Getting schoolgirls involved in sport is sometimes a struggle, but it’s worth it. International research shows that girls who play sport generally perform better at school, develop higher self-esteem and confidence and are physically fitter and healthier.

For Livingstone teacher Namukolo Mutikitela, already a role model for girls and young women who want to get involved in sport, the opportunity to become involved in the UK School Games has added a new dimension to her passion.

Backed by the British Council Zambia, Mutikitela made the trip from Zambia to the UK in September 2008.

The UK School Games is an annual multi-sport event for the UK’s young elite athletes and disabled athletes, designed to replicate the feeling of big events like the Olympics and to encourage young people to take part in and succeed in sport.

And it clearly has some success, as Beijing Paralympic medal-winning swimmer Eleanor Simmonds is a graduate of the UK School Games.

For the volunteers, says British Council Zambia Assistant Director Kerry Postlewhite, the Games ‘provide an opportunity to see how larger sporting events are run’.

A physical education (PE) and English teacher, Namukolo attended the event through her role as a leader for the British Council’s International Inspiration programme.

The International Inspiration programme was set up in 2005 in partnership with the Youth Sport

Trust in the UK as part of London’s bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. The aim was to ‘reach young people all around the world and connect them to the inspirational power of the Games so they are inspired to choose sport’.

Namukolo describes volunteering at the Games as ‘an amazing experience that no one can take away from me’.

‘I now know a great deal more about organising major sporting events,’ says the 29-year-old, ‘and especially how volunteers are used to facilitate the smooth running of events such as these. As Zambia prepares to host the All Africa Games this is important to know.’

Namukolo managed five sporting disciplines during the event – athletics, table tennis, fencing, volleyball and swimming.

At the Games she was given a lesson in table tennis by two disabled competitors – a lesson she says she will never forget and one she has already put to good use with the Special Education Unit at David Livingstone High School.

‘On top of managing to get the whole school involved in sport through an inter-class league which runs daily,’ says Postlewhite, ‘she has also got 20 pupils with special needs involved in sport and has since drawn up a comprehensive programme for them.’

‘Out of 300 girls in her school,’ continues Postlewhite, ‘she has managed to engage 200 in daily active sport and increased the number of periods of PE from four to eight a week.’

While at the UK School Games, Namukolo got the chance to meet the UK’s Minister for Sport and key people from UK Sport and the Olympic Games organising body. Not only was she a positive example for Zambian school sport in the UK, she also came back with some valuable new skills to encourage more young people – especially girls – to get involved in sport and physical education.

‘Namukolo was a fantastic ambassador for Zambia and the International Inspiration programme,’ says Nick Pink, the International Development Manager at the Youth Sport Trust in the UK. ‘She was able to offer great insight and awareness into the preparation and delivery of her leading and volunteer work at the UK School Games.

‘She was a tremendous role model for other young people and adults at the Games and demonstrated that while we are different in many ways, there was a true global community represented by common values and a desire to develop opportunities for young people. She added huge value to the UK School Games through her natural ability to lead, her willingness to learn new skills, and her awareness of maximising the opportunity for the benefit of young people and adults in Zambia. Namukolo worked incredibly hard and always had the biggest smile on her face!’

To read more about other project in Africa, visit out News in Africa section. You can also view some of the other programmes the British Council offer in Africa as well as the events happening throughout the continent.