Running as Empowerment

Running as Empowerment

by Sara Yap

Since we last heard from Sara Yap she was on her way to Pakistan and Egypt to implement a program for young female athletes in Egypt. Yap is now back in the States and evaluating her trip, we caught up with her to hear how her trip went:

How was Pakistan, and what did you do there:

This summer in Pakistan, I worked with a social enterprise-venture capital fund called Acumen Fund; it functions as part donor, part investment venture fund. With Pakistan and given what is in the news about the country, my experience was quite different from what we hear in the media; I met many of the local Pakistani people within the communities we worked and traveled to areas in Lahore, Karachi, Narowal, Baluchistan and Indus Valley. My assignment involved working on Acumen’s web content development, developing partnerships with companies and foundations by speaking with people from Pakistan and visiting investments ranging in water, health, agriculture and housing portfolios.

What are some of your favorite memories from your trip?:

Some of my favorite memories involved meeting with the parents and hearing how some of their own perceptions changed towards allowing their daughters to participate in sports. Many parents where more open to allowing their daughters play sports because of what they saw watching the 2008 Olympics. It’s easy to underestimate how the Olympics serves as tool to lower gender barriers between countries and serve as a tool for diplomacy by developing understanding among people.

Any experience that you wanted to be without?:

In Egypt, the main challenges involved more of the bureaucratic procedures required for working in the community of Al- Minya. Although I felt safe there, security clearance was needed for foreigners to conduct projects. The head coach and I had planned this workshop since the early spring, but unforeseen hold-ups by the Ministry of Sport and Health made receiving security by the government more difficult.

Any plans for any future projects?:

I hope to work on a voluntary basis with organizations that work with young athletes, especially in areas where sports are difficult to access and where few resources such as space and equipment exist.

How do you get involved in projects like this, first your experience, and then any tips for any readers who might want to help out etc.:

The Davis Peace Project offers grants to support projects around the world. They cater to specific small colleges and the International House programs in New York, University of California Berkeley and University of Chicago.
There are also several organizations that support the idea of social entrepreneurship such as the Skoll Foundation, Room to Read, Changemakers, and Girls on the Run (GOTR)
—————–
Within the courtyard of Kafr Al-Monsoura School in Al-Minya, the surrounding walls are decorated with colorful images of boys playing sports and Egyptian proverbs. Amidst the dusty quad, young Egyptian students are packed together. The girls are lined up for running drills – some in hejab and others unveiled – while the boys don soccer shirts. Students scatter along the open, dirt field to watch their fellow students participate in a race together. A group of young Egyptian girls – roughly 12 years in age – dart towards cones into the center of the field. Children wait along the sidelines, viewing the race as it unfolds. In another corner of the courtyard a conversation develops as a male parent from the local Al-Minya community describes the town as historically intolerant to social change. The father explains how girls’ sport was originally viewed as forbidden, or a foreign concept. In a side discussion with the father of another girl, he says, “When we first talked about our daughters running, it was difficult for us, as the fathers.” However, since sport has entered the landscape of this more traditional area of Egypt, parents have begun to accept the idea of their daughters playing sports and opening discussions about gender stereotypes.

For over three years, Ashoka’s Arab World has worked with social entrepreneurs from the Arab region to develop and promote the idea of using sports for social change. Through a partnership project called “Running Towards Peace”, girls had the opportunity to participate in a workshop to receive training in running and nutrition. They also received equipment from Hawaii Sports and Punahou School. Social entrepreneurs seek to create transformational change that will benefit disadvantaged communities and ultimately society at large. Social entrepreneurs in Egypt have begun to actively explore the specific potential that sports can have in changing the opportunity structures for women. Through these sports programs, Ashoka fellows are striving to expand and recreate similar environments across Egypt to the one found in Kafr Al-Monsoura’s courtyard.