Tag Archive for: Mali

Support: The Serge Betsen Academy: winner of the Academies Program, instigated by the French Development Agency

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It is an absolute honour for our association to be named as one of the winners of the Academies Program instigated by the French Development Agency (Agence Française de Développement – AFD) and led by the duo PLAY International – Groupe SOS and the Diambars Institute. It warms our hearts to know that the actions that we have carried out in Cameroon for 18 years and in Mali of for 2 years gets this recognition and this exceptional support is a real gift allowing us to strengthen our positive impact on the lives of our children. Indeed, the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) will receive funding of up to 250,000 Euros (about £214 000) and support over 3 years as part of this program, which will allow us to strengthen our mission, consolidate our action and our projects to improve access to education, gender equality, health and rugby.

This program to strengthen sports and inclusive academies in Africa was officially launched on November 4, 2022 at the Diambars Institute in Saly, Senegal during an official ceremony in the presence of Jérôme Teiletche, Secretary General of the SBA and several important figures whether from the world of politics or of sports. This program, which is the implementation of President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement at the New Africa-France Summit on October 8, 2021, aims to support the emergence of inclusive sports academies on the continent. Four academies present in six African countries are benefiting from support within the framework of this pilot phase: SEED Project, LEAD Edu, Sunward Park High School and the SBA

At the end of this pilot phase, a call for projects will be launched in 2023 in order to support twelve additional academies throughout the African continent.

For more information on the program, please read this article.

 

Translation: Katy Birgé-Wilson

 

 

Mali : A fantastic donation from the legends at Hornets Women’s Rugby

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The children of the Serge Betsen Academy in Mali received another fantastic donation thanks to our friend Dan W., this time from the legends at Hornets Women’s Rugby in the United Kingdom. There were rugby balls, divers rugby equipment, water bottles and jerseys! Regarding the rugby equipment, they will be very useful during our sessions, and the adult jerseys have been offered to our coaches.
Everything was gratefully received particularly by the girls who were inspired to receive kit from an English ladies team. Massive thank you to Lindsay Pilgrim and Rachel Allchurch for pulling it together. It will make a real difference to our girls.
It is always a great pleasure for our coaches to be helped by Dan W during the sessions. We want to thank him deeply for his presence and his help to meet the needs of the centre and his efforts to encourage donations from rugby clubs in his home country.
Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cameroon and Mali: Back to school and well equipped to do so!

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“Back to school” is always a busy time at the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) and this year was no exception to the rule. The families of the children in our centres being very poor, they do not have the means to buy the necessary school supplies. So the SBA, thanks to the generosity of our donors, steps in to take care of this expense.

This September the children of the Serge Betsen Academy Cameroon received a new “Victor” school bag to get the year off to a good start! Each child was then able to put away the precious school supplies distributed by their centre manager.

 
 

We would like to thank all the donors and especially Stéphanie Mace (Obadia) who is following in her father’s footsteps, Victor Obadia, to support our bag-making project every two years. And massive congratulations to Clarisse, our seamstress from Yaoundé for these so original and useful creations!

In Mali, the start of the school year took place at the beginning of October and the young people there were able to attend their first school day with all the right equipment, the precious school supplies having been distributed a few days before the start of the school year. This year, they were very spoiled by the AAMFOM association (American Association of Members of the French Order of Merit) based in the United States. Indeed, AAMFOM made such a donation that it has allowed the SBA Mali centre to obtain all the textbooks and school supplies necessary for the 90 children of the centre, as well as 2 computers for the teachers of the centre and a health & emergency kit for the rugby players. Thanks to the donation of the AAMFOM, we were also able to buy school books for the secondary students of the Zoétélé centre. Abaa, the manager of the centre had been waiting for those books since 2020. Mr. Jacques Bodelle, Vice-President and Treasurer of AAMFOM even suggested that a goat be offered to the centre so that the children can learn how to look after it and express its milk. We can expect great anecdotes with this new furry companion!

Please see here-below the photos of the distribution of school supplies to the children and also those of the two computers handed over to the teachers of the SBA Mali:

 
  
    

This is the third year that AAMFOM has supported us. A first donation in 2020 allowed the making of 140 “Victor” school bags for our children in Cameroon. A second donation in 2021 was put to good use in order to make the 90 “Victor” school bags for our children in Mali for their 2021-2022 school year.

