Young children will be able to laugh and learn in a community program rolled out by the Lakapi Samoa and UN Women office in Samoa that focuses on developing their skills and teaching them life skills.

Lakapi Samoa started running their sports development program in communities to develop skills of children and adults alike in the sports sector.

The World Rugby ‘Get into Rugby (GIR) PLUS’ is the flagship sport-for-development program of Oceania Rugby and UN Women’s office in Samoa.

It is an intervention program for children aged 12-16 years with distinct social development and sport development objectives.

A lot of the children participating aspire to become better sports athletes and this program will help in educating and build upon skills, rules and strategies of rugby union in a safe, non-contact playing environment (tag rugby).

World Rugby; Get Into Rugby development program which introduces the Additional life skills components are embedded with the GIR curriculum to promote positive behavior, gender equality as well as violence prevention.

Rugby is just the medium used in sharing and spreading awareness as well as developing on athletic skills in the sport. By using the sport’s values of integrity, solidarity, respect, discipline and passion it helps to create stronger foundations for the children and participants.

The Program is designed to be fun and engaging for the children as they continue to learn and absorb life skills around respect, gender and violence.

This is also the third to continuously deliver the program in focus on developing highly skilled coaches – males and females – equally skilled in coaching rugby and facilitating life skills learning with young people.

Through the extensive training, the coaches learn how to model behaviors, deliver rugby skills development in a safe equal and inclusive environment and also how to focus on human rights, and challenge gender stereotypes to prevent violence against women and girls.

Lakapi Samoa in collaboration with the Ministry of Women, Community and Social Development facilitated Safeguarding and Child Protection and Gender Base Violence Training for teachers.

The program will continue this week with the outcome to develop high quality rugby coaches who will provide a positive, safe, dynamic and fun entry point and pathway for boys and girls playing tag rugby.

This is a long-term approach to change attitudes and beliefs around gender, power, violence and respectful relationships. This approach aims to challenge gender stereotypes and contributes to reducing violence against women and girls.

Lakapi Samoa have also held a number of programs last year targeting girls. 

In December 2022 the national coordinator for the GIR Plus Program, Seleagaia Alapati wanted to create a safe space for girls and empowering them through sport.

“The Program is for creating opportunities for them to feel confident and to know that Lakapi Samoa and our various partners can support them not just in rugby but within their families.”

The more they create awareness, the more people will understand. This collaboration with the UN Women office is to develop the sport with children and adults who share the passion for it and to spread it in their communities.