NBA Africa, AFD Empowers 40,000 Students, Harps On Hygiene

NBA Africa and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), France’s public development institution, have oncluded the third season of the Jr. NBA & AFD Basketball Experience by holding a two-day event at the National Stadium in Surelere, Lagos.

The celebration was organized around a symposium discussion on the core values of the program and a physical education teachers’ workshop. The stakeholders took the opportunity to discuss mental health, hygiene and gender equality whilst building the capacity of PE teachers and enhancing the learning experience for students in their respective schools.

The notable attendees included the General Consul of France in Nigeria Laurent Favier, AFD Country Director for Nigeria Xavier Muron, and Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria Gbemisola Abudu.

Gbemisola Abudu noted that the BAL Experience has been an adventurous and rewarding for them and the students as they have empoweerd forty thousand African youths in different basketball skills and life skills. “The Jr. NBA & AFD Basketball Experience has been essential in our commitment to make basketball more accessible to Nigerian youth and focusing on the importance of mental health, hygiene and gender equity,” said Abudu.  “We would like to thank AFD for their support and look forward to continuing to expand our youth development efforts in the country,” Gbemisola added.

One of the panelists noted that stakeholders, manufacturers of sports wears and others should prioritize om menstrual health and hygiene in supporting young girls in sports. She noted that sporting facilities should deploy resources that will allow girls to be comfortable in their sports wears.

AFD Country Director for Nigeria, Xavier Muron said, “At AFD, we believe that sport is a powerful drive for change, fostering social and economic progress. Therefore, our participation to the BE Program reflects our dedication in investing in youth, skills development, and the empowerment of communities”

Jr. NBA & AFD Basketball Experience is a youth development program that features weekly basketball and life skills sessions to educate African youth about the importance of physical and mental health and wellbeing.  The initiative also aims to use basketball as a platform to promote social inclusion and inspire secondary school children as change-makers in their communities”.

Over the past three years, the program has reached more than 40,000 youth from 54 schools in Lagos through basketball clinics and life-skills sessions.