 in Hoima (Bunyoro).){kind=link}
The International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Foundation announced its plan to stage World Table Tennis Day’s main event for the very first time in Africa, when the spotlight will be on Kampala, Uganda.
The annual celebration of sport in society: Saturday 6 April is World Table Tennis Day 2019 and it’s set to be more special than ever!
Now in its fifth edition, the annual day of celebration centres around bringing people together to promote social inclusion.
ITTF Foundation is not only working together with Continental and National Associations, but also with partners and non-profit organisations to build dreams for people everywhere and harness the power of table tennis as a vehicle for positive social action.
This year’s main event will be hosted by Slum Ping Pong in Kampala, using the sport to break barriers and develop positive messages on children’s, girls’ and women’s rights. It will also include celebrations with Hoima Network of Child Rights Clubs (HONECRIC) in Hoima (Bunyoro).
While Slum Ping Pong was chosen recently to receive ITTF Foundation funding through the TT Dream Building Fund, Honecric has been supported by former ITTF Development since 2013.
This year, on April 6, both organisations will be taking centre-stage of the award-winning programme ‘Table Tennis for All’ (TT4ALL), whose vision is to make table tennis accessible to a broad public, focusing on minority groups and promoting popular, universal and inclusive play.
ITTF Foundation Director, Leandro Olvech will also be launching Slum Ping Pong’s three-year programme, which aims to use table tennis as a tool to provide 100 children with access to education by integrating them into schools and therefore presenting greater life opportunities for young people in slums.
This project started two years ago and can now be accelerated thanks to the additional funding provided by the TT Dream Building Fund, which recently announced its inaugural 2019 grant recipients from among 74 applications in 31 countries.
With just a day to go until World Table Tennis Day 2019 celebrations get going on 6 April, ITTF Foundation has already registered almost 800 events in approximately 100 countries, which will be taking place around the globe.
With previous annual celebrations officiated in Argentina, Nepal, USA, Denmark and Jordan, this year’s event shines a spotlight on the power of table tennis to advance social change in Africa.
Hoima Network of Child Rights Clubs (HONECRIC), whose project is aimed at developing technical and life skills for children and youth in six primary schools,reducing early school dropout rates and encouraging the inclusion of children with and without disabilities through table tennis since 2013 in Uganda’s Western rural district of Hoima, will be working alongside local project partners: The Uganda Society for Disabled Children (USDC), TackleAfrica, The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa (OSIEA), Hoima District Local Government-Education department and Uganda Table Tennis Association (UTTA).
Site visits to both the HONECRIC and Slum Ping Pong’s projects will provide an opportunity to showcase ITTF Foundation’s commitment to TT4ALL’s vision and to changing lives through table tennis.
Following the motto “Nothing is impossible for those who believe”, Mr. Ibrahim Hamadtou, the famous Egyptian player who plays without hands is the role model for this main celebration and will definitely encourage kids and youth to believe in their dreams! Story via www.ittf.com