We wish a great school year to all our SBA students!

And they all truly thank our donors:

Translation : Katy Birge-Wilson

Mali: SBA Mali organised a rugby event with other rugby clubs from Bamako!

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Early February, the Serge Betsen Academy Mali (SBA Mali) organised and hosted a rugby event for the great pleasure of our children!

Around 160 children from the Bamako schools together with young people from surrounding clubs came to play, including USFAS, EDO, HIPPOS and of course SBA Mali. The U8, U10, U12 and U14 categories were represented. Mandjou, Kady, Tidjane and Sory, the coaches of SBA Mali provided the coaching.

The younger children met with lots of others and played many games related to rugby. As for the 35 older players, they participated in a XV’s rugby match.

Personalities from the world of rugby made the trip there and took the time to visit the centre: Mr Ali Y. Diarra, former technical director of the Malian Rugby Federation, who is now based in France as well as the new president of the Malian Federation of rugby, Me Yéhiya Touré.

It was a great rugby day and the SBA defended itself well against the other teams. The girls did especially well! At the end of the day, all the children got together to enjoy a good snack and they even danced a few steps to celebrate this time spent together.

 

Translation : Katy Birgé-Wilson

 

 

 

Mali: Yaya Diallo, new Manager of the Serge Betsen Academy Mali

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From 6 November 2021, Mr Yaya Diallo has been appointed as the new Manager of the Serge Betsen Academy Mali . Thank you Yaya for supporting Mali’s youth.

 

Yaya

Mali: Donated rugby gear safely arrived in Mali thanks to HAE Group

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In October, three different mails of donations transported by our dear partner HAE Group  have been sent to the SBA Mali centre. Our SBA Mali children have received 162 pairs of rugby boots, 106 pairs of sliders but also 20 other pairs of shoes, 2 jumpers and and a pair of trousers.

A huge thank you to Neville Karai and the HAE Group for covering the cost of transportation of this athletic gear and for organizing the shipments with the help of Odile Prevot, our CEO.

A huge thank you to Jamie Forrester of Opus Recruitment Solutions for his beautiful donation of 162 pairs of rugby boots.

The 106 pairs of lovely sliders have been kindly donated by Slide Tribe UK. We feel very grateful to Tom Hassan, Founder and Owner at Slide Tribe for this generous donation.

Regarding the 20 pairs of shoes, the 2 jumpers and and the pair of trousers, they have been collected by Dan Soso, a rugby coach at Maryland Exiles Youth Rugby in the US. We would like to thank all the young rugby players of this club for taking part in this collection.

The first shipment arrived in Bamako and the kids were overjoyed to discover their amazing rugby boots donated by Jamie Forrester! A distribution was organized on 17 October by the volunteers of our centre on the occasion of the Prophet’s birthday, a celebration that is very important in this country where Islam is prevailing.

The team of HAE has been providing us ongoing support and we would like to thank them deeply for their help and flexibility.

 

Donation HAE Group to SBA Mali

The 162 pairs of rugby boots transported by HAE Group

The 162 pairs of rugby boots transported by HAE Group

 

The donation of 106 pair of sliders by Slide Tribe

The donation of 106 pair of sliders by Slide Tribe

 

Donation HAE Group to SBA Mali

Donation HAE Group to SBA Mali

 

The SBA Mali children trying their new rugby boots

The SBA Mali children trying their new rugby boots donated by Jamie Forrester

Children trying their new rugby boots

The Sliders safely arrived in Bamako

Maryland Exiles Youth Rugby wishes much success to all of the student athletes at the Serge Betsen Academy

The young players of the Maryland Exiles Youth Rugby who have collected rugby gear for our children

 

 

 

Mali: Odile Prévot talks about SBA Mali on ORTM, Mali’s national television channel

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Odile Prévot, CEO of the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) was the guest of Amadou Kodio in “Samedi Loisirs”, a must-see program from the ORTM, the Office of Radio and Television of Mali. She was live at 2 p.m. (GMT) on Saturday 19 June 2021 and presented the great progress of SBA Mali. Thank you to Amadou Kodio and to the entire ORTM team for welcoming Odile Prévot!

