Afterschool programme

Location and general information

Ongoing

Location Mexico

Start date 01/01/2020

End date 12/31/2020

Cost of the project € 295,171

Foundation funding € 88,235

Project identifier 2019399

Partners Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC)

Context

Chihuahua is the largest state in Mexico, with over 3.5 million inhabitants. Most of the population are aged 5 to 14 years old and in need of basic education.

Social, health and education conditions

According to the multidimensional poverty measurement conducted by CONEVAL, the national board of social development, evaluation 30% of the population of Chihuahua lives in poverty:

40% have no access to social security.
18% lack access to proper nutrition, but children also suffer from obesity and high rates of diabetes. According to the national institute for public health, within the urban population of the state, 13% of children under five are overweight or obese.
50% of children and teenagers have not engaged in any physical activity over the past 12 months.
Chihuahua is in a climate of insecurity, and has one of the highest crime rates due to its strategic border position.
More than 30% of the state’s population are illiterate and did not finish elementary or secondary school.

The afterschool programme was created by FECHAC and it is run by different organisations around the state to provides vulnerable children with tools to deal with life situations in a resilient way and motivate them to continue with their studies, by means of fun and formative evening activities that promote their cultural, social and physical development, in a variety of workshops.

Project content

The sports component serves two main purposes: gain physical benefits and exploit the formative role of the sport.

The project focuses on poor school retention, high rates of domestic violence, high rates of sexual abuse and social exclusion. The project’s goal is also to prevent violence. By practising sport, children and teenagers learn rules and discipline and come to realise that there are other life options for them than the drug business.

Fundación del Empresariado Chihuahuense (FECHAC) currently runs the programme in 88 schools and aims to expand it to 100 schools in next two years.

Objectives

Introduce basketball, football and handball programmes in seven schools throughout Chihuahua state: 2 schools in Ciudad Juarez, 2 schools in Chihuahua city, 1 school in Camargo, 1 school in Delicias and 1 school in Cuauhtémoc.

The sports component aims to:

create the habit of daily exercise and generate a lifestyle change;
improve body functioning and balanced mental health;
prevent conditions such as obesity and improve body coordination and control;
enhance confidence through tournaments and leagues, promote universal values and appropriate social behavior, model positive social relationships and teamwork.