Page 183 - EMBRACE Book

Kehn,Cambodia

We decided to form the Volleyball Leagues in the villages
because we wanted the youth to know about the messages of
the EMBRACE program such as health and nutrition, and
how to take care of mothers and children under five, and
how to plant good kitchen gardens.

The youth in the village have a lot of free time on their
hands. Some tend to use this time unwisely by drinking or
taking drugs. Through the volleyball program we want to
encourage them to use their free time to do something
healthy like play sports.

We decided to do this program in the villages rather than at
the schools because it is in the villages where we find youth
that have dropped out of school and have not had a lot of
education. These are the young people that really need the Photo: © 2019 ADRA | Frank Spangler
knowledge that we are sharing through the EMBRACE they don’t have to go to the market to buy their food, they
messages. have more time to practice or do other work in the fields.
With the foods they are growing, they can now make sure
It has been going well. In some of the villages the young men that they and their families are getting nutritious meals,
didn’t really know how to play at all and so it has been a little well-balanced from the three major food groups. So, we are
hard getting the program going in those villages. But in other really promoting all of the benefits of growing gardens for
villages they either know how to play from going to school, themselves and their families.
or have learned quickly and are really enjoying the game.
We are already seeing a lot of positive changes in the villages
ADRA sponsors the program by buying the nets, the balls, that have joined the volleyball program. They no longer have
and the uniforms that the players wear when they compete. time to get into trouble, drinking alcohol, taking drugs, or
We also hire a trainer to come in and do workshops to teach getting involved in gangs. They are building friendly
the young people how to play the game well. In each village relationships with the youth of other villages as they
we recruit enough young people to have two teams so that compete with each other. We believe that it is important to
they can practice against each other before going out to educate the youth about good health and nutrition at this age
compete against another village. because they will soon be parents themselves and as they
become the father of a small child, they will already know all
When we do have a competition, there are prizes that go out of the EMBRACE principles of good health. Volleyball has
to the winners. Instead of trophies, we give prizes like been a good way to teach health!
gardening equipment, seeds, a net to protect the kitchen
gardens from animals, buckets, and watering cans. We are Some of the young men in the village that join the teams are
encouraging them to plant their own organic gardens. We already married with a couple of children. The program has
are teaching them that the food they grow themselves is really had a positive effect on them. They used to come from
182 much healthier than the food that they will buy in the the fields and get together with the other men of the village 183
market because it is grown without the use of pesticides or to drink and play cards. Now they spend that time practicing
chemical fertilizers. Eating healthy will make them better their volleyball skills or working in their kitchen gardens.”
players. The food is fresh, going right from the garden to the
cooking pot. It doesn’t have time to wilt at the market. When

Photo: © 2019 ADRA | Frank Spangler