1’440 participants in Take Control! since the pilot in August 2015 (60% boys, 40% girls).
360 participants in Engage Yourself! in 3 camps since April 2016 (50% boys, 50% girls).
487 participants sought counseling services (27% of total)
9 Take Control camps
3 Engage Yourself camps
68 facilitators involved (40 male, 28 female)
10 professional counselors

We work in urban slums and rural areas where boys and girls are vulnerable to
low self-esteem, poor decision making, child abuse, poor mental health, negative
peer pressure, and involvement in gangs and criminal activities. The goal of this
pillar is to equip beneficiaries with the knowledge and skills required to overcome
the challenges they face on a daily basis and to live more fulfilling lives. This helps
beneficiaries to become stronger and more resilient community members.

Life skills program for primary school pupils (age 10-15) that runs during school
holidays. Based on a unique curriculum developed by our team, Take Control!
enables participants to learn about life skills in an interactive, rugby-based setting.
Take Control! is divided into three levels: Skills of Self; Skills of Others; Skills of
Decision Making. The program is facilitated by Shamas coaches who have been
trained by external professional facilitators.

A life skills program that guides beneficiaries through their high school years and
prepares them for adulthood. Some of the topics addressed are leadership,
self-worth, decision making, career guidance, communication and writing skills, and
male and female empowerment. Camps are gender-specific and held during school
holidays to allow for ongoing mentorship and counseling where needed.

Throughout the year, Shamas offers professional counseling services. We engage
a team of professional counselors specializing in counseling psychology, clinical
psychology, HIV/AIDS counseling, community development. Offload it! enhances
high-quality mental health and psycho-social support to our beneficiaries and the
communities we work with.

This program provides Shamas beneficiaries with the necessary skills and attitudes to face life and start planning for the future at a young age. We do this by inviting different personalities to share with our players their experiences and to make them understand what it takes to be successful in life, proud of their achievements, and winners on and off the pitch. We believe that it is very important to start with children at a young age in order to accompany them through a journey of self-discovery.