Children in Cameroon have been enjoying Game On! Youth Sports – a worldwide program of the International Alliance for Youth Sports (IAYS) – thanks to a partnership with the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education in Cameroon.

The pilot program for Game On! Cameroon began in Yaounde, where the National Annex Stadium was made available for the youths to practice the sports they love. The young participants were able to enjoy sports instruction from several Game On! Youth Sports coordinators based there. They also received sports equipment as gifts.

“Personal satisfaction can easily be observed,” said Rosaline Afor Amba, Cameroon’s coordinator for Game On! Youth Sports. “The children are developing skills, discovering other disciplines, as well as socializing. It has had an influence on many youths.”

The large success of the program in Yaounde has prompted a national initiative in Cameroon that will reach five additional districts. An estimated 5,000 youths are expected to participate in Game On! Youth Sports throughout the districts of Doukoula-Kar-hay, Meiganga, Limbe, Santa, and Abong-Mbang-Mboma.

“These rural areas were chosen in respect of the International Alliance for Youth Sports’ norms to give equipment to underprivileged youth to be able to participate in Game On!,” Afor Amba said. “Also, for the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education in Cameroon to stretch out and save youths who lack facilities for this type of project.”

Afor Amba’s goal is to offer youth in rural areas the same advantages that children in urban areas are able to enjoy. Prior to Game On! no youth sports program existed that allowed children to participate in sports programs free of charge, or that provided free equipment. Now that Cameroon’s government has taken interest in the program this has become possible.

“Mayors, senior divisional officers, heads of military officers in these divisions, chiefs and traditional rulers have acknowledged the impact of Game On! and invite us to come more regularly,” Afor Amba said.

Many of the benefits that sports foster in youth can not be replicated in other formats. Cameroon believes that by harmonizing physical education and mental growth they can improve the health issues of participants, in turn minimizing the costs of their medical treatment. They also believe that youth sports can help raise better citizens by facilitating social interaction and respect for others. Decrease of juvenile delinquency and HIV/AIDS is also a benefit of keeping kids occupied with sports.

Another long-term goal for Game On! in Cameroon is the potential for inspiring youth to continue with sports professionally. Specialization in certain sports, like soccer, could result in professional athletes arising from these areas, which in turn could lead to socio-economic improvement.

Afor Amba hopes that Game On! will eventually spread all over Cameroon, and feels that the pilot program, and the districts already reached, can set the appropriate example to make that possible. She is confident that the country and government will ultimately embrace the program for every community.

“The vision and objective of the Game On! Youth Sports program correlates with the missions and objectives of the Department for Development of Physical Education, in the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education in Cameroon,” she said.