Innovation through Sport: Promoting Leaders, Empowering Youth (ITSPLEY)

The project is funded by USAID's Displaced Children and Orphans Fund (DCOF) and operates in four countries: Bangladesh, Egypt, Kenya, and Tanzania. In Bangladesh, CARE's efforts focused on initial project planning, establishing partnerships with local community-based organizations, and developing the project's monitoring and evaluation framework. Key achievements include orienting over 100 staff members on ITSPLEY's principles and objectives, recruiting two partner organizations, and testing the first draft of the Bangladesh ITSPLEY implementation plan. The project also engaged over 40 youth "fun centers" and organized girls' sporting events, including races, swimming, handball, and volleyball. In Egypt, CARE's Governance and Civic Engagement unit prepared to launch the ITSPLEY project by meeting with local and national stakeholders, mapping out potential partners, and collecting lessons learned from related sport-based projects. The unit met with representatives from the British Council, the Population Council, Save the Children, and UNICEF, who agreed to participate in the project or provide support. The CARE Egypt Governance unit also visited schools in Qena and Benisuef governorates, gathering information on potential obstacles and needed considerations for the project's implementation. The project's implementation plan focuses on mainstreaming activities with existing CARE initiatives, leveraging existing resources, and testing basic sport and leadership-building events at selected communities. The plan also aims to incorporate Power Within and PCTFI's M&E indicators and reporting guidelines into ITSPLEY programming. The project's overall goal is to promote the development of leadership skills among youth, particularly girls, through sport-based initiatives. The ITSPLEY project has made significant progress in its first quarter, with key achievements in Bangladesh and Egypt. The project's focus on sport-based initiatives and leadership development has the potential to empower youth, particularly girls, and promote social change in the project's target communities.