Location and general information
Access to Sport - 
Gender Equality - 
Healthy lifestyle - 
Infrastructure and equipment - 
Personal developmentContext
In Pakistan, millions of girls, disabled children and children from underserved communities face barriers to participating in sport. The country is also experiencing a severe mental health crisis. Around 50 million people are facing mental health challenges, yet there is only one psychiatrist for every 550,000 people, meaning that 90% of those needing treatment are unable to access support. There are no specialist child psychologists, and almost no community-based care.
Project goals
Over the course of the project, Sehat & Soul aims to help underserved children in Karachi access sport and mental health support, promoting their physical health and development inside and outside the classroom and allowing them to thrive.
Sehat & Soul recognises that children and young people are increasingly open to conversations around mental health. This represents an opportunity to nurture the next generation of leaders, emphasise the importance of mental health and build healthier school environments.
The specific project objectives are:
- to raise awareness of psycho-social well-being among teachers and improve their knowledge in this area;
- to improve access to high-quality well-being services for children;
- to deliver sustainable, systemic improvements in the education sector that will secure long-term access to children’s well-being services.
Project content
Sehat & Soul will deliver school-based sports activities in cricket, futsal, rounders and athletics to 39,750 children in 265 schools. Each school will receive bespoke kitbags, enabling all pupils to take part by removing a cost barrier. As well as running inclusive competitions, the project will identify talented athletes and help them to progress, including by offering coaching and mentoring beyond the project.
As well as training 530 educators in sports coaching and how to develop a curriculum, the project will work with senior school staff to embed sport into school timetables and promote healthier lifestyles. As part of this effort, educators will be trained to use the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. This will highlight the concrete benefits of sport for pupils’ mental health, generating data that will encourage staff engagement and strengthen the case to scale the model.
Finally, in 20 pilot schools, the project will train 60 Mental Health Champions to lead mental health awareness sessions, conduct initial screening, and set up a pathway to refer children to mental health services, creating a continuum of care.
Partners
