Hong Kong charity set to help ethnic minority youth become sports coaches
A charity founded in 1979 to support Vietnamese war refugee children in Hong Kong will this year launch a programme to train ethnic minority youth as sports coaches for mainstream youngsters. Treats’ “EM-SPARK” project will train 30 ethnic minority youngsters aged 15 to 18 to coach 3,504 mainstream primary school students and community members in…
A charity founded in 1979 to support Vietnamese war refugee children in Hong Kong will this year launch a programme to train ethnic minority youth as sports coaches for mainstream youngsters.
Treats’ “EM-SPARK” project will train 30 ethnic minority youngsters aged 15 to 18 to coach 3,504 mainstream primary school students and community members in kin-ball, a team game where players work together to keep a giant ball in the air, and taspony, a tennis-like sport played with a larger softball and bare hands.
Through one to two training workshops held each month, the youngsters will learn to design teaching plans and teach these sports in primary schools, including children with special educational needs (SEN). They will also get to network with different sports associations and companies.
The project aims to give youth more opportunities to engage with the mainstream community and bridge the divide between different groups in the city.
“We want to enhance understanding … use creative and innovative programmes to match mainstream people and ethnic minority youth to change mindsets,” Mabel Lo Mei-po, executive director of Treats, said.
“We hope they can appreciate diversity, instead of not wanting to be with people who are different from them.”
