The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace is celebrated every year on 6 April to recognise the power of sport in fostering positive change, bridging barriers, and transcending boundaries. Sport has been increasingly recognised and used as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts.
In Burkina Faso and Mali, HOPE’87 is currently implementing a sport project, funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry for Housing, Arts, Culture, Media and Sport, that is promoting walking as a popular sport. The target groups are children and young people as well as adults, with a particular focus on women and men over the age of 40. The aim is to identify 90% of people in the project area who are at risk of heart disease and refer them to the existing health centres.
To strengthen cultural cooperation and the health benefits of sport, the project organises sports and cultural events. This is not only very effective for social cohesion, but also encourages participants to take part in the training days in large numbers.
Sport in a group and under the guidance of well-trained counsellors is an effective means of combating all forms of discrimination. These days are a moment of sharing and joy, but also of screening for heart diseases among people at risk.
Take a look at the pictures!
