Chihana turns to UK diaspora for help

Youth and Sports Minister Enoch Chihana has asked Malawians living in the United Kingdom (UK) to inspire a generation of Malawian youths that can excel in sports at the international stage.

Chihana made the call at a reception held in honour of Malawi Olympians currently in England for the London 2012 Olympic Games which end today (Sunday). The gathering took place at the Malawi High Commission’s Kwacha House in London last week.

The minister said Malawians in the UK can take Malawi sports and youth development in general to another level if they can start contributing the little they have towards a sports development fund back home to support athletes at the grass-roots level.

“We need your support. [Malawi] Government alone cannot afford to help all the young people because the resources are limited,” said Chihana.

“At the moment, our representation at the Olympics is not good at all; hence, the need to develop our sports industry tremendously. But to do that, we need to start developing athletics starting from primary schools. To be able to do that, we need the help of you Malawians in the diaspora. A sports development fund would be ideal in this circumstance,” he said.

While in the UK, Chihana attended this year’s Commonwealth Sports Ministers Summit in London on the eve of the 2012 Olympic Games. Among other issues, the ministers shared notes on how sports can contribute to advancing development goals.

Chihana said the ministers were appraised on how Sport for Development and Peace can be used to address social and economic challenges and promote global public health.

Said Chihana: “We reviewed comprehensive policy recommendations developed by the members of the Commonwealth to help governments, sports bodies, civil society organisations, non-governmental and intergovernmental organisations in strengthening sport-based interventions.”

According to Chihana, Commonwealth ministers from 43 countries endorsed a set of guidelines which will assist governments to strengthen Sport for Development and Peace approaches, and incorporate sport-based activities into development programmes.

He said Malawi agreed at the meeting to collaborate on drafting a set of guidelines focused on governance in sports.

Chihana said under the right circumstances, sports can convey important democratic principles such as tolerance, solidarity, cooperation and respect for one another. He said the ministers agreed to engage the diaspora in developing sports in their countries.