Launching in 2022 Saints Volunteer, Livingston is a standalone international development project supporting the work of leading sports NGO Sport in Action in Zambia’s Southern Province.
Introduction
Saints Sport has been running international volunteering programmes in Africa for over 10 years, primarily in the capital Lusaka and surrounding rural communities.
To continue our commitment to support the important work Sport in Action are undertaking across Zambia, we are delighted to be launching a new project in Livingstone in Southern Province.
In its first year a team of twelve student coaches from Saints Sport will spend six weeks in Zambia helping Sport in Action to provide a practical and theory-based programme of sport and education within three schools:
Zambezi Primary School (700 pupils)
Dambwa Primary School (700 pupils)
SOS Children’s Village
The programme, the first programme of its kind in Livingstone, will seek to strengthen the placement work already taking place in highlighted school catchment areas, to ensure the work Sport in Action are undertaking gains greater reach.
Future developments
Our ambition is to work with Sport in Action to develop the project across a number of areas, exploiting the expertise and skills from a range of backgrounds, to enhance the current work already being delivered by Zambian teachers and volunteers.
Four key sports have been identified by Sport in Action as areas in which sustainable growth and development are required in order to support the transition from school to club sport (netball, football, volleyball, handball). We will exploit our knowledge and experience working within the Wallace Group to help Sport in Action develop sustainable sport programmes that provide pathways through participation, leadership and education. This might include supporting the establishment of new Sport in Action Community Sport Hub Sites in Livingstone in partnership with the Wallace Group, which feed into the wider sport development programme in Zambia.
Sport in Action staff, supported by a team of volunteers, work towards transforming the lives of children, many of whom come from challenging backgrounds, using sport and recreational activity to engage, educate and empower. They aim to enhance young people’s knowledge in topical areas of health and life skills, with a view to developing motivation, self-development and self-reliance through social, cultural and economic empowerment. Their programmes now positively impact the lives of thousands of children throughout the 12 districts in Zambia. Through the Volunteer Livingstone project students will be given the opportunity to help deliver a variety of workshops across Sport in Action’s key subject areas, acting as role models for young Zambian’s, helping them achieve aspirations in sport, education and employment.
A key area of work will be to support to support teachers and Sport in Action to enhance young people’s knowledge in topical areas of English, numeracy, science, health and life skills while following Zambian educational structures. With the incorporation of the Teach project comes a great opportunity to recruit dedicated students with a passion for education and those with an ambition to enter the teaching profession once they graduate. The Volunteer Livingstone project could provide students with valuable teaching experience and a unique opportunity to develop practical skills in a demanding environment. Working with Careers we will look to develop our relationship with TeachFirst to enhance the recognition of our programme and provide a pathway for those students seeking to undertake teacher training.
Sport in Action have highlighted the importance of developing drama as a tool to support learning, as it allows students to communicate with and understand others in new ways, helping to prepare them to live and work in a world that is increasingly team oriented. As we look to develop the volunteering opportunities available to our students and strengthen our institutional support of Sport in Action, we will look to engage the Music Department, the Students Association and our Societies to develop new projects with a focus on music and drama.
To ensure sustainability beyond the six-week student placement there will be a strong emphasis on capacity building, including support for facility developments, equipment, and workforce development for staff and Zambian volunteers. The project will support and work with the schools and their communities to identify potential influential leaders, help develop confident individuals and support people into employment and further education.
The project
Background
New for summer 2022, Saints Sport are looking to recruit a team of 12 student volunteers to help launch the new international development project in Livingston.
Split into two groups, students will spend six weeks in Zambia supporting the work of Sport in Action by helping to deliver a practical and theory-based programme of sport and education in local schools.
Dates
The Saints Volunteer, Livingston programme will run from 29 May – 22 August.
Students have the choice of volunteering within either:
Group 1
29 May to 11 July 2022
Group 2
9 July to 22 August 2022
Recruitment and selection takes place in October and involves a written application, interview, and practical coaching session demonstration.
Students must be a proficient coach or an experienced player in one of the key sports outlined below or passionate about teaching in a classroom setting:
Netball
Football
Basketball
Ultimate Frisbee
Dance
All volunteer coaches are required to have achieved at least the following level of qualifications in order to take part in the project:
UKCC Level 1/SFA 1.2 qualification in one of the key sports
Emergency First Aid Certificate
Child Wellbeing and Protection in Sport Certificate
Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG)
Saints Sport deliver and subsidise a comprehensive training and education programme that supports those wishing to gain additional qualifications, providing access to external expert-led coaching alongside our own in-house training programmes.
Successful applicants will be given the opportunity to volunteer within the Junior Saints programme, as part of our Sports Camps coaching team or in a junior club or school club setting prior to their trip to Zambia.
This will provide invaluable experience of working with young people and children, and help develop many useful skills, in for example, leadership, organising, confidence and communication.
Work alongside the largest Sports NGO in Zambia to help run and coordinate sports development sessions in placements across Livingstone, Zambia, and see the difference you make for yourself.
What will the project involve?
6 weeks in Africa
Sports development
Sports coaching
Supporting school lessons
Delivering workshops
Fundraising campaigns
Teamwork
Developing leadership skills
Forming new friendships
The programme costs around £2000 per student and successful applicants are tasked with developing their own fundraising campaigns during the year prior to the trip.
Students are set individual and collective targets and support is provided by the Development Office through use of the SaintsFunder platform.
Money raised covers the cost of accommodation, flights, in-country induction training, airport transfers and transport to and from placement sites.
Sport in Action
Sport In Action (SIA) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) whose purpose is to improve people’s quality of life through sport and recreational activities. Founded in 1998, Sport in Action was the first Zambian sports NGO and its programmes now positively impact the lives of thousands of children throughout the 12 districts in Zambia.
Sport in Action staff, supported by a team of volunteers, work towards transforming the lives of children, many of whom come from challenging backgrounds. Through education we aim to enhance young people’s knowledge in topical areas of health and life skills, with a view to developing motivation, self-development and self-reliance through social, cultural and economic empowerment.
To apply to join the project, please download and complete the international volunteering application form and return by email to Claire Scott (Sports Development Manager): cls25@st-andrews.ac.uk
The volunteer recognition scheme monitors, acknowledges and rewards the hard work and commitment of volunteers at St Andrews. Students can sign up to the scheme via the dedicated online portal, where they can log their volunteering hours and projects. Students who achieve Gold and Platinum awards can have their volunteering efforts formally recognised on their Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) when they graduate.
The programme, the first programme of its kind in Livingstone, will seek to strengthen the placement work already taking place in highlighted school catchment areas, to ensure the work Sport in Action are undertaking gains greater reach. 