 

The following day, on Sunday 20 June, in the presence of Serge Betsen and Odile Prévot, we inaugurated our after-school tutoring room dedicated to 25 girls aged from 8 to 13 and announced the opening of a medical dispensary within our centre. The Minister of Youth and Sports, in charge of Civic Education and Citizen Construction, Mr. Mossa Ag Attaher had honoured us with his presence in order to express his support for our activities. Following these magnificent steps forward by the SBA Mali, a report about this day was broadcast on Monday 21 June in “Score”, the evening sports program and rebroadcast the following morning at 10.00, on the 22, in the same program on ORTM1.

 

Translation : Katy Birge-Wilson

 

Mali: Thanks to Dr Safiatou Samassa, SBA Mali opens its medical dispensary

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Dr Safiatou Samassa is a renowned young obstetrician gynaecologist at the University Hospital Centre of Bamako.

It was Odile Prévot and Serge Betsen who immediately warmed to her unusual personality when they met each other in Bamako in June. Very sensitive to the situation of our children and to our mission, she agreed to volunteer to take care of our medical dispensary. From 6 August, she will be present, every Saturday, at the centre to offer medical check-ups and care to the children of SBA Mali and also their parents.

Her presence will also allow for talks with the girls on the taboos surrounding the condition of women in the country and the management of menstrual hygiene, with a view to the upcoming launch of the SBAPads project for the production and distribution of washable sanitary pads.

Thank you Doctor for your involvement!

 

Translation : Katy Birge-Wilson

 

Odile Prévot and the Doctor

Mali: TV5 Monde broadcasts on the launch of the education and health components of the SBA Mali

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Thank you to TV5MONDE for this report on SBA Mali and to Kaorou Magassa, journalist, for making the trip to meet Serge Betsen in Bamako.

Watching this report, Serge exclaimed:

“How wonderful it is for me to see the youth of the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) full of energy!

Seeing our actions on site and the opportunities that we offer allows us once again to deploy our vision, which is based on 3 pillars: sport, education and health. This triptych is the DNA of the SBA, this great initiative of which I am super proud thanks to all those who on a daily basis make this vision a reality in the daily lives of the children whom we help every day, 365 days a year and this for the last 17 years.

You can watch the part of TV5 Monde’s news about my association here: https://youtu.be/bPzYghl9fq0 ”

 

Translation : Katy Birge-Wilson

 

Mali: Jean-Guy Monneret, the man with a big heart, and thanks to whom our daughters can study in a beautiful classroom!

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We would like to warmly thank Jean-Guy Monneret and the entire ATC Mali team for the magnificent classroom which is now located on the grounds of AS REAL in Bamako.

Jean-Guy Monneret is the Managing Director and the Founder of the ATC Mali group specialising in large-scale metal construction (mining, boiler making / oil depots, irrigation, containers, transport / handling).  Based in Bamako for over 20 years and passionate about rugby, he is involved in several associations and rugby clubs locally.  He immediately agreed to become a partner of the Serge Betsen Academy (SBA) in Mali and took on responsibility for the manufacture of the container which is dedicated to become the school support room for our 25 young girls from Bamako.  He also decorated the interior of the room and donated the furniture.

Here are some photos of the work carried out.  The container was installed on the grounds of the stadium a few days before its inauguration, after a clearing and cleaning up of the ground with the help of Serge Betsen and the rugby coaches.  It was not an easy task!

After-School tutoring room in construction Inside - After-School tutoring room in construction

Desk and bench for the girls Construction of the after-school tutoring room

Construction of the after-school tutoring room Inside of the after-school tutoring room

Serge close to the container Container

Inside of the after-school room Inside of the after-school room

 The girls discovering their after-school tutoring room

 

Jean-Guy is a former rugby player who followed the career of Serge Betsen closely.  He was keen to become a partner of SBA Mali from the moment the SBA office presented its project to him during their study trip in January 2020.  Serge Betsen visited him during his stay in Bamako in June 2021 to thank him and give him a small gift.

Serge Betsen, Jean-Guy Monneret and his son Wet

A big thank you to Jean-Guy of ATC Mali, to Mr. Massez, the head metal carpenter, to Yaya and the whole team for their involvement and their work.  Without you, the education component of SBA Mali could not have been implemented!

 

Translation : Katy Birge-Wilson