how they chose, built and will implement a project that addresses a community need. Hearing the issues was inspiring but also heartbreaking. They included programs built to stop child marriages, encourage families to let their girls play football, provide solutions for educating girls after they are married and cleaning their communities to name a few...
Meeting great role models and leaders. The staff that helped run the summit with Goals for Girls was a mix of leaders from non profits, clubs and sports dev. programs around India and the world. We came together in a special way to deliver an important week for the girls. They were available, approachable and knowledgeable. With leaders like this there is hope for BIG change!
Sport creates space for special moments of connection, light bulb moments, self discovery and a platform for learning. Most of us working in this space have our own stories of how sport has impacted our lives and how it is usually part of our WHY.
Football taught me from a young age (and still does to this day) that sport connects people. It can break down barriers of language, culture, religion, economic status or skin color. Connecting with and bringing people together that may otherwise never meet is a big part of my WHY.
One of our main goals with Petrichor Football Association and my consulting services is to build strategic organizations that can have deep and sustainable impact.
I left India with bittersweet feelings. Encouraged because there is a movement growing and shaking things up around girls sport and women's leadership and I want to be part of it. This is matched and held back by the systematic problems of bureaucracy, corruption, stereotypes and mindsets that are stuck in the past.
These things are oppressing and holding back world changers every day.
To say we can completely change this may sound naive, but we can do our part. Our part is to use our platform, network and experience to create pathways for these world changers to change their world.
LFG.