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The Caribbean Healthy Lifestyle Project - Netball

Permission requested to use information from www.sportanddev.org

The Caribbean Healthy Lifestyle Project aims to promote sport, healthy living, leadership skills, and social responsibility among youth in the Caribbean.

Objectives

To empower Caribbean youth to maximize their leadership potential
To increase opportunities for Caribbean girls and women to participate in sport, physical activity, and to foster their leadership potential
To increase the awareness among youth of the benefits of regular physical activity and development through sport
To provide a forum for discussion on healthy lifestyles, socially sensitive issues, and to increase their knowledge of selected topics
To enhance self esteem and self confidence of youth through involvement in physical activity
To provide a supportive forum for youth to voice their opinions and ideas and to encourage their participation in program planning and decision making
To grow the number of youth involved in sport and physical activity

Location

Jamaica, St. Vincent, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Lucia, Barbados, St. Maarten, Anguilla, Guyana, Dominica, Antigua

Target group: Caribbean youth aged 13-21

The Healthy Lifestyle Project (HLP) is designed to teach youth about the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle through sport and physical activity.

The program initially used Netball, a popular sport amongst Caribbean girls, to engage them in sport and to promote healthy, active living. The program has expanded to include several sports for males and females.

Sport is used as a common ground from which to engage youth in discussions about socially sensitive issues and foster youth peer to peer leadership. The program illustrates how sport can be used as a vehicle to develop and change lives

Time Frame

Ongoing workshops and activities throughout the Caribbean Region

Participating organisation(s)

• Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC)
• The Commonwealth Sport Development Program, in collaboration with the Organization of Caribbean Administrators of Sport and Physical Education (OCASPE),
• The Caribbean Netball Association
• International Development through Sport unit of Commonwealth Games Canada.

Background information

The Healthy Lifestyle Project (HLP) was established in 1999 as an initiative of the Organization of Caribbean Administrators of Sport and Physical Education (OCASPE) and the Caribbean Netball Association, with funding and support from Commonwealth Games Canada. The project initially was geared to girls and women combining sport with personal development to instill the value of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, while promoting leadership development among youth. The program trains youth leaders to become the implementers of the Healthy Lifestyle workshops in their own communities. The HLP slogan is “Your Life, Your Health, Make it Right”.

HLP gives youth the opportunity to acquire the skills to make their own healthy lifestyle decisions through interactive presentations and group activities on such topics as: HIV/AIDS education and prevention, conflict resolution, self-esteem, decision making, leadership, nutrition, substance abuse, and sexuality/teenage pregnancy. HLP focuses on educating youth in specific areas that are relevant to succeeding in today’s society.

Youth leaders are identified and trained to be Healthy Lifestyle Project leaders, to enable them to assist with running HLP workshops in their communities. It is a ‘youth for youth’ initiative, involving youth in the planning and delivery of all aspects of the program.

In late 2003 the program expanded, and in December a multi-sport co-ed workshop was held in Guyana, allowing for men and women involved in other sports to get involved in the positive attributes of the project. The workshop was successful and HLP is now offered to both female and male youth, utilizing several different sports.

Contact

Kathy Harper-Hall
Healthy Lifestyle Project Coordi
Commonwealth Sport Development Program
Phone: +1 ...
E-Mail: Vandamah@caribsurf.com

Steven Parker
Commonwealth Games Canada (CGC)
720 Belfast Road, Suite 216
Canada
Phone: +1-...
Fax: +1-613-244 6826
E-Mail: Steve@commonwealthgames.ca