We woke up at the crack of dawn this morning to start our 1.5 hour journey for today’s site visit. The smell of Ramesh’s fresh omelets made waking up early more bearable and as we ate our breakfast, we discussed our plans for the day. We were thrilled to be visiting the tribal village of Bandania and were eager to see what it would entail. Mr. Mishra explained to us that SOVA had facilitated the construction of a mini sports stadium in the village and asked us if we were interested in seeing it. “Of course!” we replied. When we pulled up to the stadium there was a large group of men waiting to talk with us. We exchanged smiles and shared a bottle of “Thums Up” soda as we sat in a circle and began asking questions about the new stadium. We learned that the its main use is for an annual football tournament in which 50-60 teams from different Munda Santhala villages in the area come together and played for 4-5 days. The tournament is sort of a festival in the way that it includes not only football matches but music, dancing, and food, as well as acts as a coming together for all of these different villages. We asked various questions about both the stadium and its impact on the community and we learned that it has become a source of pride for the people of Bandania, as they are able to host this tournament and bring people together. The various men we spoke to at the stadium explained to us that its construction had provided not only a space for football tournaments, but for entertainment and social gathering as well. After learning that the majority of teams that play in the stadium are for ages 14-29, it was clear that SOVA’s facilitation of the construction of the stadium goes along with their goal of empowering Dhenkanal’s adolescent population. It was really cool to see first-hand how SOVA is working to empower adolescents and I was again shocked to hear about yet another SOVA program I had heard nothing about in the past.
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authorsAntoinette Nguyen |