Lockdown has been hard on everyone, but it has been especially hard on kids. With schools closed and no way to see their friends, children in rural India have been cooped up in their homes for months with no way to blow off steam.

On Sunday, which happened to be National Sports Day in India, they got their first chance in a long time for some fun in the sun.

RDT’s Sports for Development sector organized a series of activities across the Anantapur district. Around 1,500 children celebrated National Sports Day by participating in soccer, track, tag, and more.

RDT believes in the power of sports to transform lives and communities. Through sports, children learn values like honesty, teamwork, fair play, and respect for themselves and others.

“[Students] learn about the importance of teamwork and commitment,” says Mounika, herself a graduate of the Anantapur Sports Academy who went on to become the first female soccer coach at the Atmakur Sports Development Center. “I also focus on the importance of unity, teamwork, and respect for all. Sports are essential for their physical and personal development. They have fun and also learn a lot of things.”

Sports can also strike down barriers to gender equality. Playing sports helps teach girls the confidence they need to assert themselves and teaches boys to view them as teammates and equals.

“My wish is that one day in all the courts and sports fields, there will be as many girls as boys playing sports and that every family will encourage their daughters to play sports,” says a Anusha, a cricket player at the Anantapur Sports Academy.

The Anantapur Sports Academy was forced to close during the second wave of the pandemic, but now it is up and running again. The academy is now offering soccer, hockey, and tennis again, though judo lessons have yet to resume.

Text by VFF USA