Mentoring Lessons- ResilienceChikamu

Stretch to Find Solutions

Have you used a sports strategy that was wonderfully impactful but cost a lot of money and became too complicated?

After the initial games and sport for kids’ model, it was reproduced in another part of the world with 25,000 children going to one stadium. It was huge and ambitious. It required renting every bus in the city. The cost was huge!

The next year they wanted to involve 75,000 children, but there was no stadium big enough, and they couldn’t afford the buses. How could this strategy move forward?

The team brainstormed to find a solution. They met and divided the city into 700 zones and trained 2,500 volunteers.

Each team of leaders had responsibility for 150-200 children and had to find their own place to play and their own sports equipment. Each team made their own decisions. Some met by the road, others next to a railway line, or in a school. They used recycled materials for sports equipment or borrowed what they needed. People were empowered but united around a common vision.

And what a strategy it turned out to be. Instead of the planned 75,000 children, almost double that number participated! It was also easier for leaders to follow up with children and families from these local gatherings.

The following year, 210,000 children were involved in even smaller localized groups.

For the first time, they also added the powerful idea of children doing compassion projects with the poor and offering to help communities clean streets and markets.

The movement was growing!

Scripture to Ponder: Matthew 19:14

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."

Key Lesson: To grow bigger, we often need to think smaller.