As an International Affairs Fellow for the Conference on World Affairs in Boulder, Colorado, I met Maggie Simbeye as her student ambassador. We bonded immediately and kept in close contact after the conference. The past year and a half, Maggie and I collaborated on something we are both very passionate about, the Dare Rugby Program.
Rugby is very popular in Tanzania, however, the opportunity for girls to play is rare. The goal of the Dare Rugby Project is to engage with the community and share rugby with girls who have the passion but no outlet. The need for this project is born from how critical a girl’s youth is to her future.
However, there is so much more to this program than just the game itself. Young women in Tanzania are faced with a great number of financial, physical, and psychological adversities. In the face of these hardships, Dare Rugby will work to give young women the rugby experience. The core values of rugby are teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship. All of these principles, in one way or another, have impacted my life. I hope that the game and its values will have a positive impact on the girls and the community of Arusha. The ultimate goal of Dare Rugby is provides girls and women with a network of support and guidance.
I was recently in Tanzania, playing rugby with Dare Rugby girls and visiting their families. During a set of interviews Maggie and I conducted, I was moved to find that in just one year, rugby and the proximity of the Dare Women’s foundation has positively transformed the lives of all the girls involved.
Written By Sophia Cole
Rugby is very popular in Tanzania, however, the opportunity for girls to play is rare. The goal of the Dare Rugby Project is to engage with the community and share rugby with girls who have the passion but no outlet. The need for this project is born from how critical a girl’s youth is to her future.
However, there is so much more to this program than just the game itself. Young women in Tanzania are faced with a great number of financial, physical, and psychological adversities. In the face of these hardships, Dare Rugby will work to give young women the rugby experience. The core values of rugby are teamwork, respect, enjoyment, discipline and sportsmanship. All of these principles, in one way or another, have impacted my life. I hope that the game and its values will have a positive impact on the girls and the community of Arusha. The ultimate goal of Dare Rugby is provides girls and women with a network of support and guidance.
I was recently in Tanzania, playing rugby with Dare Rugby girls and visiting their families. During a set of interviews Maggie and I conducted, I was moved to find that in just one year, rugby and the proximity of the Dare Women’s foundation has positively transformed the lives of all the girls involved.
Written By Sophia Cole