Bangui: A first mission in the Central African Republic as part of the “TRAUMA Project” of the Francophone Institute for Justice and Democracy – Louis Joinet : Success!

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It was March 30, it was 11:30 a.m. in Douala when two coaches from the Serge Betsen Academy flew off to Bangui in the Central African Republic. Idriss Tcheumkeu Ketcha and Jacques Matsatsop Toresse (photo below), pure products of the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) training, were going to share their expertise and their passion for rugby with young people and local coaches as part of the TRAUMA project of the Institut Francophone pour la Justice et la Démocratie (IFJD) – Institut Louis Joinet.

The main objective of the TRAUMA Project, which is sponsored by the Centre de crise et de soutien du ministère de l’Europe et des Affaires étrangères français (the Crisis and Support Centre of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is to understand and take into account post-conflict trauma in the Central African Republic among children and teenagers. You can find more information about the project in general here. It was the IFJD – Institut Louis Joinet Association that called upon the rugby expertise of the SBA in Africa to set up its project in Bangui in collaboration with Ovale Citoyen and the Central African Rugby Federation. The training must allow Central African coaches to have the ethical and sporting principles of rugby, as well as a clear methodology for the sessions. All this with a view to establishing rugby and its values ​​in the long term in Bangui.

The adventure of our two coaches in Bangui therefore began with the training of national coaches who were able to discover the working methods of the SBA. Our two coaches having quickly achieved unanimity as to their ease in handling the field sessions, they mainly took care of the practical training.

 

Les deux coachs de la SBA, Idriss (à gauche) et Jacques (à droite)

 

Once the national coaches were trained, the latter, still accompanied by Idriss, Jacques as well as Marine and Lucas from Ovale Citoyen, threw themselves into the deep end with the children. 5 schools for 6 training sessions benefited from the initiation to rugby.

The first training took place on April 11 at the Boganda School. Our coaches started strong with more than a hundred young people to manage in the courtyard of the establishment. Victim of its success, the rugby program had to adapt by splitting the young people according to the following set-up: 4 groups of around forty children supervised by two coaches each, an international coach with a national coach always with a view of transmission. Due to the high numbers, on the day, the children couldn’t all be introduced to rugby… But it’s only a postponement for all the observers of the day, our coaches will be back!

The SBA also had the opportunity to train in the Fatima public school, the Caron high school or even at the Ngaraba school. Not to mention the school for the deaf and dumb in which they had to adapt their session to the players. Our coaches were very impressed with their seriousness and motivation.

In order to understand the work carried out by our coaches, here is an example of a session prepared by them for the school for the deaf and dumb:

  • Workshop 1: Warming up phase

4 exercises for the warm-up, which are the following:

  1. Holding the ball at shoulder height
  2. Moving the ball around the hips
  3. Ball between the legs
  4. Throwing the ball and catching it

5 minutes were allocated to each of these exercises. Then, the coaches supervised the static stretching; this was followed by getting the children well rehydrated.

  • Workshop 2: Working the ball

Objective: hold the ball with 2 hands at shoulder height without dropping it over the entire duration of a course. Once this course is finished, the player must pass the ball to the next player who will complete the course in turn (in the form of a relay) Variables: modify the route of the course.

  • Workshop 3: Challenge

A maximum of passages on the previous workshop in 1 minute!

2:30 p.m., Wednesday April 27, Idriss and Jacques returned to Cameroon, leaving their know-how behind. Their next trip will be at the end of May for a new mission with the primary objective: to take stock of the achievements of national coaches over the period of one month since the departure of the SBA.

Finally, to add to the beautiful story, Jacques, at the end of his mission in Bangui, was able to buy a computer for himself and “enter the computer world”!

 

Jacques avec son ordinateur portable

Here are also some photos ©IFJD – Institut Louis Joinet 2022 taken during the first mission:

  

  

Report written by Nathan Barbier

 

Translation: Katy Birgé-Wilson

 

 

 

 

 

Cameroon: A visit that our children will never forget, that of Serge Betsen!

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The children of the Serge Betsen Academy were overjoyed to welcome Serge Betsen and Sylvie Ledard, our Project Manager, to Cameroon in June 2022. Serge and Sylvie stayed on site for about ten days in order to go round the various centres, spending time with the children and the volunteers, distributing numerous donations, discussing in depth with the managers about the current projects and going to meet our partners to thank them and also to make new contacts. A moving reunion and beautiful moments shared!

 

Visit of the centre of Bafia

Christophe, our volunteer, was also on the trip to take pictures and lend a hand, together with Romain Magellan, a former rugby player with an incomparable sense of humour, who assisted the coaches on the playing ground and entertained our children during various rugby training. We thank them both from the bottom of our hearts!
A few days after his return, Serge wrote: “A stay at and with the Serge Betsen Academy is always unforgettable! Thank you to all the children of SBA Cameroon for your warm welcome, to the volunteers of the many sites for your dedication, to the firms that welcomed us, to the donors and partners for following us.” Many projects were worked on during Serge’s stay; you can visit our social networks to follow in detail the progress of: the “SBA Pads project” (production and distribution of washable sanitary towels), the “Victor” bags which will be distributed before the start of the school year, the “Rugby4Kids” project, the SBA Coop, the implementation of intensive computer courses, etc.

Rugby session at the Eau Claire centre

All the children of SBA Cameroon and the coaches on site would like to thank Romain Magellan, Sylvie Ledard, Christophe and Serge Betsen for the extraordinary moments spent together in recent weeks. The equipment provided by our donors is very valuable to us to continue our activities: computers, rugby equipment, sportswear, toys, etc. Many thanks to our donors and partners for their generosity, as well as to the people that we were able to meet, such as Eric Niat, the mayor of Bangangté.

Eric Niat, Mayor of Bangangté and Serge Betsen wearing a T-Shirt of the Serge Betsen X IZBAC collection, in front of the City Hall

Some of the children met “Tonton Serge” for the very first time and will be marked for life by this long-awaited encounter. As for Sylvie, it was with great emotion that she met the children and the volunteers with whom she has spent long periods of time on the phone since taking up her post as Project Manager in February 2022.

 

What happiness in this month of June at the SBA!

Translation: Katy Birgé-Wilson