On June 21st, Secretary of State Hilary Clinton announced the launch of the Council to Empower Women and Girls Through Sports to support efforts such as the Global Sports Mentoring Program, which partners women sports leaders abroad with American leaders in the same sports to mentor and raise leaders for future female athletes around the world. Reflecting on her own life and the life lessons she learned through sports, Secretary Clinton recognizes sports as a crucial educational tool. Without opportunities to play sports, girls are not only denied the opportunity to grow stronger physically but also deprived of experiences that can teach them to become resilient and confident team players.
At A Bridge for Children International (ABC), we also recognize the importance of empowering women through sports which is why we established the TALENT Basketball Program for migrant girls. Due to their rural statuses, migrant children receive fewer resources from the government than their urban resident peers. Young migrant girls have even fewer opportunities to learn and play sports. Our basketball training is supplemented by our “4Cs” curriculum so that the migrant girls can become better athletes as well as more confident, caring, courageous, and committed players. The weekly practices allow our trained volunteers and staff members to interact with the girls and help them develop positive self-esteem, interpersonal skills, and leadership skills.
Our basketball program focuses exclusively on migrant girls because we believe in the importance of gender empowerment. Through this program, we seek to foster female leaders who can transfer the lessons they learn on the court to their lives and, in the future, teach girls of following generations to do the same.